The decision of the Superior Court in Passarelli Family Trust, 2017 PA Super 366 (11/16/2017), which reversed the Orphans’ Court decision published at 7 Fid.Rep.3d 63 (O.C. Chester Co. 2016), has been withdrawn and the case will scheduled for reargument en banc. 3150 EDA 2016 (1/12/18).
Update: The en banc decision was published as Passarelli Family Trust, 2019 PA Super 95 (3/28/2019) (en banc).
Update: An appeal has been allowed by the Supreme Court, 235 MAL 2019 (9/11/2019).
Woman who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nine years before, and whose mental capacity had continued to decline, was adjudicated incapacitated and the two daughters who had helped to take care of her and her husband before his death were appointed as guardians. The will signed by the mother in favor of her son was found to be the product of undue influence by the son, who had convinced his mother that her daughters were stealing from her. The power of attorney obtained by the son was void for lack of capacity, along with the deeds signed by the mother transferring properties from her revocable trust to herself and her son. In Re: Marie E. Douglas, Alleged Incapacitated Person, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 347 (Jefferson Co. O.C. 2017).
Co-trustees of a trust cannot obtain a surcharge against a third trustee for failing to arrange for the payment of a premium on a life insurance policy when there was no clear evidence of a delegation to the third trustee. Further, there was no loss to the trust due to the lapse of the policy because the marital agreement under which the trust was funded only required that the former husband provide funding of $1 million, which his estate provided when the policy lapsed. Weintraub 1997 Trust, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 369 (Montgomery Co. O.C. 2013).
Funds which had been donated to a Philadelphia social organization that promoted gymnastics was awarded under the cy pres doctrine to a similar national organization, to be used to benefit and promote gymnastics and physical education in the Philadelphia area to the extent possible. Possession of the fund by a local university for 25 years was disregarded. Kuenzel Memorial Fund, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 380 (Monroe Co. O.C. 2017).
The Supreme Court has published an updated list of the financial institutions which are “eligible institutions” in which lawyers may deposit funds held by the lawyer as a personal representative, guardian, conservator, receiver, trustee, agent under a durable power of attorney, or other similar position. (See Pa.R.D.E. 221(b) and Pa.R.P.C. 1.15(a)(2).) “Financial Institutions Approved as Depositories for Fiduciary Accounts; No. 156 Disciplinary Rules Doc.,” 48 Pa.B. 981 (2/17/2018).
The most recent list can be found in this directory.
[This article is adapted from course materials originally published as “‘Til Debt Do Us Part” as part of the May 2010 Annual Meeting of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.] Insolvent estates seem…
The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has proposed amendments to O.C. Rules 1.8 and 10.1 in order to allow the filing of forms with the Orphans’ Courts and Registers of Wills that are “identical in content and sequential ordering” as the forms approved by the Supreme Court.
The report of the Committee explains that the amendments are intended to allow the filing of third-party forms such as those created through estate administration software. (Apparently some offices have been rejecting those kinds of forms, and only accepting the exact forms published by the Supreme Court has PDFs, which was not the intention of the original rules.)
Comments may be submitted by April 6, 2018.
“Proposed Amendment of Pa. O.C. Rule 1.8 and Pa. O.C. Rule 10.1,” 48 Pa.B. 728 (2/3/2018).
Cumberland County has adopted a public access rule to comply with Section 7 of the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, which applies to the Clerks of the Orphans’ Courts. (See “Public Access Compliance Policy for Orphans’ Court Filings” for additional information.)
“Rules of the Court of Common Pleas; Public Access” (Cumberland Co. 1/4/2018), 48 Pa.B. 513 (1/20/2018).
The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has proposed removing the Estate Information Form, RW-01 (REV-346) from the index and appendix of Register of Wills forms.
The report of the committee states that the form is a Department of Revenue form and not a Supreme Court form and was included in the appendix of Register of Wills forms for the convenience of the public. However, the form was revised in November 2015 and, rather than updating the appendix in response to changes made by the Department of Revenue, the recommendation is to remove the form from the appendix and the Unified Judicial System website and instead direct the public to the Department of Revenue website.
“Proposed Amendment of the Index and Appendix of Orphans’ Court and Register of Wills Forms,” 48 Pa.B. 486 (1/20/2018).
If you’re curious about the effects of the new federal tax law (i.e., the reconciliation act of 2017, formerly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), I’ve created an on-line calculator that shows the impact of the new tax law by calculating the federal income tax under both the old law and the new law, taking into account not just the differences in rates but also the changes in deductions for medical expenses, state and local income taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and miscellaneous itemized deductions, as well as the elimination of the personal exemption and the increases in the standard deduction and the child credit.
A similar feature has been added to the income tax calculations for estates and trusts (although the differences are generally less significant).
See http://wcalcs.com (registration required).