It was not error for the Orphans’ Court to refuse to consider the actions taken by the executor to administer the estate after the petition for removal had been filed. In re: Estate of Linda J. Cook, 859 WDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 8/12/2025) (non-precedential).
When the two trustees disagreed about whether to sell the real property held in the trust or to continue to rent it out, one trustee was removed for breaches of trust because he acted unilaterally to stop offering the property for rent, which caused a loss of income for the trust, and he used trust funds to hire a lawyer to force a sale of the the property without consulting the co-trustee. Those actions were also a failure to cooperate that substantially impaired the administration of the trust, also supporting removal. The court declined to issue any order resolving the question of whether or not to sell the property until the remaining trustee and the new co-trustee had had an opportunity to agree on how to exercise their discretion. Smith Living Trust, 3 Fid.Rep.4th 71 (Montgomery O.C. 2025).
The Internal Revenue Service has published a draft of Form 706, “United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return,” for decedents dying in 2025.
There are a number of changes from the 2024 version of Form 706, some similar to the changes made to the gift tax return (Form 709), and those practitioners who will need to file federal estate tax returns for 2025 will want to start reviewing the return now to be prepared to complete and file the revised return when it is final.
In the article on the increase in the federal estate tax exclusion amount under the “megabill” enacted as P.L. 119-21 (see “Federal Estate Tax Exclusion Increased to $15 Million”), it was reported that a number of income tax provisions that…
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The decedent’s will gave his home in trust “for the sole occupancy” of the decedent’s friend and caretaker, “until she vacates said premises, or upon her death.” The Orphans’ Court erroneously held that the beneficiary had a life estate, but she had only a right of occupancy. Because the appellant failed to show that the sale of the property was needed to pay inheritance tax, the decree denying a sale of the property under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3351 was affirmed. In re: Estate of David A. Byerly, 2025 PA Super 169, ___ A.4th ___ (8/1/2025).
York County has adopted a new local rule of Orphans’ Court Procedure 5.50.1, “Settlement of Small Estate by Petition.” “Adoption of Local Rule of Orphans’ Court Procedure 5.50.1; 6725-1448” (7/18/2025), 55 Pa.B. 5108 (8/2/2025).
Schuylkill County has adopted a new Sch.R.C.P. 2064 for the compromise, settlement, discontinuance, or distribution in an action involving an incapacitated person. “Administrative Order; No. S-1580-25” (7/9/2025), 55 Pa.B. 4971 (7/26/2025).
An appeal of the appointment of a plenary guardian for an alleged incapacitated person (AIP) is generally moot following the death of the AIP, and the exception for appeals raising issues of public importance or that would otherwise evade review does not apply because issues raised in appeals challenging the appointment of guardians can usually be resolved in those appeals, there are other remedies for any improper actions by the appointed guardian (such actions as by or against the AIP’s estate), and there was no claim that the issues raised were of public importance. In re: S.C., 3024 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 7/21/2025) (non-precedential).
I’ve seen and heard many questions from lawyers over the years who are representing personal representatives (i.e., executors or administrators) of an estate and who are not certain about what to do do when there has been no notice of…
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An interim order, entered with the consent of the husband and wife during a divorce proceeding, that awarded real property owned by the husband and wife as tenants by the entireties to the husband, was an enforceable marital settlement agreement that made the property an asset of the husband’s estate even though no deed was ever delivered and no divorce decree was entered due to the death of the husband during the divorce proceedings. In re: Estate of Gary John Carlisle, 971 WDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 7/15/2025) (non-precedential).