Category Archives: Articles
This second part of a four part series describes the changes made by Act 95 of 2014 to the authority of agents to make gifts and other acts affecting the principal's estate plan and the disposition of property after the death of the principal.
House Bill 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. The more important changes made by Act 95 include new requirements for witnesses and notarized acknowledgements, changes to the notice to the principal and the required acknowledgements by agents, new limits on the liability of third parties in order to reverse the reasoning of the Supreme Court in the Vine decision, new limits on the power of agents to make gifts and other estate planning actions, and a revision and restatement of the duties and liabilities of agents.
Continue readingA summary of the policies and procedures that were developed for a nonprofit hospice for end-of-life medical decisions by staff and participants.
Continue readingJurisdiction of the Orphans’ Court is primarily “in rem” jurisdiction, which means that other courts cannot exercise jurisdiction over the administration of an estate or trust that is being administered under the jurisdiction of the Orphans’ Court.
Continue readingRecommendations for drafting tax clauses for wills (or revocable trusts) specifying what kinds of estate and inheritance taxes should, and should not, be paid from the residue of the estate (or revocable trust).
Continue readingWhen medical information is needed for a will contest, it may be necessary to deal with the privacy requirements of the regulations adopted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Continue readingWhen a married settlor creates a charitable remainder trust with himself or herself as a non-charitable beneficiary, the settlor’s spouse may have elective rights under Pennsylvania law upon the death of the settlor that will disqualify the trust as a charitable remainder trust unless the settlor complies with Rev. Proc. 2005-24.
Continue readingGenerally speaking, the Pennsylvania inheritance tax is applied to the pre-tax estate and not the estate after payment of the tax, and the pre-residuary gifts is paid from the residue. The Commonwealth Court has held that, when the residue is depleted by the tax on pre-residuary gifts, the tax rate to apply to the residue is the same rate that applies to the pre-residuary gifts, and the same rationale could apply to estate in which the residue is not depleted by the tax.
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