In a proceeding involving real property owned by three related estates and related individuals, the court approved a private sale among the parties, a partition of the proceeds of sale, and an allocation of costs among the parties. The court also suggested that the appeal from the orders of the court should be dismissed because the orders were not final orders and were moot. Cremers Estate, 4 Fid. Rep. 3d 152 and 161 (O.C. Chester 2014) (Opinions by Hall, J.)
In divorce proceeding of common law marriage, case dismissed because of lack of subject matter jurisdiction (no marriage existed). Court finds both parties in divorce to be untrustworthy, but party claiming common law marriage did not prove with clear and convincing evidence that a common law marriage existed, because, inter alia, the date of the marriage is in dispute, tax returns were never filed as joint returns, and property was not held by tenancy by the entirety. Rotundo v. Jones, 4 Fid. Rep. 3d 139 (C.P. Berks 2014) (Opinion by Lash, J.)
In an action by the one of executors to compel an accounting by the agents under a power of attorney, the law firm representing the petitioner-executor was disqualified when a principal of the firm had previously represented the decedent and his wife and the interests of the wife were adverse to the petitioner because the challenged actions of the agents benefited the wife. Whitby Estate, 4 Fid. Rep. 3d 133 (O.C. Montg. 2014), (Opinion by Ott, J.)
When two trusts for the same beneficiary have different remaindermen, and one trust is a special needs trust created by her parents and the other is a self-settled irrevocable special needs trust, the court found that the intentions of the settlors, as expressed in the trust documents, were that the (larger) parents’ trust should first be spent for the care of the beneficiary until both trusts were equal in value. When both trusts became equal, the remainder beneficiaries may provide trustees with evidence of “probable future needs” to allow the trustees to consider in determining whether to continue to pay all of the beneficiary’s expenses from the parents’ trust or pay some expenses from the self-settled trust. Brennen Trusts, 4 Fid. Rep. 3d 146 (O.C. Lehigh 2014) (Opinion by Johnson, J.)
Carbon County has adopted an an administrative order imposing an annual fee of $300 for remote access to the dockets and images of documents filed with the Prothonotary and the Register of Wills and Orphans’ Court.
Establishment of Remote Access Fee to Records Filed in the Prothonotary’s Office and the Register of Wills/Orphans Court Office, Nos. 14-0619 and 14-9101, Administrative Order No. 10-2014 (4/4/2014), 44 Pa.B. 2515 (4/26/2014).
Bucks County has adopted a new local Rule 3.7A for the electronic filing and service of legal papers.
Order Promulgating Orphans’ Court Rule 3.7A—Electronic Filing and Service of Legal Papers (3/26/2014), 44 Pa.B. 2200 (4/12/2014)
IRS Notice 2014-19 provides guidance on the application (including the retroactive application) of the decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), and the holdings of Rev. Rul. 2013-17, 2013-38 I.R.B. 201 (Sept. 16, 2013), to retirement plans qualified under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code).
Notice 2014-19 will be in 2014-17, dated April 21, 2014.
The IRS has announced that, under a special new law, donations for typhoon relief in the Phillipines can be deducted on 2013 income tax returns if the donation is made on or before April 14, 2014.
See IR-2014-46 for details.
This is similar to a special law that was enacted following the Haitian earthquake a few years ago.
On March 31, the New York legislature passed Senate Bill 6359 and the identical Assembly Bill 8559, and Governor Cuomo signed them into law, increasing the NY estate tax exclusion from $1,000,000 to $5,250,000 over the next four years. Specifically, the estate tax exclusion will be:
- $2,062,500 for decedents dying on or after 4/1/2014
- $3,125,000 for decedents dying on or after 4/1/2015
- $4,187,500 for decedents dying on or after 4/1/2016
- $5,250,000 for decedents dying on or after 4/1/2017
The intention was to bring the NY exclusion into line with the federal exclusion, which was $5,250,000. But the federal exclusion is adjusted for inflation each year, and has changed to $5,340,000 in 2014, so it will certainly be more than $5,250,000 by the time NY reaches that exclusion amount in 2017. DBE
After an account had been filed and before objections, executor petitioned for discovery (specifically interrogatories) from fiduciary of decedent, and court found pre-complaint discovery in civil court analogous and granted petition. Robinson Estate, 4 Fid. Rep. 3d 105 (O.C. Monroe 2014) (Opinion by Williamson, J.)