The issuance of two checks by the decedent payable to himself and endorsed in blank was insufficient to establish gifts to the depositor of the checks when there was no evidence of the relationship between the decedent and the depositor, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
An historical society which had donated artifacts to a museum with rights to notice of any sale of the artifacts, a share of any proceeds of sale of any artifact, and an acknowledgement of its former ownership, did not have … Continue reading
The decision of the trustee to allocate some principal to income in accordance with 20 Pa.C.S. § 8104 in order to provide the income beneficiary with 3.2% of the three year average of the value of the trust principal was … Continue reading
An agreement to settle litigation is governed by principles of contract law, and an oral agreement among multiple parties may be enforced by the court even though the parties intend to later reduce the contract to writing. The Orphans’ Court … Continue reading
The Superior Court had previously held that the decedent’s revocable trust was ambiguous and had remanded the case for the consideration of extrinsic evidence of the decedent’s intent, and so reversed the Orphans’ Court when it disregarded the evidence that … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court had jurisdiction to appoint an administrator of an estate following the removal of the administrator originally agreed to by the parties and it was not necessary to remand the choice of administrators to the Register of Wills. … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court was justified in imposing counsel fees to an estate for “vexatious, arbitrary, and obdurate” conduct by claimants when the claims were for an unconscionable and unenforceable penalty clause in a contract and for rent under a lease … Continue reading
Florida was the proper jurisdiction to probate the will of the decedent, and not Pennsylvania, when the decedent was physically present in Florida for the last years of his life, had obtained a Florida driver’s license, had registered to vote … Continue reading
The trustee’s final account showed that the $10 million life insurance policy owned by the trust lapsed when the obligation of the employer to pay premiums under the split dollar agreement ended, the cash surrender value of the policy was … Continue reading
The authenticity of a lease was denied, and claims against the estate based on the lease were dismissed, when there were inconsistencies in both the signature of the decedent and among the pages of the lease. Mulligan Estate (No. 2), … Continue reading