Somerset County has increased the monthly fees of currently serving court-appointed professional guardians for incapacitated individuals who receive a medical assistance long-term care grant to $300.00 per month, effective January 9, 2023. “Administrative Order; Administrative Order 1 of 2023″ (1/5/2023), 53 Pa.B. 608 (1/28/2023).
York County has increased the monthly fees of currently serving court-appointed professional guardians for incapacitated individuals who receive a medical assistance long-term care grant to $300.00 per month, effective January 1, 2023. “Increase in Fees for Court-Appointed Guardian of Medicaid Recipient Incapacitated Persons; No. 6723-0115” (1/12/2023), 53 Pa.B. 610 (1/28/2023).
The Supreme Court has reversed decisions of the Superior Court and Orphans’ Court and held that a trust modification with the consent of the settlor under 20 Pa.C.S. §7740.1(a) may change the provisions of a trust relating to the appointment of trustees, and allow the beneficiaries to remove and replace trustees. In re: Trust under Deed of Walter R. Garrison, ___ Pa. ___, 288 A.3d 866, 61 MAP 2022, 62 MAP 2022, and 63 MAP 2022 (1/19/2023), rev’g 1429 EDA 2020 (Pa. Super. 9/27/2021) (non-precedential), and 10 Fid.Rep.3d 189 (Montgomery O.C. 2020).
[DBE Comment: As previously noted, the consent of the settlor should have made a difference, and the court was able to distinquish its previous decision in Trust under Agreement of Edward Winslow Taylor, 649 Pa, 649, 164 A.3d 1147 (Pa. 2017), which involved a trust modification without the consent of the settlor under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7740.1(b), and not a trust modification with the consent of the settlor under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7740.1(a).]
[DBE Note: There seems to be a typographical error in the slip opinion, J-57A-C-2022mo. On page 12, the court states, “First, section 7740.1(a) involves unified action by all interests in a trust, i.e., settlor and all trustees, to revoke or modify an otherwise irrevocable trust.” I believe the word “trustees” should be “beneficiaries.”]
The following chart shows the status of legislation introduced in the 2021-2022 session of the Pennsylvania legislature that might be of interest to estate and trust practitioners. Click on the bill number to see the history or text of the bill.
| Bill | Purpose/Subject | Adds/Amends | Last House Action | Last Senate Action | Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 81 | Allows intestate heirs to receive unclaimed property without letters (was HB 1724 of 2019) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(e) | Referred to Judiciary (1/11/21) | ||
| HB 169 | Updates filial obligation law | Amends 23 Pa.C.S. §§ 4602 and 4603 | Referred to Judiciary (1/14/21) | ||
| HB 384 | Allows guardian of the person to make mental health care decisions | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 5521 | Referred to Judiciary (2/3/21) | ||
| HB 514 | Prohibits non-compete clauses by purely public charities | Amends §§ 3 and 5 of the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act, act of 11/26/1997, No. 55 | Referred to Finance (2/11/21) | ||
| HB 558 | Exempts transfers of less than $100,000 from inheritance tax (see HB 665 of 2019) | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (2/22/21) | ||
| HB 679 | Exempts transfers by individuals and married couples to wholly owned business entities | Amends § 1102-C.3 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (2/26/21) | ||
| HB 1148 | Repeals inheritance tax (was HB 77 of 2019) | Repeals Article XXI of the Tax Reform Code of 1979 | Referred to Finance (4/8/21) | ||
| HB 1342 | Exempts from inheritance tax transfers of personal property by members of military who die from active duty | Amends § 2111 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | House concurred in Senate amendments (7/7/22)on and final passage (12/13/21) | Re-reported as amended from Appropriations; Third consideration and final passage (7/7/22) | Section 15.1 of Act 53 (7/8/22) |
| HB 1523 | Guarantees that the elective share of a surviving spouse who is also a pretermitted spouse will not be less than an intestate share | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 2211 | Referred to Judiciary (6/1/21) | ||
| HB 1534 | Adds grandchildren to those who can receive bank accounts and unclaimed property without letters, and eliminates dollar limit on unclaimed property | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b) and (e) | Third consideration and passage (9/13/22) | Referred to Judiciary (9/13/22) | |
| HB 1558 | Parent "estranged" from adult child forfeits intestate share of child's estate (was HB 2858 of 2019) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 2106 | Referred to Judiciary (6/7/2021) | ||
| HB 1817 | Creates an inheritance tax "holiday" from enactment through the end of 2021 | Amends § 2111 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 by adding a new subsection (g) | Referred to Finance (8/31/21) | ||
| HB 1822 | Increases bank accounts not requiring administration from $10,000 to $20,000 | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b) | Third consideration and final passage (12/15/21) | Referred to Judiciary (12/29/21) | |
| HB 1890 | Requires background checks for guardians | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 5511(f) | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Services (9/21/21) | ||
| HB 1973 | Reduces filings by volunteer fire companies and reduces fines for noncompliance | Amends Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act | Referred to Finance (10/13/21) | ||
| HB 2010 | Training for public pension fund and state fund fiduciaries | Adds 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 74 | Referred to State Government (10/26/21) | ||
| HB 2016 | Confirms that real estate and 3101 accounts do not count towards $50,000 limit on small estate petition | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 | Third consideration and final passage (12/15/21) | Referred to Judiciary (12/29/21) | |
| HB 2394 | Enacts new provisions for "Pennsylvania orders for life-sustaining treatment" (POLST) (was HB 987 of 2019 and HB 1196 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and adds a new Subchapter F | Referred to Health (3/9/22) | ||
| HB 2754 | Amends Slayer's Act to impose forfeiture on persons convicted of elder abuse (was HB 1845 of 2019) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2106 and 2507 and Ch. 88 | Referred to Judiciary (7/2122) | ||
| SB 383 | Creates an inheritance tax "family exemption" deduction of $100,000 | Amends § 2127(3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/10/21) | ||
| SB 583 | Phases out inheritance tax on siblings (was SB 27 of 2019) | Amends § 2116(a)(1.3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (4/20/21) | ||
| SB 683 | Phases out inheritance tax on ancestors and descendants (was SB 27 of 2019) | Amends § 2116(a)(1) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (5/17/21) | ||
| SB 1034 | Modifies revocable trusts for marriage, divorce, and the birth of a child and makes other changes to Title 20 | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2022, 2507, 2521, 6111.1, and 7710.2 and enacts new §§ 3327.1, 7710.3, and 7710.4 | Referred to Judiciary (1/26/22) | ||
| SB 1035 | Adds new definitions to UTA and conforming amendments, adds new subchapter for "directed trusts," and adds new procedure for nonjudicial account settlements | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 7703 and various related sections, adds new Subchapter H.1 to Ch. 77, and adds new § 7785.1 | Referred to Judiciary (9/26/22) | Third consideration and passage (9/21/22) | |
| SB 1321 | Applies federal grantor trust rules to PA income tax | Amends sections 302 and 305 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (10/25/22) | Third consideration and passage (10/24/22) | |
| SB 1333 | Amends guardianship procedures on counsel for alleged incapacitated person, consideration of less restrictive alternatives, and certification of individuals with three or more appointments as guardian | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5511 and 5512.1 | Reported as committed from Judiciary; first consideration (9/20/22) |
Indiana County has increased the monthly fees of currently serving court-appointed professional guardians for incapacitated individuals who receive a medical assistance long-term care grant to $300.00 per month, effective January 1, 2023. “Increase in Fees for Court-Appointed Guardians of Medicaid Recipient Incapacitated Persons; Administrative Order No. 32-22-0785” (12/12/2022), 52 Pa.B. 8226 (12/31/2022).
The Supreme Court has rescinded and replaced guardianship Forms G-02, G-03, and G-05 for annual reports and inventories in order to make them easier to complete accurately. “Order Rescinding and Replacing Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Forms G-02, G-03, and G-05; No. 929 Supreme Court Rules Docket” (12/16/2022), 52 Pa.B. 8199 (12/31/2022).
Lehigh County has adopted a new Local Rule 4.7-1 mandating electronic filing in the Orphans’ Court, to be effective 30 days after publication. “Orphans’ Court Rules; File No. AO 2022-0002,” 52 Pa.B. 7920 (12/24/2022).
Montgomery County has increased the monthly fees of currently serving court-appointed professional guardians for incapacitated individuals who receive a medical assistance long-term care grant to $300.00 per month, effective January 1, 2023. “Increase of Fees for Court-Appointed Guardians of Medical Assistance Long-Term Care Recipient Incapacitated Persons,” 52 Pa.B. 7921 (12/24/2022).
The Act of November 3, 2022, No. 106, P.L. 1691, amends 23 Pa.C.S. § 3323 to require that divorce decrees and annulment orders include a provision advising the parties to reaffirm or change beneficiary designations for life insurance policies, annuity contracts, retirement plans, and other contracts if there is an intention to keep a former spouse as a beneficiary, and that failure to do so may result in the revocation of the beneficiary designation for the former spouse under 20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.2.
The Act of November 3, 2022, No. 152, P.L. 2145, amends the Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act (No. 127 of 1996) to allow charities to purchase “de-risking annuity contracts” from insurance companies to make the payments required by charitable gift annuity contracts between charities and donors.