Jurisdiction over Guardianship (Pa. Super.)

An appeal of a denial of legal fees is not an interlocutory appeal but an appeal allowable under Pa.R.A.P. 342(a)(5) because it is a determination of whether the petitioner is a creditor of the incapacitated person’s estate. However, a determination of incapacity is a form of in rem jurisdiction, and so a lack of jurisdiction over the incapacitated person is a non-waivable lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The in rem jurisdiction that the Orphans’ Court needs to adjudicate incapacity is the “jurisdiction” that is defined by the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA), 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 59, so an issue under the UAGPPJA may be raised at any time. Whether the alleged incapacitated person intended to leave Pennsylvania temporarily was not determined by the Orphans’ Court, so the case was remanded to make that determination as well as other factual findings that may be necessary under the UAGPPJA, before the Superior Court could reach the merits of the fee dispute. In re: Mary D. Avery, an Alleged Incapacitated Person, ___ A.4th ___, 2026 PA Super 124 (6/16/2026).

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