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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| Month | Annual | Semiann. | Quarterly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 2.72% | 2.70% | 2.69% | 2.68% |
| Feb. | 2.57% | 2.55% | 2.54% | 2.54% |
| March | 2.55% | 2.53% | 2.52% | 2.52% |
| April | 2.52% | 2.50% | 2.49% | 2.49% |
| May | 2.39% | 2.38% | 2.37% | 2.37% |
| June | 2.37% | 2.36% | 2.35% | 2.35% |
| July | 2.13% | 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% |
| Month | Annual | Semiann. | Quarterly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 2.89% | 2.87% | 2.86% | 2.85% |
| Feb. | 2.63% | 2.61% | 2.60% | 2.60% |
| March | 2.59% | 2.57% | 2.56% | 2.56% |
| April | 2.55% | 2.53% | 2.52% | 2.52% |
| May | 2.37% | 2.36% | 2.35% | 2.35% |
| June | 2.38% | 2.37% | 2.36% | 2.36% |
| July | 2.08% | 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% |
| Month | Annual | Semiann. | Quarterly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 3.15% | 3.13% | 3.12% | 3.11% |
| Feb. | 2.91% | 2.89% | 2.88% | 2.87% |
| March | 2.91% | 2.89% | 2.88% | 2.87% |
| April | 2.89% | 2.87% | 2.86% | 2.85% |
| May | 2.74% | 2.72% | 2.71% | 2.70% |
| June | 2.76% | 2.74% | 2.73% | 2.72% |
| July | 2.50% | 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 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.
The National Elder Law Foundation has been reaccredited as a certifying organization for elder law for a period of five years beginning on January 26, 2020. “Accreditation of the National Elder Law Foundation as a Certifying Organization for Elder Law; No. 188 Disciplinary Rules Doc.” (11/14/2019), 49 Pa.B. 7083 (11/30/2019).
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.)
A change of beneficiary for death benefits under the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) was not effective until received, and so ineffective when the employee died after mailing the change of beneficiary and before it was received by SERS. Estate of Lynn D. Wilson v. SERS, 219 A.3d 1141, 21 WAP 2018 (Pa. 11/20/2019).
The new amendments to the Orphans’ Court Rules (“Order Amending 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…
Father forfeited his intestate share of child’s estate by failing to provide any financial support and deserting the child by failing to visit the child or perform any parental duties in the six years before the child’s death. Thaddeus Lee Estate, 9 Fid.Rep.3d 311 (Monroe O.C. 2019).
In action against agent, former beneficiary of retirement account had standing to object to change of beneficiary designation by agent. Because the action was against the agent individually, and not the decedent’s estate, the Dead Man’s Rule will not apply. Objections based on statutes of limitations were dismissed, and the jurisdiction of the court was not pre-empted by ERISA. Winfield Scott Lasser Estate, 9 Fid.Rep.3d 305 (Chester O.C. 2019).
The court approved the agreement of sale of real estate that was signed by only one of the co-trustees and opposed by the other co-trustee, finding that the sale was in the best interests of the trust. Frances Nowicki Estate, 9 Fid.Rep.3d 297 (Bucks O.C. 2019), on appeal, 2184 EDA 2019 (Pa. Super.)