The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal from the Superior Court decision in Trust under Will of Augustus T. Ashton, 203 EAL 2020 (12/2/2020). The order states the issue to be: Did the Superior Court err when it held that … Continue reading
Daniel Evans
Luzerne County has published a new fee schedule for the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, to be effective January 1, 2021. “Request to Increase Fees of that Section of the Division of Judicial Services and Records, … Continue reading
One trustee of a trust lacks standing to sue a lessee for possession of real property titled in name of trust when the other trustee objects to the action and the Orphans’ Court has empowered the other trustee to sell … Continue reading
A 1954 letter from the corporate trustee established an agreement for trustee compensation of 5% of income, and the trustee did not produce evidence of extraordinary services to merit additional compensation or that the resulting fee was unreasonable. However, neither … Continue reading
A lawyer representing the beneficiary of an estate is entitled to a “charging lien” against the beneficiary’s share of the estate for work performed before being discharged by the beneficiary, based on an oral agreement that the lawyer’s billings could … Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service has released Rev. Proc. 2020-45 with inflation adjustments for 2021 and, consistent with earlier predictions, the changes in the most significant federal estate and trust planning numbers will be as follows: The base applicable exclusion amount … Continue reading
The latest (10/21/2020) draft of instructions to the Schedule K-1 for Form 1041 provides guidance for reporting excess 67(e) deductions by beneficiaries of terminating estates and trusts that is similar to the guidance that was previously reported from the IRS … Continue reading
Westmoreland County has rescinded local Orphans’ Court Rule WO5.17, relating to small estate petitions. “Orphans’ Court Rules; No. 3 of 2020” (9/29/2020), 50 Pa.B. 5843 (10/24/2020). … Continue reading
Because 20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.2(b)(4) does not require that a post-divorce “designation of a former spouse as a beneficiary” be in writing, and because the decedent “substantially complied” with the life insurance policy provisions for beneficiary designations by orally advising … Continue reading
Executor and her attorney were surcharged for excessive and unreasonable attorney fees because the attorney time records that were submitted had the descriptions of services redacted and so they failed to meet their burden of proof. Stoughton Estate, 10 Fid.Rep.3d … Continue reading