A beneficiary who is entitled to an annuity of $2,400 each year for life from a trust did not have have a “direct, immediate and substantial” interest in transactions reported in the trustee’s account covering a period during which the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
The Orphans’ Court did not have jurisdiction under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3521 to reopen the adjudication of the informal account of the guardian of the estate of a minor merely because of allegations that the investments of the guardian underperformed. … Continue reading
Although it is proper to petition a trial court for a stay pending an appeal, a denial of the petition can not be appealed and a petition for a stay must be filed with the appellate court. In re: Passarelli … Continue reading
An order denying preliminary objections that seek to enforce an arbitration clause is an interlocutory order that is appealable as of right, and an arbitration clause incorporated into a brokerage agreement signed by an individual trustee is enforceable against the … Continue reading
An action for tortious interference with a right of inheritance cannot be brought against a lawyer for inter vivos transfers when the lawyer (a) prepared a power of attorney naming an agent who later abused the powers granted to the … Continue reading
Executor named in will was unfit to serve because he as admittedly insolvent, had been convicted of financial crimes, and had been abusing his powers as agent during his parents’ lifetimes, for which he was later convicted of criminal offenses. … Continue reading
Although the two children of the decedent had different claims about their mother’s wishes for the disposition of her cremated remains, they both testified that she wished her ashes to be disposed of along with the ashes of her deceased … Continue reading
Although there was evidence of cohabitation and a reputation as husband and wife, there was no evidence of joint income tax returns and no testimony by the alleged surviving wife, and there was evidence that the parties had not married … Continue reading
Judgment on the pleadings in an action for ejectment will be granted where the allegation of a common law marriage is based solely on cohabitation and an employer’s classification of one of the parties as a “domestic partner.” The grant … Continue reading
The decedent’s inter vivos trust directed the division of the trust into a marital deduction trust and nonmarital trust, but no marital trust was necessary because the gross estate was less than the federal estate tax exclusion amount. The administration … Continue reading