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
Daniel Evans
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
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published the Chained Consumer Price Index (C-CPI-U) for August 2025, and so it’s possible to calculate various inflation adjustments for 2026. The following are the significant federal estate planning numbers calculated for 2026, with … 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
Bucks County has published new fee schedules for the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court and the Register of Wills. “Fees of the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court; Administrative Order No. 125” (8/19/2025), 55 Pa.B. 6171 (8/30/2025); “”Fees of the Register … Continue reading
Adams County has adopted a new local Orphans’ Court Rule 2.9 on the procedure for confirmation of accounts. “Rules of Orphans’ Court; Administrative Order; No. 5 of 2025” (7/31/2025), 55 Pa.B. 6044 (8/23/2025). … Continue reading
A deed from a joint tenant to herself was insufficient to sever the joint tenancy and create a tenancy in common with the other joint tenant. Grant v. Grant, ___ A.4th ___, 18 WAP 2024 (Pa. 8/19/2025). … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rule Committee has proposed amendments to Pa. R.O.C.P. 5.8, on the discharge of a fiduciary, in order to clarify that the rule does not apply to the discharge of a trustee under a nonjudicial settlement. Comments, … Continue reading