Three Month Deferral for Federal Income Tax Payments

Posted on by March 20, 2020

Note: Notice 2020-17 was superseded by Notice 2020-18.

In Notice 2020-17, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, income tax payments that are now due on April 15 can be deferred until July 15 without any interest or penalties. This applies to both tax payments for 2019 and estimated tax payments for 2020, but the deferral is limited to $1 million for individuals and $10 million for corporations.

There is (as yet) no deferral of the filing deadline, so taxpayers must either file returns by April 15 or file for an extension of time to file.

Interest and penalties may apply after July 15, but the period from April 15 to July 15 will be excluded from any interest or penalty calculations.

It is believed that this relief applies to estates and trusts as well as individuals and corporations.

There is (as yet) no similar relief for Pennsylvania income tax filings or payments.

Philadelphia Court Closings

Philadelphia courts (and related offices) will be closed until at least April 1.

Disposition of Wife’s Ashes with Husband’s

Although the two children of the decedent had different claims about their mother’s wishes for the disposition of her cremated remains, they both testified that she wished her ashes to be disposed of along with the ashes of her deceased husband, and so the court directed that the ashes of the decedent be disposed of with the ashes of her husband, which had not yet been determined. J.A.K. v. S.H., 10 Fid.Rep.3d 59 (Lycoming O.C. 2020).

Common Law Marriage not Proven

Although there was evidence of cohabitation and a reputation as husband and wife, there was no evidence of joint income tax returns and no testimony by the alleged surviving wife, and there was evidence that the parties had not married and that they had attempted to obtain a marriage license before the death of the decedent, so the evidence was not clear and convincing and the marriage was not established. Fitz Estate, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 51 (York O.C. 2019), aff’d 337 MDA 2019 (Super. Ct. 1/14/2020), appeal den., 62 MAL 2020 (7/15/2020).

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Declares General Statewide Judicial Emergency

Posted on by March 27, 2020

The following is a 3/16/2020 news release from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:

Amid COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court today declared a statewide judicial emergency effective until April 14, 2020.

With the emergency declaration in place, county president judges are authorized to declare individual county judicial emergencies through April 14, 2020, should they deem it appropriate to protect the health and safety of staff, court users and the community.

Specifically, counties operating under local judicial emergencies shall have the authority to:

  • Suspend time calculations for the purposes of time computation relevant to court cases or other judicial business, as well as time deadlines, subject to constitutional restrictions;
  • Authorize additional uses of advanced communications technology to conduct court proceedings, subject to constitutional restrictions; and
  • Take any action permitted pursuant to Rule of Judicial Administration 1952(B)(2), including restrictions or temporary closures of court facilities.

The emergency declaration specifically authorizes president judges to suspend the operation of Rule of Criminal Procedure 600 within a judicial district, for the length of the judicial emergency. The Supreme Court Order, however, does not affect a criminal defendant’s right to a speedy trial under the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions.

Judicial Districts operating under the emergency declaration will arrange for the provision of essential judicial services, including arraignments and bail establishment hearings and protection from abuse act proceedings.

Additional information about the impact of COVID-19 on court operations is available online, at @pennsylvaniacourts and @PACourts.

Update: The following are the citations and links to the orders published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

“General Statewide Judicial Emergency; No. 531 Judicial Administration Doc.” (3/16/2020), 50 Pa.B. 1832 (3/28/2020).

“General Statewide Judicial Emergency Authorization for Superior Court and Commonwealth Court; No. 532 Judicial Administration Doc.” (3/16/2020), 50 Pa.B. 1831 (3/28/2020).

“General Statewide Judicial Emergency; No. 531 and 532 Judicial Administration Doc.” (3/18/2020), 50 Pa.B. 1833 (3/28/2020).

COVID-19 Disruptions

Posted on by March 13, 2020

The COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) contagion is starting to affect court operations in Pennsylvania.

By an administrative order dated March 12, 2020, the Montgomery County Orphans’ Court has suspended the call of the audit list in open court and has adopted special temporary procedures for the filing of accounts and objections.

Although not relevant to an estates or trust practice, it is also noteworthy that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has entered a standing order temporarily continuing all civil and criminal jury trials.

Further news will be posted here as details become available.