It was not error for the Orphans’ Court to enter an order enforcing the recommendations of a mediator when the parties had agreed to “binding mediation” and the agreed-upon mediator had consulted with both parties, even though the mediator never … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
The confirmation of an agent’s account by the Orphans’ Court was an error of law, was an abuse of discretion, and was unsupported by the record when the agent for the deceased principal filed an account that showed the same … Continue reading
The testator’s direction that his estate “be equally divided among” his siblings did not evidence an intent to override the anti-lapse statute, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2514(9). However, the Orphans’ Court erred in holding that the distributions to the issues of … Continue reading
When the executors who were originally granted letters have resigned and an administrator has been appointed to complete the administration of the estate, and the administrator files an account that covers only his own administration and not the administration of … Continue reading
In an appeal from the probate of a 2011 will, the Orphans’ Court did not err in refusing to probate a will allegedly signed by the decedent in 2014 when the proponent of the 2014 will was able to produce … Continue reading
An heir who was occupying real estate at the death of the decedent with the consent of the decedent is not entitled to a hearing before being ordered to vacate the property and deliver possession to the administrator, and the … Continue reading
Although the will was not self-proving because one the subscribing witnesses did not witness the execution of the will, the Orphans’ Court found that two witnesses who observed the signing of the will through the window of the decedent’s home … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court found the witnesses in support of the authenticity of the will to be credible, and did not find the petitioner’s allegations of forgery to be credible. The signatures in the margins of the pages of the will … Continue reading
The trust document stated that the beneficiary of a trust “shall become a Co-Trustee of his or her respective trust” upon reaching thirty years of age. By several emails sent to the trustee already serving and to the financial institution … Continue reading
An agreement among the children of the decedent, entered into during their father’s lifetime, under which they released “all claims” against each other “whatsoever, at law or in equity, known or unknown, asserted or unasserted, contingent or accrued, [and] discovered … Continue reading