Westmoreland County has adopted new Orphans’ Court rules, to be effective 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
“Orphans’ Court Rules; No. 3 of 2017,” (Westmoreland Co. 4/6/2017), 47 Pa.B. 2431 (4/29/2017).
Lycoming County has rescinded its Orphans’ Court Rules and adopted new rules consistent with the state-wide rules that took effect in September 2016, to be effective 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
“Amendments to the Rules of Orphans’ Court Procedure; Orphans’ Court Division; Doc. No. 41-17-1052” (Lycoming Co. 3/3/2017), 47 Pa.B. 2424 (4/29/2017).
Much of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 57 Pa.C.S. Ch. 3 (which was enacted in Pennsylvania as Act No. 73 of 2013), was to become effective only after the Department of State gave notice that is has approved notary education courses.
The Department has now given notice of those courses, and has announced that the act will be completely effective on 10/26/2017 (180 days after publication of the notice).
“Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts,” 47 Pa.B. 2518 (4/29/2017).
[For the short form certificate for an acknowledgement by an attorney at law pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 327, see 57 P.C.S. § 316(2.1).]
Although father testified that home he purchased for his own use was titled in joint names with his son for “estate planning purposes,” proceeds of sale were shown to have been paid to father and son equally, and deposit of those proceeds into a joint account resulted in equal ownership of the account. Bollard & Associates, Inc. v. H&R Industries, Inc. et al., 2017 PA Super 122 (4/24/2017).
An agent with the power to receive the income or corpus of a trust, as provided in 20 Pa.C.S. § 5602(a)(7), cannot revoke the principal’s revocable trust by withdrawing all of the income and principal; an agent’s power over a revocable trust is subject to the provisions of the trust. Estate of: Bernice M. Kane, Power of Attorney, No. 2158 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. 4/24/2017) (non-precedential), appeal den., 363 MAL 2017 (10/10/2017).
[Comment: We do not often cite non-precedential opinions because of their limited value, but this case involved some important issues about the relationship between the agent under a durable power of attorney and the trustees of the principal’s revocable trust and the powers of an agent over the revocable trust. Unfortunately, the agent-appellant failed to provide adequate arguments or authorities, and so was deemed to have waived many issues. Still, the principles and reasoning of the court may be useful or instructive.]
A same-sex couple could enter into a valid common law marriage before 2005, and the evidence supported the existence of the marriage. In re: Estate of Stephen Carter, 159 A.3d 970, 2017 PA Super 104 (2017).
Objections to executor commission and legal fees denied when executor-lawyer who was one of three executors claimed commission of $70,000 and legal fees of $90,000 out of estate of almost $10 million. Keller Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 90 (O.C. Montgomery Co. 2016).
Agent under power of attorney who was appointed “to serve jointly” with co-agent, but who acted alone, is surcharged for unexplained or unaccounted for expenditures, for changing an IRA beneficiary to herself, which was inconsistent with the principal’s intent as expressed in her will, and for unauthorized purchases on the principal’s credit card, all of which were the result of self-dealing and failure to exercise common prudence in the exercise of her fiduciary duties. Nixon Power of Attorney, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 81 (O.C. Philadelphia Co. 2016).
Surviving “life partner” is not entitled to 0% spousal inheritance tax rate, despite years of continuous cohabitation, when there was no evidence that the parties had ever contracted to marry by exchanging verba in praesenti. Gessner Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 72 (O.C. Chester Co. 2016).
Court does not have jurisdiction to enforce a family settlement agreement that settled an estate within the jurisdiction of a different county. Robinson v. Robinson, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 69 (O.C. Cumberland Co. 2016).