When trust document grants the beneficiary the power to remove and replace a corporate trustee “for any reason whatsoever” with court approval, the beneficiary did not need to allege or show any cause for removal provided by 20 Pa.C.S. § … Continue reading
Daniel Evans
Will contest alleging lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence was subject to nonsuit when proponent of will introduced self-proving will that had been admitted to probate and objectant failed to call any witnesses, offering only medical records that were … Continue reading
Guardian of the estate of an incapacitated person was surcharged for unexplained discrepancies in her account showing funds were missing, for an act of self-dealing by payment to an entity owned by the guardian’s husband, and for a payment allegedly … Continue reading
Decree of the Orphans’ Court granting the petition of the agent for the incapacitated executor named in the will, and directing the Register of Wills to grant letters of administration c.t.a. to the agent, was vacated when it appeared that … Continue reading
The niece of the decedent who acted as the decedent’s health care agent and was the sole emergency contact listed for the decedent in the hospital’s medical records, and who also prepared the will for the decedent to sign which … Continue reading
Requests by the executors to the surviving spouse for bank statements and life insurance information that were needed for estate administration did not constitute discovery waiving the Dead Man’s Act (42 Pa.C.S. § 5930), and so the surviving spouse was … Continue reading
Below is an overview/explanation from Webcalculators. For an article addressing the pros and cons of the election, and drafting to allow disclaimers of interests that would prevent the treatment of a trust as a sole use trust, see “‘Sole Use … Continue reading
The wife of the decedent and executor of his estate, who had asserted attorney-client privilege during discovery, could not then waive the privilege at trial unless the opposing litigants could first conduct discovery regarding the communications for which the privilege … Continue reading
With the release of the Chained Consumer Price Index (C-CPI-U) for August 2018, it’s possible to calculate various inflation adjustments for 2019. The following are the significant federal estate planning numbers, with the numbers for 2018 shown in parentheses: The … Continue reading
One of the most common capital transactions for estates is the sale of the decedent’s residence, and current tax law would seem to provide the greatest benefit to beneficiaries by claiming the expenses of that sale as part of that...