IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Tiffany Bonita McCall, :

Petitioner :

:

v. : No. 423 C.D. 2017 : Submitted: September 8, 2017 Pennsylvania Treasury Department : Bureau of Unclaimed Property, :

Respondent :

BEFORE: HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, President Judge

HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge HONORABLE DAN PELLEGRINI, Senior Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY PRESIDENT JUDGE LEAVITT FILED: November 29 , 2017

Tiffany McCall (Claimant), pro se , a ppeals an order of the Bureau of

Unclaimed Property of the Treasury Department (Bureau) denying her claim to

certain unclaimed property. The Bureau found Claimant ineligible to claim the

property under Section 3101(e) of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciari es Code ( PEF

Code). 1 We affirm.

A t issue in this case are death benefit checks in the amounts of $352,
$409, $686, and $550, issued by American General Life and Accident Insurance in

the name of Pauline Davis, who died on May 16, 1998. 2 Lula Hayes, who w as

Davis’s sister and the designated beneficiary of the death ben efits, predeceased

Davis. Because no estate was opened for Davis, t he insurance company remitted the

1 20 Pa. C.S. §3101(e), set forth infra at 4

.
2 The Bureau assigned Property ID Nos. 12930522, 12930523, 12930524, and 12930525 to the
checks.2

checks to the Bureau as unclaimed property in accordance with Pennsylvania’s

Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act (Unclaimed Property Act)

. 3

On June 23, 2016, Claimant filed a claim with the Bureau asserting that

she is entitled to the unclaimed death benefit checks . Claimant asserted that her

father, Sidney Darnell McCall, wh o died in 2007, was Davis’s adopted son , making

Davis her adoptive grandmother. In support, Claimant submitted the death

certificates of her father and Davis, as well as her father’s obituary, which identified

Davis as his adoptive mother. The Bureau den ied Claimant’s claim.

Claimant filed a petition for review. 4 The Bureau responded that

Claimant failed to provide sufficient evidence that Davis is her adoptive

grandmother. The Bureau further argued that, pursuant to Section 3101(e) of the

PEF Code, a grandchild is ineligible for distribution of unclaimed property where

the decedent died i n testate and no estate was opened . Certified Record (C.R.), Item

No. 2

, Answer and New Matter ¶¶13

- 14.

The presiding officer held a pre

- hearing conference call on Jan uary 11,

2017, after which Claimant was given an additional 30 days to submit proof of her

father’s adoption. In light of the fact that Claimant was unable to obtain paperwork

from the adoption agency, the presiding officer suggested she contact the schoo l

district for evidence. Claimant later provided evidence from the school district

showing that her father lived at the same address as Davis.

3 Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 343, added by Section 5 of the Act of December 9, 1982, P.L. 1057,
as amended , 72 P.S. §§1301.1

- 1301.29. Property that is abandoned or unclaimed is subject to the custody and control of the Commonwealth. Section 1301.2(a) of the Unclaimed Property Act, 72 P.S. §1301.2(a).

4 A claimant whose claim the Bureau denies may file a pet ition for review, and the State Treasurer will designate a presiding officer “to exercise the powers and duties of the State Treasurer with respect to matters concerning petitions for review.” 61 Pa. Code § § 951.21 (a), (b)

.3 On March 9, 2017, the presiding officer issued a decision denying

Claimant’s claim. He found that Claimant’s f ather was adopted by Davis and was

her “only living heir” at the time of her death. Final Decision at 4; Findings of Fact

No. 1. He further found that Claimant’s father was survived by seven children,

including Claimant. The presiding officer concluded, however, that Claimant was

ineligible to claim the unclaimed death benefit checks because she was not a

“surviving spouse, child, mother or father, or sister or brother of a decedent, in this

case, Pauline Davis.” Id. at 9 (citing Section 3101(e) of the PEF Code, 20 Pa. C.S.

§3101(e))

. The presiding officer noted that e ven if Clai mant was eligible to claim

the p roperty, she would have only been entitled to one seventh of the value of the

checks because she has six siblings

. Id. at 10. Claimant now peti tions for this

Court’s review. 5

Claimant has raised one issue in her appeal to this Court, i.e ., whether

she met her burden of provin g that she was entitled to the unclaimed death benefit

checks . Claiman t argues that she established that her father was a dopted by Davis.

Claimant Brief at 9. According to Claimant, she “was able to satisfy every form of

document requested by the [Bureau], with the exception of one document [ i.e

., paperwork from the adoption agency] ... due to circumstances that was (sic) ou t of

her control.” Id . at 10. Claimant argues that the presiding officer’s decision to deny

her claim was based on “speculation and assumptions” rather than substantial

evidence. Id. at 9.

5 Our scope of review is to d etermine whether constitutional rights were violated, whether an error of law was committed, or whether the findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence. First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hazleton v. Office of the State Treasurer, Un claimed Property Review Committee , 650 A.2d 1166, 1167 n.4 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1994).4 Contrary to Claimant’s assertion, the presiding officer did not

disbelieve the evidence she presented; indeed , he found that Davis adopted

Claimant’s father, who was Davis’s “only living heir” at the time of her death. Final

Decision at 4; Findings of Fac t No. 1. Nevertheless, the presiding officer denied

Claimant’s claim pursuant to Section 3101(e) (1) of the PEF Code, which provides:

(e) Unclaimed property.

-- (1) In any case where property or funds owned by an individual who has died a resident of thi s Commonwealth have been reported to the Commonwealth and are in the custody of the State Treasurer as unclaimed or abandoned property, the State Treasurer, at any time after the death of the individual, shall be authorized under this section to distribute the property or to pay the amount being held in custody where all of the following conditions are present:

(i) The amount of the funds or the value of the property is $11,000 or less.

(ii) The person claiming the property or the funds is the surviving spo use, child, mother or father, or sister or brother of the decedent, with preference given in that order.

(iii) A personal representative of the decedent has not been appointed or five years have lapsed since the appointment of a personal representative of the decedent.

20 Pa. C.S. §3101(e) (1) (emphasis added). T he parties do not dispute that Davis,

the “decedent” in the instant ca se, is the record owner of the unclaimed p roperty;
therefore, only her “surviving spouse, child, mother or father, or sister or bro ther” is

eligible to claim the p roperty. 20 Pa. C.S. §3101(e)(1)(ii). Accordingly, the5

presiding officer did not err in concluding that Claimant, as Davis’s adoptive

grandchild, is ineligible to file the claim. 6

For all of the foregoing reasons, we af firm the Bureau’s order.

___________

_ ____________________________________ MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, President Judge

6 Our holding that Claimant is ineligible to claim the property at issue does not preclude Claimant
from opening of an estate for her father and asserting ownership right s thr ough the estate.IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Tiffany Bonita McCall, :

Petitioner :

:

v. : No. 423 C.D. 2017

: Pennsylvania Treasury Department : Bureau of Unclaimed Property, :

Respondent :

O R D E R

AND NOW, this 29 th day of November , 2017, the order of the

Pennsylvania Treasury Department, Bureau of Unclaimed Property, dated March 9,

2017, in the above

- captioned matter is hereby AFFIRMED.

_______________ _

______________________ MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, President Judge