An order allowing the executor to enter the decedent’s residence is proper when the decedent’s residence was not specifically devised by her will and two of the three of the residuary beneficiaries occupy the residence, the court was not divested … Continue reading
Daniel Evans
When a trustee engages in an act of self-dealing by using trust assets as collateral for loans taken out for the benefit of the trustee and his family, the court may impose a surcharge based on the benefit to the … Continue reading
An Orphans’ Court in Pennsylvania did not have jurisdiction to consider claims arising from the estate and trusts of a Florida resident when the estate and trusts were the subject of a settlement agreement in Florida that was binding upon … Continue reading
The Pa. Department of Revenue has issued a Realty Transfer Tax Bulletin explaining the exemption for real property distributed from an estate, and the bulletin provides some helpful guidance on a few issues. Realty Transfer Tax Bulletin 2024-01, “Transfers from...
The failure of the executor to find bonds that were in joint names with one of the beneficiaries of the estate did not result in any loss to the beneficiary because the bonds had not matured and continued to accrue … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has adopted a new Pa. R.O.C.P. 10.7 implementing 20 Pa.C.S. 3908, which provides that the filing of certain affidavits with the Register of Wills has the same effect as the “finding of a court” for the purpose … Continue reading
Philadelphia County has adopted a revised Phila. O.C.Div. Rule 5.16B for petitions to determine title to a decedent’s interest in real property under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3546, as revised by the Act of July 8, 2016, No. 79 of 2016. “Adoption … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court of Philadelphia County had jurisdiction to determine the proper distribution of the proceeds of a wrongful death action brought in Delaware County when the Court of Common Pleas of that county had ordered that the proceeds be … Continue reading
The alleged incapacitated person was adjudicated incapacitated in 2024, but was found to have had testamentary capacity in 2018 when she revoked her revocable trust, based mainly on the testimony of her counsel who met with her and prepared the … Continue reading
The Court of Common Pleas of Butler County has issued the first general administrative order in Pennsylvania (and one of the first in the U.S.) governing court filings produced using “generative artificial intelligence” (also known as “large language models,” such … Continue reading