Writing “2020” and Not “20”

Posted on by January 15, 2020

I’ve seen more than one article recommending that, when we (meaning the public generally and not just lawyers) write the year on checks and other documents, we should write out the whole year, “2020,” and not just the last two digits, “20.”

The reasons is that, if you write only “20,” the date can be altered by just adding two more digits at the end, so that “20” could easily become “2019” or “2021.” (There was reportedly a similar concern in 1919.)

I’m not sure what advantage there could be in backdating (or postdating) a check by one year, but writing out the full year does no harm, and takes very little in the way of time or ink (or printer toner), and so seems like a good idea.

Login/Logout Confusion

Posted on by January 7, 2020

I recently learned that, when subscribers log onto this site, they don’t see the home page, but a “profile” or “dashboard” page which I found to be both confusing and useless.

I’ve reconfigured the site so that, after logging in, subscribers will next see the home page.

I also found that there was no way to log out after logging it, and so I added a “Log Out” choice on the main menu.

I hope that these changes improve the experience of using this site.

Problems with New Forms for Register of Wills

Posted on by January 3, 2020

It was previously reported that new Orphans’ Court forms, and new forms for use before the Register of Wills, had been posted to the collection of Orphans’ Court forms on the pacourts.us website, to be effective January 1, 2020. It now appears that there is a problem with two of the forms.

New Form RW-04 (“Oath of Non-subscribing Winess(es)”) and new Form RW-05 (“Oath of Witness(es) to Will Executed by Mark”) include both jurats for execution of the oaths in the Register’s office and jurats for execution of the oaths before a notary public outside of the Register’s office. However, the relevant statute, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3154, requires that those oaths be taken either before the Register or, if taken outside of Pennsylvania, by a public officer of the other jurisdiction having duties similar to those of the Register.

The new forms are still usable, but practitioners should not be misled into thinking that the oaths can be taken before a notary public outside of the Register’s office.

New Pa.O.C. Rule 1.40 for “In Forma Pauperis”

The Supreme Court has entered an order adopting a new Pa.O.C. Rule 1.40 which applies Pa.R.C.P. 240 (“In Forma Pauperis“) to Orphans’ Court proceedings, to be effective April 1, 2020. Rule 14.8, on guardianship reporting, has also been amended to include a note that cross-references Pa.R.J.A. 510, which governs the filing of inventories and reports under the Guardianship Tracking System. The report of the Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has also been published. “In Re: Order Adopting Rule 1.40 and Amending the Note to Rule 14.8 of the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rules,” No. 820 Rules Doc. (1/2/2020), 50 Pa.B. 306 (1/18/2020).

Retirement Plan Mandatory Distribution Changes

Posted on by January 5, 2020

Among the more significant tax law changes made by the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019,” also known as the SECURE Act, enacted as Division O of P.L. 116-94, H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,…

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Applicable Federal Rates for 2019

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HTML Version Copyright 2018-2025 Daniel B. Evans. All rights reserved.

— Short Term Rates for 2019 —

MonthAnnualSemiann.QuarterlyMonthly
Jan.2.72%2.70%2.69%2.68%
Feb.2.57%2.55%2.54%2.54%
March2.55%2.53%2.52%2.52%
April2.52%2.50%2.49%2.49%
May2.39%2.38%2.37%2.37%
June2.37%2.36%2.35%2.35%
July2.13%2.12%2.11%2.11%
Aug.1.91%1.90%1.90%1.89%
Sept.1.85%1.84%1.84%1.83%
Oct.1.69%1.68%1.68%1.67%
Nov.1.68%1.67%1.67%1.66%
Dec.1.61%1.60%1.60%1.59%

— Mid Term Rates for 2019 —

MonthAnnualSemiann.QuarterlyMonthly
Jan.2.89%2.87%2.86%2.85%
Feb.2.63%2.61%2.60%2.60%
March2.59%2.57%2.56%2.56%
April2.55%2.53%2.52%2.52%
May2.37%2.36%2.35%2.35%
June2.38%2.37%2.36%2.36%
July2.08%2.07%2.06%2.06%
Aug.1.87%1.86%1.86%1.85%
Sept.1.78%1.77%1.77%1.76%
Oct.1.51%1.50%1.50%1.50%
Nov.1.59%1.58%1.58%1.57%
Dec.1.69%1.68%1.68%1.67%

 — Long Term Rates for 2019 —

MonthAnnualSemiann.QuarterlyMonthly
Jan.3.15%3.13%3.12%3.11%
Feb.2.91%2.89%2.88%2.87%
March2.91%2.89%2.88%2.87%
April2.89%2.87%2.86%2.85%
May2.74%2.72%2.71%2.70%
June2.76%2.74%2.73%2.72%
July2.50%2.48%2.47%2.47%
Aug.2.33%2.32%2.31%2.31%
Sept.2.21%2.20%2.19%2.19%
Oct.1.86%1.85%1.85%1.84%
Nov.1.94%1.93%1.93%1.92%
Dec.2.09%2.08%2.07%2.07%

Revised Orphans’ Court Forms

Posted on by December 18, 2019

Revised O.C. Forms OC-1 through OC-5 and RW-03 through RW-10, that were approved as part of “Order Amendment Rules 1.7, 1.8, 2.1, 2.5, 2.7, 3.5, 3.7, 4.3, 4.6, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 7.1, 10.1, 10.5, and the Index of the Appendix of the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rules, and Rescinding and Replacing Forms OC-1 Through OC-5 and RW-03 Through RW-10,” No. 808 Supreme Court Rules Doc. (10/31/2019), 49 Pa.B. 6804 (11/16/2019), have been posted to the collection of Orphans’ Court forms on the pacourts.us website. These new forms are effective 1/1/2020.

See “Amendments to Orphans’ Court Rules” and “Which Trust Beneficiaries Get Notices of Estate Administration?” for comments on some of the changes made by the new rules.

Final Regulations on Exclusion Amount Changes

Posted on by December 26, 2019

The Internal Revenue Service has published final regulations on the changes to the federal estate and gift tax basic exclusion amount (BEA), which doubled from $5 million to $10 million in 2018, but will return to $5 million in 2026. “Estate and Gift Taxes; Differences in the Basic Exclusion Amount,” TD 9884, 84 F.R. 64995 (11/26/2019), Doc. No. 2019-25601.

The final regulations appear to be effectively the same as the proposed regulations, and my comments on the proposed regulations can be found in “Proposed Regulations on Exclusion Amount Changes.” (The Internal Revenue Service did not adopt my alternative approach, which is explained in my “Comments on Proposed Regulations on Exclusion Amount Changes,” and the reasons that my comments were rejected are explained in part 8 of the preamble to the final regulations.)