It is quite common for a broker or other payor to issue Forms 1099-INT or 1099-DIV in the name of the decedent, and with the decedent’s security number, reporting income received after death. This happens because brokers continue to record...
The property that is owned by a decedent at death is administered by the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate and is always subject to the claims of the decedent’s creditors. The Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code (“PEF Code”),...
The IRS has issued five identical private letter rulings, PLRs 201442042, 201442043, 201442044, 201442045, and 201442046, apparently to five different parties involved in the same transaction, agreeing that a court-approved reformation of a trust in accordance with § 415 of...
[This article was published in the PBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, No. 73 (Summer 2013), p. 12, and has not been significantly revised beyond updating some citations.] In United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744, 133 S. … Continue reading
This article will explain some of the drafting decision reflected in the author’s sample form of durable general power of attorney (“the form”). The form and this commentary were originally published on 12/1/2014 to reflect changes to 20 Pa.C.S. Ch....
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
This fourth and final part of a four part series describes the changes made by Act 95 of 2014 to the duties and liabilities of agents, as well as a few miscellaneous changes not covered by previous parts.
This third part of a four part series on Act 95 of 2014 describes the changes made to the provisions for liabilities of third parties relying upon, or refusing to accept, a power of attorney.
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.
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