Barely two weeks after a challenge to an estate valued at over a million dollar bequeathed to the Lancaster County Public Library (Duke Street) was dismissed by Orphan’s Court, attorney Stephen Blair filed an appeal on behalf of his father-in-law former Judge Wilson Bucher and himself.
Thomas Bucher, the judge’s son and Blair’s brother-in-law, had bequeathed his entire estate to the library in a Will he wrote five years before his death. Despite the passage of time and Bucher’s successful work history, the elderly Judge Bucher and Blair challenged the Will on the basis that Thomas was subject to an “insane delusion” at the time it was written.
Senior judge Joseph H. Kleinfelteris decision left little doubt concerning the validity of the Will based on both the facts and the meaning of “insane delusion” under state law and the rarity of its application. Meanwhile, the cost of litigation to the library is well over a hundred thousand dollars, money meant to improve its services and facilities.
Now the estate will be further depleted in dealing with appeals which some believe reflect an intention to drag the process out as long as possible. “Insane delusion”? By whom?
Full disclosure: The Watchdog’s wife, Karen Haley Field, is the Administrator for the Estate on behalf of the Lancaster Public Library.
Can the losing plaintiff in a case such as this be made to compensate the other party for the cost of the litigation? That would be one way to minimize frivolous lawsuits. It seems that once again greed rises when there’s even a slight chance of getting more.
Talk of “Insane delusion”, people continue to give money to PAM while deserving 501c3s flounder.