In an appeal of a will contest alleging forgery, the appellant waived objections to the propriety of the Orphans’ Court relying on samples of the decedent’s signature that were not formally moved into or admitted into evidence because the court marked the samples as exhibits, took testimony about them, and appeared to intend to use the samples as record evidence and the appellant did not object. It was not an abuse of discretion for the court to find the testimony of the decedent’s lawyer to be credible in denying the authenticity of decedent’s signature on the alleged will even after a motion for reconsideration showing that the lawyer had misled the court on other issues. The findings of the Orphans’ Court that the witnesses to the alleged were “simply mistaken” in their testimony about the preparation and execution of the will were supported by the record, and the will was shown to be a forgery by clear and convincing evidence. In re: Justino Petaccio, Deceased, 635 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 12/24/2024) (non-precedential).
The Orphans’ Court found that the witnesses who testified to the decedent’s signature on the disputed will were credible, and that factual finding was binding on the appellate court. The finding by the Orphans’ Court that the appellant had knowingly and voluntarily disclaimed his rights to the estate was also supported by the record, and so the appellant had no interest in the estate and could not compel an accounting by the executor. These and other issues raised by the pro se appellant were waived by failing to raise them before the Orphans’ Court or were not adequately developed on appeal. In re: Estate of Helen Harm, 1702 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 1/14/2025) (non-precedential).
The “testamentary exception” to the attorney-client privilege would allow the admission of evidence of communications between the decedent and his lawyer in order to carry out the testamentary intentions of the decedent, but the exception will not be extended to communications between the surviving spouse and her lawyer in order to prove a contract to make a will. Kyriakopoulos v. Maigetter, ___ F.4th ___, No. 23-2276 (3rd Cir. 11/20/2024) (precedential; applying Pennsylvania law).
The following chart shows the status of legislation introduced in the 2023-2024 session of the Pennsylvania legislature that might be of interest to estate and trust practitioners. Click on the bill number to see the history or text of the bill.
| Bill | Purpose/Subject | Adds/Amends | Last House Action | Last Senate Action | Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 26 | Allows income tax refunds to be paid to family members without letters | Adds 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(f) | Referred to Finance (3/7/23) | ||
| HB 40 | Excludes property payable under 3101 from $50,000 limit on small estate petitions (was HB 2016 of 2021) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 | Referred to Judiciary (3/7/23) | ||
| HB 115 | Allows unclaimed property to pass to nieces, nephews, grandparents, uncles, and aunts | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(e) | Third consideration and final passage (5/1/23) | Third consideration and final passage (7/11/24) | Act 65 (7/17/2024) |
| HB 136 | Repeals the inheritance tax (was HB 1148 of 2021 and HB 77 of 2019) | Repeals Article XXI of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/7/23) | ||
| HB 168 | Lowers the inheritance tax rate for lineal descendants, ascendants, and siblings to 3.07% (or same as income tax rate) | Amends § 2111(a)(1) and (1.3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (4/28/23) | ||
| HB 294 | Enacts new provisions for "Pennsylvania orders for life-sustaining treatment" (POLST) (was HB 2394 of 2021, HB 987 of 2019, and HB 1196 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and adds a new Subchapter F | Referred to Judiciary (3/10/23) | ||
| HB 350 | Adopts the Uniform Parentage Act | Amends several sections of Title 23 and adds a new Part IX-A, which includes a new § 9708 on the parental status of a deceased individual | Third consideration and final passage (6/24/24) | Referred to Judiciary (6/30/24) | |
| HB 434 | Allows advertisement of grant of letters through a website of the Register rather than a newspaper of of general circulation | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3162 | Referred to Judiciary (3/15/23) | ||
| HB 543 | Allows requests for "compassionate" end-of-life medication for qualified patients | Adds 20 Pa.C.S. § Ch. 54B | Referred to Health (3/20/23) | ||
| HB 654 | Creates new procedure for descent of primary residences | Adds 20 Pa.C.S. § 3103 | Referred to Judiciary (3/21/23) | ||
| HB 752 | Increases bank accounts not requiring administration from $10,000 to $20,000 (was HB 1822 of 2021) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b) | Re-committed to Rules (9/22/23) | ||
| HB 1397 | Amends guardianship procedures on counsel for alleged incapacitated person, consideration of less restrictive alternatives, and certification of individuals with three or more appointments as guardian | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5511 and 5512.1 | Referred to Judiciary (6/13/23) | ||
| HB 1460 | Requires training of public pension fund and state fund fiduciaries | Adds a new Ch. 74 to Title 20 Pa.C.S. | Referred to Finance (6/21/23) | ||
| HB 1636 | Applies federal grantor trust rules to PA income tax (see also SB 815) | Amends sections 302 and 305 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (8/29/23) | ||
| HB 1760 | Amends Slayer's Act to impose forfeiture on persons convicted of elder abuse (was HB 1845 of 2019 and HB 2754of 2021) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2106 and 2507 and Ch. 88 | Third consideration and final passage (12/13/23) | Third consideration and final passage (6/27/24) | Act 40 (7/1/2024) |
| HB 2064 | Requires financial institutions to comply with laws for reporting financial exploitation of older adults | Adds a new chapter to the Older Adults Protective Services Act, No. 79 of 1987 | Third consideration and final passage (7/2/24) | Referred to Banking and Insurance (7/17/24) | |
| HB 2204 | Exempts all 529 plans from inheritance tax | Amends § 2111 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 by adding a new subsection (v) | Referred to Finance (4/16/24) | ||
| HB 2232 | Enacts Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act | Adds new Chapter 21A to Title 20 | Third consideration and final passage (7/2/24) | Referred to Judiciary (7/17/24) | |
| HB 2276 | Limits inheritance tax to transfers in excess of $100,000 | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (5/9/24) | ||
| SB 75 | Phases out inheritance tax on siblings (was SB 27 of 2019 and SB 583 of 2021) | Amends § 2116(a)(1.3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (1/12/23) | ||
| SB 77 | Creates an inheritance tax "family exemption" deduction of $100,000 (was HB 2016 of 2021) | Amends § 2127(3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Second consideration; re-referred to Appropriations (5/8/24) | ||
| SB 506 | Amends guardianship procedures on counsel for alleged incapacitated person, consideration of less restrictive alternatives, and certification of individuals with three or more appointments as guardian (was SB 1333 of 2021) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5511 and 5512.1 | Third consideration and final passage (12/13/23) | Third consideration and final passage (6/26/23) | Act 61 (12/14/2023) |
| SB 631 | New provisions for "PA Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment" (POLST) (was HB 2394 of 2021, HB 987 of 2019, and HB 1196 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and adds new Subchapter F | Referred to Health and Human Services (4/28/23) | ||
| SB 815 | Applies federal grantor trust rules to PA income tax (was SB 1321 of 2021) | Amends §§ 302 and 305 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Third consideration and final passage (12/12/23) | Senate concurs in House amendments (12/13/23) | Act 64 (12/14/2023) |
| SB 816 | Enacts "End of Life Options Act" (was SB 405 of 2021) | Adds new 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54B | Referred to Judiciary (6/23/23) | ||
| SB 1084 | Amends UCC for electronic transactions, and agent's access to content of electronic communications | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601.4(a)(9) | Re-reported from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (6/26/24) | Third consideration and final passage (6/5/24) | Act 41 (7/1/2024) |
| SB 1231 | Amends the Uniform Trust Act to include a new subchapter on "directed trusts" and to update some terminology | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 77 to include a new Subchapter H.1 and amends numerous other sections | Re-reported from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (7/3/24) | Third consideration and final passage (6/24/24) | Act 64(7/15/2024) |
York County has published new fee schedules for its Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court. “Fee Bill for the Office of the Register of Wills; No. 6724-8888” (12/17/2024), 55 Pa.B. 23 (1/4/2025); “Fee Bill for the Office of the Orphans’ Court; No. 6724-9999” (12/17/2024), 55 Pa.B. 22 (1/4/2025).
It was proper for the Orphans’ Court to dismiss objections to an account of an executor for amounts paid to the executor for legal fees incurred in defending the executor against claims asserted against the executor as agent under the decedent’s general power of attorney when the power stated that the principal agreed to indemnify his agent for all claims that might be made against the agent as a result of his service. It was also proper for the court to dismiss objections to legal fees paid by the estate in connection with the same litigation under the power of attorney because the main issue in the litigation was an estate issue and the attorney for the estate had been allowed to intervene. In re: Estate of Bernard L. Klionsky, 198 WDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 11/21/2024) (non-precedential).
In an action by a lawyer for the collection from an estate of contingent fees owed by the heirs for representation in a will contest, the heirs had standing to appeal from the decisions of the Orphans’ Court but the administrators of the estate did not because there was no surcharge against them and so they were not adversely affected by the decisions of the court. An agreement for a contingent fee of “40% of any judgment” was interpreted to mean 40% of the net value of the estate passing to the heirs, and not 40% of the gross inventory value of the assets of the estate, and additional fees for appellate work was not allowed because the agreement allowed for additional compensation for an appeal by the heirs of an unsuccessful result but did not allow any additional compensation for an appeal by the opposing parties after a successful result for the heirs. In re: Estate of John J. Thomas, Deceased, 1297 WDA 2023 (Pa. Super. 10/24/2024) (non-precedential).
The Orphans’ Court had jurisdiction in a dispute over a provision in a will directing that the testator’s wife “remain on the payroll” of a corporation he controlled, and the dispute did not become moot by reason of the wife’s death during the litigation, but the direction was unenforceable because the gifts of the testator’s stock in the corporation were unconditional and so the direction was precatory, and because a shareholder cannot dictate the policies of a corporation by will. In re: Estate of Kenneth C. Haugh, Deceased, 163 MDA 2023 (Pa. Super. 11/4/2024) (non-precedential).
It was not an abuse of discretion for the Orphans’ Court to sustain objections to a notice of intention to issue a subpoena when the subpoena would be issued after the deadline for discovery had passed, and it was not an abuse of discretion to exclude expert medical testimony on the issue of weakened intellect when the expert did not examine the decedent and had formed an opinion based on medical records from three months after the decedent had executed the contested will. It was not an error for the Orphans’ Court to grant a nonsuit a will contest when the attorney who had prepared the contested will testified that the decedent did not appear to be under any undue influence and the court considered the testimony credible even though the attorney had been convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice and had been disbarred, when the contestant’s only evidence of the decedent’s alleged weakened intellect was her own testimony that his diary entries included misspelled words and bad grammar, and when there was a lack of clear evidence of a confidential relationship between the decedent and his girlfriend who benefitted from the contested will. In re: Estate of Joseph Tecce, Deceased, 2953 EDA 2023 (Pa. Super. 11/18/2024) (non-precedential), aff’g 2 Fid.Rep.4th 354 (Delaware O.C. 2024).
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, no evidence as to the delivery of the checks, and no evidence of donative intent, and a constructive trust was imposed on the balance of the funds remaining after the depositor had used some of the funds to pay for the decedent’s household expenses and home health care. In re: Estate of Joseph M. Marchione, Deceased, 566 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 11/18/2024) (non-precedential).