Applicable Federal Rates for 2019

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— Short Term Rates for 2019 —

MonthAnnualSemiann.QuarterlyMonthly
Jan.2.72%2.70%2.69%2.68%
Feb.2.57%2.55%2.54%2.54%
March2.55%2.53%2.52%2.52%
April2.52%2.50%2.49%2.49%
May2.39%2.38%2.37%2.37%
June2.37%2.36%2.35%2.35%
July2.13%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%

— Mid Term Rates for 2019 —

MonthAnnualSemiann.QuarterlyMonthly
Jan.2.89%2.87%2.86%2.85%
Feb.2.63%2.61%2.60%2.60%
March2.59%2.57%2.56%2.56%
April2.55%2.53%2.52%2.52%
May2.37%2.36%2.35%2.35%
June2.38%2.37%2.36%2.36%
July2.08%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%

 — Long Term Rates for 2019 —

MonthAnnualSemiann.QuarterlyMonthly
Jan.3.15%3.13%3.12%3.11%
Feb.2.91%2.89%2.88%2.87%
March2.91%2.89%2.88%2.87%
April2.89%2.87%2.86%2.85%
May2.74%2.72%2.71%2.70%
June2.76%2.74%2.73%2.72%
July2.50%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 Orphans’ Court Forms

Posted on by December 18, 2019

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.

Final Regulations on Exclusion Amount Changes

Posted on by December 26, 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.)

Which Trust Beneficiaries Get Notices of Estate Administration?

Posted on by December 2, 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…

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Action Against Agent for Change of Beneficiary Designation

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).

Finding of Lack of Weakened Intellect Reversed

In finding that the testator was “quite lucid” at the time the will was signed and was not suffering from weakened intellect, the Orphans’ Court applied the wrong standard because undue influence is generally a gradual process and the fruits of the influence may not appear until long after the weakened intellect has been played upon. Applying the correct standard to the evidence, the Superior Court found that the testator was suffering from a weakened intellect and that there was a presumption that the will was the product of undue influence. The trial court also erred in failing to qualify a registered nurse as an expert witness on the issues of testamentary capacity and weakened intellect, but that error was not reversible error because the contestants were not prejudiced. Estate of: Stella Fabian, 2019 PA Super 334 (11/7/2019), rev’g, 9 Fid.Rep.3d 1 (Carbon O.C. 2018).