Plaintiff in divorce action may file for discontinuance after death of spouse and before commencement of trial regardless of whether grounds for divorce have been established, and so have her rights in the estate determined under the Probate, Estates and … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
The court determined the spouse’s elective share rights in real property owned by the decedent and another person as joint tenants with right of survivorship, in joint bank accounts, and a fixed annuity contract held in a joint investment account, … Continue reading
Executor fee of $283,443.24 (2.45%) out of estate of $11.5 million, consisting almost entirely of cash, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, was approved because of the quality of work performed in liquidating assets and administering the estate. Naugle Estate, 6 … Continue reading
Orphans’ Court is unable to rule on objections to the $120,000 in fees paid to deceased lawyer-executor in the absence of evidence of time spent, services rendered, or hourly rates; son (also a lawyer) who had attempted to complete the … Continue reading
Orphans’ Court has power under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5536(b) to approve changes to an incapacitated person’s will or trusts that would disinherit persons currently included as beneficiaries. Navarra Estate, 6 Fid.Rep.3d 368 (O.C. Lawrence Co. 4/29/2016). (For the later decision … Continue reading
Trial courts have discretion in the management of cases before them, and orders allowing interim distributions, and attempting to provide a procedure to deal with objections to deposition questions and to try to discourage an obdurate litigant from attempting to … Continue reading
Orphans’ Court has jurisdiction to review account of nonprofit corporation providing health care services, but its review under 20 Pa.C.S. § 711(21) and Pa. Rule of Judicial Administration 2156 is limited to whether the corporation has failed to comply with … Continue reading
Parental rights of father terminated when newborn child was conceived as the result of “statutory sexual assault” (formerly known as “statutory rape”) to which father pled guilty, and father knew of the child’s birth but failed to make reasonable efforts … Continue reading
After second wife of decedent had the remains of her late husband disinterred from his original grave and reburied at a different cemetery, the petition of the decedent’s children to have their father disinterred a second time and reburied in … Continue reading
Trustee not surcharged for sale of property below assessed value because after two years of attempting to sell the property, which was in deteriorating condition, the acceptance of the highest bid at a public auction was reasonable. The trustee was … Continue reading