Opinion
DOCKET NO. A-4887-14T3
07-18-2016
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF PETER J. CAMMARANO, Deceased.
Peter J. Cammarano, III, appellant, argued the cause pro se. John D. Pogorelec, Jr., Assistant County Counsel, argued the cause for respondent Passaic County Surrogate (William J. Pascrell, III, County Counsel; Mr. Pogorelec, on the brief).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION Before Judges Yannotti and Haas. On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Passaic County, Docket No. 189256. Peter J. Cammarano, III, appellant, argued the cause pro se. John D. Pogorelec, Jr., Assistant County Counsel, argued the cause for respondent Passaic County Surrogate (William J. Pascrell, III, County Counsel; Mr. Pogorelec, on the brief). PER CURIAM
Appellant Peter J. Cammarano, III appeals from the June 5, 2015 Chancery Division order requiring him to pay $7370.21 in audit fees to the Passaic County Surrogate's Court. We affirm.
Appellant is the executor of his grandfather's estate and the trustee of two testamentary trusts created thereunder. On March 26, 2013, April 30, 2013, and September 3, 2013, appellant's attorney filed accounts and amended accounts concerning the estate and the two trusts. One of the decedent's other grandchildren, Andrea Doll, filed exceptions to each of these accounts.
Rule 4:87-6 requires "[t]he Surrogate as deputy clerk of the court [to] audit the accounts of all fiduciaries unless otherwise ordered by the court[.]" Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30, the Surrogate is entitled to charge fees for each audit in accordance with a fee schedule set forth in the statute.
In accordance with these regulatory provisions, a clerk in the Surrogate's office conducted audits of the accounts appellant submitted for the estate and the two trusts. The Surrogate's final audit fee for the estate was $3454.22, the final audit fee for "Trust A" was $3310.99, and the final audit fee for "Trust B" was $605. Based upon our review of the documentation available in the record, we conclude that these fees, which totaled $7370.21, complied with the fee schedule set forth in N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30.
Appellant and Doll then settled their dispute over their grandfather's estate and the two trusts. As part of this settlement, appellant agreed to pay Doll $20,000 in satisfaction of all of her claims. After a hearing on December 8, 2014, the trial judge approved the settlement. At the end of that hearing, appellant's attorney asked the judge whether she had "a statement of the audit fees?" The judge advised the attorney that she would check with the Surrogate's office and "take care of that."
On December 10, 2014, appellant's attorney sent a letter to the judge asking that the Surrogate's audit fees be waived because appellant allegedly could not afford to pay them. After receiving a copy of the proposed consent judgment from Doll's attorney, appellant's attorney sent a second letter to the judge questioning whether the Surrogate's office had performed the three audits.
On December 26, 2013, the clerk who prepared the audits sent an email to appellant's attorney advising him of the audit fees. At hearings conducted on January 22, 2015 and March 25, 2015, the judge advised appellant's attorney that the case would remain open until the audit fees were paid.
Eventually, appellant's and Doll's attorneys signed the consent judgment, and the judge filed it on June 5, 2015. Notably, the judgment states that appellant's "accountings shall be and hereby are deemed to be approved and accepted by the Passaic County Surrogate's Court, subject to [appellant] paying the Passaic County Surrogate's audit fees and costs." The judgment went on to provide that "[t]he audit fees due and owing to the Passaic County Surrogate's Court in the amount of $7,370.21 (Estate $3,454.22, Trust A $3,310.99 & Trust B $605.00) is entered as a Judgment against Peter J. Cammarano, III." This appeal followed.
Now representing himself, appellant's only contention on appeal is that "an audit fee is not due in this matter because an audit was never performed by the [S]urrogate." However, the record simply does not support appellant's contention. The Surrogate has provided copies of the final formal audit sheets for the estate and the two trusts, together with corresponding statements establishing that the fees for each of the three audits were calculated in strict accordance with the schedule set forth in N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30. Thus, we affirm the trial court's June 5, 2015 order requiring appellant to pay these fees. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E).
Affirmed. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in my office.
CLERK OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION