The directory of 2019-2020 Pennsylvania legislation has been archived, and the directory of pending legislation has been reset with links to bills in the current session.
The following chart shows the status of legislation introduced in the 2019-2020 session of the Pennsylvania legislature that might be of interest to estate and trust practitioners. Click on the bill number to see the history or text of the bill.
| Bill | Purpose/Subject | Adds/Amends | Last House Action | Last Senate Action | Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 30 | Doubles the allowable contribution to the Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund for two year renewals of vehicle registrations | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 8621(b)(1) | Third consideration and final passage (4/15/19); House concurred in Senate Amendments (11/19/20) | Third consideration and final passage (11/17/20) | Act 115 (11/25/20) |
| HB 77 | Repeals the inheritance tax | Repeals Article XXI of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (1/28/2019) | ||
| HB 262 | Sets inheritance tax rate of 0% for transfers to children under 21 (was HB 291 of 2017); Allows revocable trust to be treated as part of estate for income tax purposes | Amends §§ 2116 and 331(g) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Third consideration and final passage (4/15/19); House concurred in Senate Amendments (6/28/19) | Reported by Appropriations as amended; third consideration and final passage (6/27/19) | Act 13 (6/28/2019) |
| HB 397 | Allows consensual electronic monitoring in health care facilities (was HB 2578 of 2017) | Adds Chapter 8-A to Health Care Facilities Act, No. 48 of 1979 | Referred to Health (4/25/19) | ||
| HB 398 | Creates a private cause of action for certain financial crimes (was HB 2579 of 2017) | Amends Older Adult Protective Act | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Services (5/2/19) | ||
| HB 399 | Allows for concurrent jurisdiction of Attorney General for financial exploitation investigations (was HB 2579 of 2017) | Adds 18 Pa.C.S. § 3922.1 | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Services (5/2/19) | ||
| HB 400 | Prohibits abuse of care dependent individuals through social media (was HB 2582 of 2017) | Amends 18 Pa.C.S. § 2713.1 | Re-reported as committee from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (6/10/20) | Referred to Judiciary (6/17/20) | |
| HB 535 | Protection of elders from abuse through powers of attorney | amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5601 and 5604 | Referred to Judiciary (2/19/19) | ||
| HB 597 | Voids non-compete clauses by purely public charities | Amends Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act, No. 55 of 1997 | Referred to Finance (3/1/19) | ||
| HB 655 | Exempts transfers of $250,000 or less from inheritance tax (Was HB 143 of 2017) | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/1/19) | ||
| HB 706 | Allows revocable trusts to be treated as part of estate for income tax purposes | Adds § 336.3 to the Tax Reform Act of 1971 | Third consideration and final passage (4/16/19) | Referred to Finance (4/22/19) | Became part of Act 13 (6/28/19) |
| HB 725 | Exempts transfers of $100,000 or less from inheritance tax (Was HB 143 of 2017) | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/6/19) | ||
| HB 734 | Provides criteria for hospitals as institutions of purely public charity | Amends section 2(b) of Article VIII of the Pennsylvania Constitution | Referred to Insurance (3/12/19) | ||
| HB 831 | Adds "granges" as a criteria for a purely public charity (was HB 2094 of 2017) | Amends section 5 of the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act | Referred to Finance (3/14/19) | ||
| HB 899 | Allows guardians of incapacitated persons to make mental health care decisions | New 20 Pa.C.S. § 5521(d.1) | Referred to Judiciary (3/20/19) | ||
| HB 987 | Enacts new provisions for "Pennsylvania orders for life-sustaining treatment" (POLST) (was HB 1196 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and adds a new Subchapter F | Referred to Health (3/27/19) | ||
| HB 1207 | Exempts from realty transfer tax transfers of property by heirs with income at or below poverty line | Amends § 1102-C.3 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (4/15/19) | ||
| HB 1222 | Consolidates Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act and Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act into Title 20 Pa.C.S. | Enacts 10 Pa.C.S. Ch. 1, 11, 13, and 23, and repeals Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act and Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act | Re-reported as committed from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (6/19/19) | Second consideration and re-referred to Appropriations (10/23/19) | |
| HB 1286 | Requires long-term nursing facilities to publish ratings | Amends § 809 of Health Care Facilities Act, No. 48 of 1979 | Referred to Health (4/25/19) | ||
| HB 1287 | Creates a Culture and Quality of Life Certification Program | Adds a § 822 to Health Care Facilities Act, No. 48 of 1979 | Referred to Health (4/25/19) | ||
| HB 1676 | Allows advertisement of grant of letters through the website of the Register of Wills instead of by a newspaper of general circulation | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3162(a) | Referred to Judiciary (6/25/19) | ||
| HB 1724 | Allows intestate heirs to receive unclaimed property without letters | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(e), | Referred to Judiciary (7/16/19) | ||
| HB 1769 | Allows charities to fund gift annuities through commercial annuities | Amends Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act | Third consideration and final passage (5/14/20) | Reported as committed by Banking and Insurance; first consideration (9/21/20) | |
| HB 1826 | Reduces financial statement requirements certain charities | Adds §§ 3 and 5 of the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act | Referred to Finance (9/17/19) | ||
| HB 1845 | Adds elder abuse to forfeitures of intestacy and modifications of wills | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2106 and 2507 and Ch. 88 | Referred to Judiciary (9/23/19) | ||
| HB 1884 | Sets inheritance tax rate of 0% for transfers to children with disabilities | Amends §§ 2102 and 2116 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (9/26/19) | ||
| HB 2209 | Requires background checks for court-appointed guardians | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 5511(f) and adds new subsection (g) | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Service (1/13/20) | ||
| HB 2336 | Exempts from realty transfer tax transfers by an individual to an entity wholly owned the individual or spouse | Amends § 1102-C.3 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/10/20) | ||
| HB 2370 | Electronic notarization of documents | Amends 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 62 and 57 Pa.C.S. § 320 | Third consideration and final passage (4/29/20); concurs in Senate amendments (10/21/20) | Third consideration and final passage (10/20/20) | Act 97 (10/29/2020) |
| HB 2408 | Exempts CARES Act payments and loan forgiveness from state and local taxation, and amends provisions for percentage distributions from charitable trusts and nonprofit corporations | Adds § 104-A and 105-A to the Fiscal Code | Third consideration and final passage (5/4/20) | Second consideration; Re-referred to Appropriations (5/12/20) | |
| HB 2446 | Excludes pensions from effects of divorce | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.2(a)(2) | Referred to Judiciary (4/27/20) | ||
| HB 2484 | Amends provisions for percentage distributions from charitable trusts and nonprofit corporations | Amends 15 Pa.C.S. § 5548 and 20 Pa.C.S. § 8113 | House concurred in Senate amendments (7/14/20) | Re-reported as committed from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (7/14/20) | Act 71 (7/23/20) |
| HB 2858 | Parent "estranged" from adult child forfeits intestate share of child's estate | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 2106 | Referred to Judiciary (9/14/20) | ||
| SB 23 | Guardianship reform (similar to S.B. 884 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 751 and 752, Ch. 55 | Referred to Judiciary (4/3/2020) | ||
| SB 27 | Phases out inheritance tax on siblings | Amends § 2116(a)(1.3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (1/11/19) | ||
| SB 28 | Phases out inheritance tax on lineal descendants and ancestors | Amends § 2116(a)(1) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Re-referred to Appropriations (6/24/19) | ||
| SB 142 | Implements Pa. Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and enacts new Subchapter F | Referred to Health and Human Services (1/31/19) | ||
| SB 187 | Provides for a state-wide registry of living wills | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 | Referred to Judiciary (2/1/19) | ||
| SB 320 | Enacts the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. (Was SB 827 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 711 and 5601.4 and adds new 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 | Re-reported from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (7/7/20) | Third consideration and final passage (10/28/19) | Act 72 (7/23/20) |
| SB 342 | Sets inheritance tax rate of 0% for transfers to children under 21 (Was SB 598 of 2017) | Amends Section 2116(a) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971. | Referred to Finance (2/27/19) | ||
| SB 841 | Addresses problems arising from COVID-19 pandemic, including remote notarization | Enacts 35 Pa.C.S. Ch. 57 providing various forms of tax and procedural relief during the COVID-19 disaster declaration | House concurred in Senate amendments to House amendments (4/14/20) | Senate concurred in House amendments, as amended (4/7/20) | Act 15 (4/20/20) |
| SB 879 | Reduces financial statement requirements for charities using professional fundraisers | Amends the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act | Referred to State Government (10/7/19) | ||
| SB 903 | Allows "de-risking" annuity contracts | Amends Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act, No. 127 of 1996 | Referred to Banking and Insurance (10/18/19) | ||
| SB 924 | Provides a simplified procedure for guardianships for adult children disabled during minority | Adds new Subchapter G to 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 55 | Reported as amended from to Judiciary; first consideration (10/29/19) | ||
| SB 1097 | Remote notarization of documents | Amends 57 Pa.C.S. §§ 304 and 320 and adds § 314.1 | Referred to Commerce (4/29/20) | Third consideration and final passage (4/28/20) | |
| SB 1100 | Excludes CARES Act payments for programs or services within income qualifications | Adds § 104-A to the Fiscal Code | Second consideration; re-referred to Appropriations (5/12/20) |
In the absence of independent testimony to the delivery of lifetime gifts, the wife’s interests in the alleged gifts was adverse to the decedent and so her testimony as to the gifts was barred by the Dead Man’s Act. In re Estate of Fiorentino Cerullo, 2021 PA Super 27 (2/25/2021).
On March 2, 2021, the Montgomery County Bar Association will be presenting a video conference CLE program on virtual probate procedures featuring a panel of the Registers of Wills of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties.
Additional information and on-line registration can be found here.
For background on the general nature of virtual probate procedures and some of the legal issues relevant to those procedures, see “Virtual (Videoconference) Probate Procedures.”
For some time (not sure how long), there has been a problem with the drop-down menus not working properly on this website, making it difficult to get to different rate tables, or to subscription processes. This problem was due to changes in the functionality of some Javascript components, and has now been fixed.
My apologies for any inconvenience.
The Act of February 5, 2021 (No. 1 of 2021), S.B. 109, provides that
- The forgiveness of paycheck protection program (“PPP”) loans that is not income for federal income tax purposes under the Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Subtitle B of Title II of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, P.L. 115-260) is also not income for PA income tax purposes. However, expenses paid with those loans are not deductible if the loans are forgiven.
- Economic impact payments under the CARES act are also not income to individuals for PA income tax purposes.
Section 104-A of the Act of April 9, 1929 (No. 176), known as the Fiscal Code, as amended by Section 1.1 of Act 1 of 2021.
In an action to set aside a deed allegedly obtained by undue influence, plaintiff’s testimony that she and the defendant were friends and she trusted him, and that she was “weak in bode and mind” following the death of her husband five years before, was not sufficient to establish a confidential relationship or weakened intellect and summary judgment for the defendant was granted. A claim for unjust enrichment was denied because the four year statute of limitations had run, and because the evidence showed that the plaintiff had intended to benefit the defendant so the enrichment was not unjust. Stackhouse v. Gordner, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 330 (Lycoming C.P. 2020).
The court did not have jurisdiction to determine the priority of a purchase money mortgage over a later inheritance tax lien when the mortgage holder failed to exhaust the administrative remedies found in § 2186 of the Inheritance and Estate Tax Act (72 P.S. § 9186). Tammac Holdings Corp. v. Werner Estate et al., 10 Fid. Rep.3d 327 (Berks C.P. 2020).
One of two co-administrators of an estate has the power to compel an accounting by an agent for the decedent without the consent of the other co-administrator. An action in the Orphans’ Court to recover assets transferred by an agent is equitable and not barred by any statute of limitations, but only by a defense of laches, and the party asserting laches must show that there was prejudice caused by any delay in the filing of the petition. Mahlstadt Estate. No. 2, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 323 (Monroe O.C. 2020).