Judge Tunnell of Chester County addressed a number of interesting and practical issues in his adjudication in Griggs Revocable Trust, 9 Fid.Rep.3d 85 (Chester O.C. 2019), including whether a trustee who has resigned (or been removed) can delay transferring trust...
Bucks County has vacated Bucks Co. O.C. Rules 14.2A through 14.5I and and adopted Rules 14.2A (Notice of Mental Health Commitment), 14.2B (Withdrawal of Petition), and 14.9A (Allowances), all relating to guardianships. “Order Rescinding Orphans’ Court Rules 14.2A through 14.5I … Continue reading
There have been attempts from time to time in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to repeal the Pennsylvania inheritance tax, but those attempts have always died in the Senate. It is therefore noteworthy that a bill to repeal the inheritance … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Committee on Rules of Evidence has published a proposed addition to the official comment to Pa.R.E. Rule 401 (“Test for Relevant Evidence”). The new comment would state that: “Generally, evidence of a person’s race, sex, gender identity … Continue reading
The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court has announced that, for the 2019-2020 Registration Year, the penalty for failing to complete registration by July 16 will be $200, with an additional $200 penalty for failing to complete registration by August … Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that, starting May 13, all applications for an employer identification number (EIN), whether submitted on-line or on Form SS-4, will require the name of an individual and either a Social Security number (SSN) or … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has amended the Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement to shorten the times for penalties after the annual due date for attorney registration. Attorney registrations are due July 1, and a nonwaivable penalty had been imposed for registrations not … Continue reading
[The following is the text of the comments (with some corrections for typographical errors) I have submitted to the Treasury Department on the proposed regulation that addresses changes in the federal estate tax exclusion amount under the tax reconciliation act … 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