Gift to Disbanded Ambulance Association

Testamentary gift to disbanded volunteer ambulance association was awarded under the cy pres doctrine to a volunteer fire department providing first responder services to the same community. Estate of Kendell B. Cramer, Deceased, 8 Fid.Rep.3d 315 (O.C. Monroe Co. 2018)

CLAT Webcalculator

A new Webcalculator for charitable remainder lead trusts (CLATs) is now up and running.  It includes computations of the payouts necessary to zero-out the noncharitable remainders of CLATs with increasing annuity payouts and “shark fin” CLATs in which the remainder is minimized by increasing the final annuity payment.

Delaware Co. Fees Amended

Delaware County has amended its fee schedule for the Register of Wills and Orphans’ Court, increasing per page certification fees to $1.00 per page, to be effective February 1, 2019. “Amendments to the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court Division Fee Schedules; File No. 795-2018” (Delaware Co. 12/10/2018), 49 Pa.B. 12 (1/5/2019).

CRAT Webcalculator

A new Webcalculator for charitable remainder annuity trusts (CRATs) is now up and running.  It includes projections for when a trust might terminate if the trust incorporates the language of Rev. Proc. 2016-42 so that the trust terminates before it exhausts, and the 5% exhaustion test of Rev. Rul. 77-374 does not apply.

Proposed New Confidentiality Exception

The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court has proposed amending the Rules of Professional Conduct to add an additional exception to client confidentiality, allowing lawyers to make disclosures the lawyer reasonably believes are necessary “to comply with other law or court order.” “Proposed Amendments to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct Relating to Confidentiality of Information,” 48 Pa.B. 7743 (12/22/2018).

Philadelphia Deferment of Legacy Incapacitated Cases

The Orphans’ Court of Philadelphia County has entered an administrative order directing that “legacy” incapacitated person cases with no docket activity for more than 10 years, and which lack information in the court’s case management system that is needed to determine if the case is active or inactive, be marked “Deferred” until the court can review the case to determine if it is active or inactive.

This order arose out of the need to provide the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts a list of all active incapacitated person cases for the new Guardianship Tracking System.

“Deferment of Legacy Incapacitated Cases; Administrative Order No. 01 of 2018,” (Philadelphia O.C. 11/29/2018), 48 Pa.B. 7634 (12/15/2018).