Philadelphia courts (and related offices) will be closed until at least April 1.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware County has entered an order declaring a judicial emergency, as a result of which the courthouse (and government center where the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court is located) will be closed to the public until at least March 30th.
Executor named in will was unfit to serve because he as admittedly insolvent, had been convicted of financial crimes, and had been abusing his powers as agent during his parents’ lifetimes, for which he was later convicted of criminal offenses. Son who was not a beneficiary had no standing to file objections to the account of the administrator c.t.a., and son who was a beneficiary could not join in those objections. Davis Estate, 10 Fid.Rep.3d (Chester O.C. 2019).
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).
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).
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:
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).
The following article is adapted from written materials created for a Pennsylvania Bar Institute “webinar” of the same name, catalog #11095 (3/10/2020). The Treasury Department has published final regulations on the changes to the federal estate and gift tax basic…
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.
The Required Minimum Distribution Webcalculator has been updated to incorporate the changes made by the SECURE Act (Division O of P.L. 116-94).
Specifically:
For a more complete analysis of minimum required distributions, see “New (and Old) Minimum Required Distribution Rules Summarized.”
Judgment on the pleadings in an action for ejectment will be granted where the allegation of a common law marriage is based solely on cohabitation and an employer’s classification of one of the parties as a “domestic partner.” The grant of a testamentary life estate is also not relevant when the property owner is still living and her agent acts to sell the property. Cummins v. Ramos, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 44 (Bucks C.D. 2019), on appeal, 2945 EDA 2019.