The Orphans’ Court of Lehigh County has adopted a new fee schedule, to be effective November 1, 2022. “Clerk of Orphans’ Court Division, Fee Schedule; File No. AO-2022-0001” (9/19/2022), 52 Pa.B. 6155 (10/1/2022). … Continue reading
Daniel Evans
Child born during a same-sex marriage is presumed to be the child of both parents, even though Pennsylvania did not recognize the validity of same-sex marriages when the child was conceived and born. Bossler v. Ebling, 12 Fid.Rep. 362 (C.P. … Continue reading
Claim for compensation for care of parents by one of their sons was denied for lack of “clear, direct, precise and convincing” evidence of an agreement for compensation, but claim for family exemption was allowed even though the decedent had … Continue reading
The decedent had purchased an annuity, and had named “Mildred Williams – Friend,” as the beneficiary, but failed to provide a Social Security number or other identifying information for the beneficiary. The decedent also failed to disclose the annuity to … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court erred, and abused its discretion, when it entered an injunction against a trustee prohibiting the payment of legal fees and costs without first hearing evidence to determine if a breach of trust had occurred or may occur … Continue reading
With the release of the Chained Consumer Price Index (C-CPI-U) for August 2022, it’s possible to calculate various inflation adjustments for 2023. The following are the significant federal estate planning numbers, with the numbers for 2022 shown in parentheses: The … Continue reading
It was previously reported, in “Realty Transfer Tax on Remainders,” that the Department of Revenue had published a new table of life estate and remainder factors based on an interest rate of 2.6%, to be effective July 1, 2022. The … Continue reading
The Superior Court has affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the trustee of a perpetual charitable trust, and against the charitable beneficiary, finding that the trustee fees of approximately 28% of the trust income are not “unreasonably out of … Continue reading
When a petition for letters is rejected by the Register of Wills and the Orphans’ Court refuses to grant letters, the finding by the court that the petitioner is not entitled to letters is not an appealable order because there … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee is considering an amendment to Pa.R.O.C.P. 14.8 to require a court that completes reasonable enforcement procedures to ensure compliance with guardianship reporting to enter an order to explain the actions taken to attempt enforcement, … Continue reading