Motion for protective order was granted, and the deposition of the objector was denied, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and protect the beneficiary of the estate from additional attorney fees and litigation costs. Logue Estate, 11 Fid.Rep.3d 273 (Lycoming … Continue reading
Daniel Evans
The Supreme Court has amended Pa.R.O.C.P. 1.99 to require the use of “confidential information forms” (and not the filing of redacted documents) to comply with the public access policy in the Orphans’ Court. As explained in the adoption report of … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has approved a number of clarifying amendments to the Electronic Case Record Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, some of which will explicitly bring the clerk of the Orphans’ Court and the Guardianship … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has proposed a new Pa.R.O.C.P. 1.20 that would allow the Orphans’ Court to conduct proceedings using “advanced communication technology,” which is defined as “any communication technology providing for two-way simultaneous communication of image and … Continue reading
The Superior Court has affirmed a decision of the Orphans’ Court holding that a trust modification that allowed the beneficiaries to remove and replace trustees was ineffective even with the consent of the settlor. Garrison Trusts, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 189 (Montgomery … Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service has released Rev. Proc. 2021-45 with inflation adjustments for 2022 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 (and generation-skipping tax … Continue reading
A 1954 letter from the corporate trustee stating that its compensation would be 5% of income was a fee agreement binding the trustee, and the trustee did not provide sufficient evidence that additional compensation should be allowed under 20 Pa.C.S. … Continue reading
Addressing a series of inter-related in limine motions and motions for summary judgment, the court held that: Although a party with an interest adverse to the estate may be barred from testifying under the Dead Man’s Act, the spouse of … Continue reading
A motion to allow the deposition of possible witnesses that was made seven months after the witnesses were identified in supplemental answers to interrogatories, five months after the close of discovery, a month after receiving the other party’s pretrial memorandum, … Continue reading
When a will has no provisions for the resignation of, or successors to, a testamentary trustee, 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 7765(a.1(e) and 7764(c)(2) allow the beneficiaries to accept the resignation of the corporate trustee, and allow the qualified beneficiaries to appoint … Continue reading