The former wife of the income beneficiary of an irrevocable inter vivos qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust had no standing to object to the trustee’s failure to collect income of the trust even though (a) the former wife would … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
A surviving spouse was not required to claim her intestate share of the estate within the six month period required for claiming an elective share, and she did not forfeit her intestate share by filing an action for divorce against … Continue reading
A person denied benefits from a municipal pension fund after a finding by a hearing board that a common law marriage was not proven, from which no appeal was made to the Court of Common Pleas, cannot later obtain a … Continue reading
Legal action cannot be filed against the “estate” of a decedent, but only the personal representatives of the estate, and so an action filed against an estate is a nullity and a personal representative of the estate cannot be substituted … Continue reading
The decedent and his fiance obtained a marriage license, and their marriage was valid even though the marriage ceremony was conducted by a friend who was ordained over the Internet by “First Nation Church and Ministry” and the marriage certificate … Continue reading
In accounting filed for husband’s estate, Orphans’ Court had no jurisdiction over funds previously awarded to wife as compensation for wrongful death and loss of consortium but erroneously paid to husband’s estate, and so ordered the personal representatives to file … Continue reading
Counsel fees of $25,000 were properly imposed under 42 Pa.C.S. § 2503(7) and (8) on a party as sanctions for dilatory, obdurate, and vexatious conduct in continuing to pursue matters that were without merit and were previously decided. Mumma Estate, … Continue reading
Executor commissions and legal fees paid by insolvent estate to the son of the decedent will be reduced when the legal fees were in great measure incurred to defend the estate from a claim of surcharge against the decedent who … Continue reading
An agent under of a power of attorney did not have a duty to claim an elective share of the estate of a deceased spouse when the surviving spouse was entitled to a gift in trust equal to the elective … Continue reading
The transfer of more than $6 million to a joint account with the decedent’s wife six years before the decedent’s death was not invalid due to lack of testamentary capacity and was not the product of undue influence, notwithstanding that … Continue reading