[This article was originally published on 1/31/2011 as Steve Leimberg’s Estate Planning Newsletter #1768] The new tax act [Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Jobs Creation Act of 2010] provides a gift and estate tax exclusion of $5,000,000, and many...
Surcharge against guardian should be upheld on appeal because guardian never requested a continuance of the surcharge hearing and her absence from the hearing was part of a pattern of obdurate and dilatory conduct. Estate of Estelle Segal, No. 2, 9 … Continue reading
Claim by daughter under personal care agreement with mother was denied when personal care agreement was product of undue influence because mother was dependent on daughter for her care and had appointed daughter as her agent under a power of … Continue reading
A holographic will that ended with the initials of the testator was validly signed and was not executed by a “mark” within the meaning of 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502(2). Pedersen, Sr. Estate, 9 Fid.Rep.3d 29 (Monroe O.C. 2018). … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal from an order directing a trustee to provide the beneficiaries with unredacted copies of lawyer fee invoices that the trustee paid from trust funds. Both the Orphans’ Court and the Superior Court had … Continue reading
I received some emails recently from someone who was very unhappy that a court was not allowing him to represent a family member in court, even though he had a power of attorney authorizing him to “pursue claims and litigation” … Continue reading
There is what seems like an unnoticed provision of Chapter 76 of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code that is inconsistent with other provisions of Chapter 76 and could invalidate what would otherwise appear to be a natural and valid...
As previously reported, the Supreme Court Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has published a draft of a new Pa.O.C. Rule 5.50 that it intends to propose to the Supreme Court to specify the contents of a petition to settle a … Continue reading
Berks County has amended local Orphans’ Court Rules 2.5A, 2.7A, 14.1A, 14.3A, 14.4A, 14.8A, and 14.8B, and adopted new Rules 2.6A, 2.6B, and 2.6C. “Amendments to Local Rules; No. 19-1 Prothonotary” (Berks Co. 1/17/2019), 49 Pa.B. 616 (2/9/2019). … Continue reading
When the will unambiguously left the testator’s estate to his four children in equal shares, it was error for the court to interpret the will to treat gifts made by the testator’s agent after the execution of the will as … Continue reading