A trust for pets is subject to inheritance tax at the rate of 15%. King Estate, 8 Fid.Rep.3d 145 (Chester Co. O.C. 2018). (For a contrary result, see Schrock Estate, 6 Fid.Rep.3d 199 (Westmoreland Co. O.C. 2015).
The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has proposed several amendments to Pa. O.C. Rules, including the following substantive changes:
- The explanatory comment to Rule 1.7 will be changed to exclude withdrawals of appearances before the Register of Wills from the scope of Rule 1.7.
- Rule 2.5 will require notice of the filing of accounts to co-fiduciaries who do not join in the account, and allow beneficiaries who are outside of the United States 60 days to file objections, instead of 20 days.
- Rule 10.5 will require notices of estate administration to a beneficiary named in a will without regard to whether the beneficiary is an “outright beneficiary.”
Other proposed amendments are intended to be clarifications.
Comments on the proposed amendments should be submitted by July 16, 2018.
“Proposed Amendment of Pa. O.C. Rules 1.7, 2.5, 2.7, 5.1, and 10.5,” 48 Pa.B. 3571 (6/16/18).
The father of the decedent did not forfeit his intestate share of his deceased son’s estate because the adult son was unable to walk, but was not mentally impaired or unable to care for himself, and so was not a “dependent child” within the meaning of 20 Pa.C.S. § 2106(b). Estate of Charles L. Small, 8 Fid.Rep.3d 229, No. 617 DE of 2017 (O.C. Philadelphia 6/7/2018), aff’d, 744 EDA 2018 (Pa. Super. 1/28/2019), app. granted, 88 EAL 2019 (9/4/2019), aff’d, 26 EAP 2019 (Pa. 7/21/2020).
The Supreme Court has entered an order with attached amendments to Pa.O.C. Rule 1.99 and the notes to various other rules to change all references to the public access policy from “Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts” to “Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.” (See “Public Access Policy Amendments” for links to the previous orders that changed the title of the policy.)
“In re: Order Amending Rules 1.99, 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, 2.8, 2.10, 3.3-3.6, 3.9-3.11, 3.14, 7.2-7.4, and 8.2 of the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rules,” 48 Pa.B. 3573 (6/16/2018), No. 772 Supreme Court Rules Docket (6/1/2018).
The Supreme Court has entered an order with attached new Pa.O.C. Rules 14.1 through 14.14 and amendments to Rules 1.5 and 5.10 through 5.12, new Orphans’ Court Forms G-01 through G-04, and an explanatory report of the Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee. This order rescinds and replaces all guardianship rules and four guardianship forms. The new rules were previously published for comment at 47 Pa.B. 5930 (September 23, 2017); 47 Pa.B. 4815 (August 19, 2017); and 46 Pa.B. 7934 (December 17, 2016).
The new rules will be effective June 1, 2019.
“In re: Order Rescinding and Replacing Rules 14.1 through 14.5 and Forms G-01 through G-04, and Amending Rules 1.5, 5.10 through 5.12, and Index to Appendix of the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rules,” 48 Pa.B. 3524 (6/16/2018), No. 770 Supreme Court Rules Docket (6/1/2018).
The Supreme Court has also entered an order directing that local guardianship rules be reviewed and that new rules be submitted to the Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee for review in accordance with O.C. Rule 1.5 not later than December 1, 2018. All existing local guardianship rules will be vacated effective June 1, 2019.
“In re: Review and Vacatur of Local Orphans’ Court Rules,” 48 Pa.B. 3582 (6/16/2018), No. 771 Supreme Court Rules Docket (6/1/2018).
The rules of construction for lapsed legacies which are found at 20 Pa.C.S. § 2514(9), (10), and (11) apply only to individuals and so are not relevant to the cy pres doctrine, which the Orphans’ Court properly applied in directing that a share of the income of a charitable trust be paid to the nonprofit community foundation that is the successor to the hospital that was the original beneficiary of the trust and that supports the health care needs of the same community formerly served by the hospital. In re: Trust Created under the Will of William J. Cohen, 2018 PA Super 138 (5/25/2018).
Philadelphia has updated its public access rules to reflect amendments to the statewide public access policy. “Amendment of Phila.R.J.A. Nos. *401, *402 and *403; No. 02 of 2017” (Philadelphia Co. 5/10/2018), 48 Pa.B. 3078 (5/26/2018).
Butler County has issued an administrative order restricting public access to indices of the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court. “Register of Wills—Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, Public Access; MsD 1 of 2018” (Butler Co. 5/2/2018), 48 Pa.B. 3081 (5/26/2018).
Trustee of terminating trust had proposed distribution directly to a public school, rather than to a trustee for the school, believing that the costs of administering the trust would outweigh the benefits of the trust, but the Attorney General objected and it was ordered that the distribution be made to a community foundation for the benefit of the school. Leese Estate, 8 Fid.Rep.3d 139 (York Co. O.C. 2018).
Fees of guardian and her counsel were approved over objections of the trustee of the ward’s revocable trust in Florida, the request for counsel fees by the trustee were denied, and the guardian was granted permission to submit a new budget for the needs of the ward, which funds would need to be requested from the Florida trustee, over which the Pennsylvania court had no jurisdiction. In Re: Estate of Connie Greco, Alleged Incapacitated Person, 8 Fid.Rep.3d 133 (Montgomery Co. O.C. 2018), aff’d, 812 EDA 2018 (Pa. Super. 2/21/2019) (non-precedential).