An intestate heir who does not join in an appeal from the probate of a will has no standing to challenge a settlement agreement between the beneficiary under the will and the other intestate heirs which left the probate of the will intact and required the beneficiary to make payments to the intestate heirs who had appealed from probate. Ballinger Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 53, No. 545 AP of 2013 (O.C. Philadelphia Co. 11/9/2016), aff’d, 2620 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. 5/19/2017) (non-precedential)..
When a power of attorney lacks the notice and acknowledgement required by 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601, the burden is on the agent to show that the actions taken by the agent were in the principal’s best interest. Even though the agent failed to keep records of her transactions, the records of the decedent’s nursing facility showed that the payments from the decedent’s funds were all payments to that facility, except for two gifts to grandchildren, for which there was testimony that the gifts were at the direction of the decedent and consistent with her past practice, and so surcharge was denied. Estate of Catherine E. Dunn, 8 Fid.Rep.3d 299, Nos. 1544 AP of 2015 and 1544 PR of 2015 (Philadelphia O.C. 1/23/2017).
The daughter of the decedent did not prove ownership of precious metals that were in the decedent’s home at the of his death because she was the only witness to an alleged gift by the decedent to her during her lifetime and her testimony is barred by the Dead Man’s Act. Even if her testimony were admissible, her self-serving testimony was not credible because she provided no explanation as to why the metals remained in the decedent’s possession after the alleged gift. Estate of Otto C. Nay Jr., No 1304 DE of 2014 (Philadelphia O.C. 12/15/16).
The Supreme Court has adopted amendments to the Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement that will reduce the annual registration fee for active lawyers from $125 to $120, but increase the annual fee that goes to the Lawyers Fund for Client Security from $45 to $75. The annual fee for inactive lawyers will also increase, from $70 to $100. Amendment of Rules 219(a) and (j) and 502(b) of the Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement, No. 149 Disciplinary Rules Doc. (2/15/2017), 47 Pa.B. 1276 (3/4/2017).
Note: The two fees have added up to $170, and yet lawyers have been required to pay $200 each year. The third fee that is collected each year is an annual fee of $30 for the IOLTA Board under Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15(u). With the $5 decrease in the annual registration fee and the $30 increase in the Client Security fee, the new annual total should be $225.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has held that a decedent’s unused federal estate tax exclusion amount (referred to in IRC section 2010 as the “deceased spousal unused exclusion amount,” or “DSUE”) is an asset of the decedent’s estate that the administrator of the estate has a fiduciary duty to preserve for the benefit of the surviving spouse by filing a federal estate tax return, even though a prenuptial agreement barred the surviving spouse from being a beneficiary of the estate. (The surviving spouse had agreed to pay the costs of the required estate tax return.) In the Matter of the Estate of Vose, 2017 OK 3, 390 P.3d 238 (Okla. 1/31/2017).
Armstrong County has amended its Local O.C. Rule 10.7, relating to the filing of inventories. Adoption of New Local Orphans’ Court Rules, No. CP-03-AD-0000001-2016 (1/20/2017), 47 Pa.B. 950 (Armstrong Co. 2/18/17).
A termination of parental rights will be vacated for lack of due process when the trial judge allows the parent to leave the courtroom due to illness and then refuses to allow the parent to reenter the courtroom a few minutes later to testify. In the Interest of A.N.P., 2017 PA Super 21 (1/30/2017).
Armstrong County has published a new fee schedule for the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, to be effective 30 days after publication in the Pa. Bulletin. Adoption of New Local Rules of Court—2002, No. CP-03-AD-0000189-2002 (Armstrong Co. 1/4/2017), 47 Pa.B. 422 (1/28/2017).
The following chart shows the status of legislation introduced in the 2025-2026 session of the Pennsylvania legislature that might be of interest to estate and trust practitioners. (The charts of legislation for 2023-2024, 2021-2022, 2019-2020, 2017-2018, and 2015-2016 have all been archived.) Click on the bill number to see the history or text of the bill. (Includes actions through 5/12/2025.)
| Bill | Purpose/Subject | Adds/Amends | Last House Action | Last Senate Action | Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 18 | Changes the times for reviews of guardianship orders | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 5512.2(a.1) | Referred to Judiciary (1/8/25) | ||
| HB 65 | Amends the filial support law (was HB 2024 of 2023 and HB 169 of 2021) | Amends 23 Pa.C.S. §§ 4602 and 4603 | Referred to House Health (1/10/25) | ||
| HB 105 | Limits inheritance tax to transfers in excess of $100,000 | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (1/14/25) | ||
| HB 167 | Increases bank accounts not requiring administration from $10,000 to $20,000 (was HB 752 of 2023 and HB 1822 of 2021) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b) | Reported from Judiciary; first consideration (3/26/25) | ||
| HB 256 | Exempts all 529 plans from inheritance tax (was HB 2204 of 2024) | Amends § 2111 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 by adding a new subsection (v) | Referred to Finance (1/22/25) | ||
| HB 796 | Reduces inheritance tax rate on lineal descendants and ancestors, and siblings, to the income tax rate, not to exceed 3.07% | Amends §§ 2116(a)(1) and (1.3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/3/25) | ||
| HB 1091 | Changes ultimate intestate heir from Commonwealth to an "endowed community fund" of the decedent's county. | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103 | Referred to Judiciary (4/1/25) | ||
| HB 1109 | Legalizes compassionate aid in dying for the terminally ill. (See SB 570) | Adds a new 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54B, "Compassionate Aid in Dying" | Referred to Judiciary (4/3/25) | ||
| HB 1254 | Enacts new provisions for "Pennsylvania orders for life-sustaining treatment" (POLST) (was HB 294 of 2023, HB 2394 of 2021, HB 987 of 2019, and HB 1196 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and adds a new Subchapter F | Referred to Judiciary (4/17/25) | ||
| HB 1394 | Repeals the inheritance tax (was HB 136 of 2023, HB 1148 of 2021, and HB 77 of 2019) | Repeals Article XXI of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (5/5/25) | ||
| SB 100 | Creates an inheritance tax "family exemption" deduction of $100,000 (was SB 77 of 2023 and HB 2016 of 2021) | Amends § 2127(3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (5/12/25) | ||
| SB 570 | Enacts "End of Life Options Act" (was SB 816 of 2023 and SB 405 of 2021) | Adds new 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54B | Referred to Judiciary (4/11/25) |
Appointment of an independent plenary guardian of the person and estate of an incapacitated person, and not a family member, is appropriate to protect the incapacitated person’s special needs trust when multiple family members live in the house owned and maintained by the trust and might improperly use trust funds for their own benefit and maintenance resulting in the premature depletion of the trust. Schofield Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d (O.C. Bucks Co. 8/18/2016).