Error to Confirm Agent’s Account

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 rounded expenses each month, the agent failed to comply with discovery orders to provide financial records, and the agent failed to appear at the hearing on the objections to the account. Although the evidence showed that the agent had failed to account for funds that were transferred out of the principal’s accounts both during the principal’s lifetime and following her death, the surcharge imposed by the court was limited to the unpaid debt owed to one known creditor. The adjudication was therefore reversed and remanded for consideration of the proper surcharge amount. In re: Dorothy S. Beam, Principal, ___ A.4th ___, 2025 PA Super 136 (7/1/2025), rev’g 2 Fid.Rep.4th 385 (Philadelphia O.C. 2024).

Comments are closed.