The petitioner alleged that the decedent had entered into a contract with her husband not to change their wills, but the lawyer who was alleged to have written the contract had no record or recollection of preparing the contract, the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
The trustees of a trust for the lifetime benefit of the decedent made discretionary distributions to the decedent for which the decedent signed agreements indemnifying the trustees. Following the death of the decedent, the remainder beneficiaries sued the trustees, and … Continue reading
An intestate heir has standing to challenge the validity of a will that has been admitted to probate if in his petition he alleges a “realistic probability” that a will that was executed one year before and that also disinherits … Continue reading
It was not an error of law or abuse of discretion for the Orphans’ Court to find that there was clear and convincing evidence that the probated will was a forgery based on the testimony of a handwriting expert and … Continue reading
It was not an error of law or abuse of discretion for the Orphans’ Court to remove an administrator when the administration of the estate was substantially completed when the administrator was granted letters due to the death of the … Continue reading
Preliminary objections to a petition to revoke the probate of a will were properly sustained when the petition was filed more than one year after probate and the documents in the record that were exhibits to other petitions filed by … Continue reading
The validity and effect of naming beneficiaries of retirement and other investment accounts is governed by 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 64, and is not testamentary, so an agreement to name a person as the beneficiary of those accounts was not governed … Continue reading
Because the Superior Court had previously ruled that the agent’s deposit of a refund check of the principal into a joint account with the agent was not a per se breach of fiduciary duty, the court in the second appeal … Continue reading
The duties of an agent under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601.3 apply to powers of attorney created before January 1, 2015, but do not apply to acts of omissions of agents that occurred before that date, and an agent’s deposit in … Continue reading
The handwritten, notarized document signed by the decedent by which he purportedly “gave” his house to the claimant, with the condition that the claimant pay the existing mortgage until he was able to obtain a mortgage in his own name, … Continue reading