Below are the comments I have submitted to the Pa. Disciplinary Board on the proposed change to Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 217 that would require all “formerly admitted attorneys” to resign from all fiduciary positions, regardless of whether the lawyer … Continue reading
Category Archives: News
It has only now come to our attention that amendments to Pennsylvania disciplinary rules were proposed in September, with a comment period ending November 3. The amendments are intended to reduce lawyer misappropriations from client funds and fiduciary funds in … Continue reading
On October 27, 2014, Governor Corbett signed SB 428, making it Act 186 of 2014. The act makes changes to 20 Pa.C.S. 7799.3, which deals with pooled trusts for people with disabilities. The most significant change is that, when a … Continue reading
The IRS has issued five identical private letter rulings, apparently to five different parties involved in the same transaction, confirming that a court-approved reformation of a trust in accordance with § 415 of the Uniform Trust Code would be respected … Continue reading
Both houses of the legislature have passed SB 428, which makes changes to Pennsylvania laws on pooled trusts for persons with disabilities. … Continue reading
At its recently completed 2014 annual meeting, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law approved the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. When enacted by the various states, the act will provide personal representatives of estates, agents … Continue reading
As previously reported, the IRS has published final regulations on the expenses of estates and trusts that are subject to the 2% floor for miscellaneous itemized deductions. T.D. 9664, 79 F.R. 26616 (5/9/2014) These final regulations require estates and trusts … Continue reading
Pennsylvania H.B. 1429, which makes a number of changes to the form and effect of powers of attorney, was signed by Governor Corbett on July 2, becoming Act 95 of 2014. Updated on July 10: Here is the first installment … Continue reading
For the past several years, many tax practitioners have been adding a form of disclaimer to every email because of concerns about the “covered opinion” rules of Circular 230. On June 9, the Treasury published final regulations amending Circular 230 … Continue reading
I’m late in reporting that a federal district court has struck down Pennsylvania’s “mini-DOMA,” 23 Pa.C.S. § 1102, which defines “marriage” as “[a] civil contract by which one man and one woman take each other for husband and wife,” as … Continue reading