Eligible Institutions for Fiduciary Funds

The Supreme Court has published an updated list of the financial institutions which are “eligible institutions” in which lawyers may deposit funds held by the lawyer as a personal representative, guardian, conservator, receiver, trustee, agent under a durable power of attorney, or other similar position.  (See Pa.R.D.E. 221(b) and Pa.R.P.C. 1.15(a)(2).)  “Financial Institutions Approved as Depositories for Fiduciary Accounts; No. 156 Disciplinary Rules Doc.,” 48 Pa.B. 981 (2/17/2018).

The most recent list can be found in this directory.

Administering Insolvent Estates

Posted on by February 21, 2021

[This article is adapted from course materials originally published as “‘Til Debt Do Us Part” as part of the May 2010 Annual Meeting of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.] Insolvent estates seem…

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O.C. Rule Amendments on Third-Party Forms

The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has proposed amendments to O.C. Rules 1.8 and 10.1 in order to allow the filing of forms with the Orphans’ Courts and Registers of Wills that are “identical in content and sequential ordering” as the forms approved by the Supreme Court.

The report of the Committee explains that the amendments are intended to allow the filing of third-party forms such as those created through estate administration software.  (Apparently some offices have been rejecting those kinds of forms, and only accepting the exact forms published by the Supreme Court has PDFs, which was not the intention of the original rules.)

Comments may be submitted by April 6, 2018.

“Proposed Amendment of Pa. O.C. Rule 1.8 and Pa. O.C. Rule 10.1,” 48 Pa.B. 728 (2/3/2018).

Another New Public Access Rule

Cumberland County has adopted a public access rule to comply with Section 7 of the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, which applies to the Clerks of the Orphans’ Courts.  (See “Public Access Compliance Policy for Orphans’ Court Filings” for additional information.)

“Rules of the Court of Common Pleas; Public Access” (Cumberland Co. 1/4/2018), 48 Pa.B. 513 (1/20/2018).

Estate Information Form Revisions

The Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee has proposed removing the Estate Information Form, RW-01 (REV-346) from the index and appendix of Register of Wills forms.

The report of the committee states that the form is a Department of Revenue form and not a Supreme Court form and was included in the appendix of Register of Wills forms for the convenience of the public.  However, the form was revised in November 2015 and, rather than updating the appendix in response to changes made by the Department of Revenue, the recommendation is to remove the form from the appendix and the Unified Judicial System website and instead direct the public to the Department of Revenue website.

“Proposed Amendment of the Index and Appendix of Orphans’ Court and Register of Wills Forms,” 48 Pa.B. 486 (1/20/2018).

Income Tax Comparisons for 2018

Posted on by July 27, 2018

If you’re curious about the effects of the new federal tax law (i.e., the reconciliation act of 2017, formerly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), I’ve created an on-line calculator that shows the impact of the new tax law by calculating the federal income tax under both the old law and the new law, taking into account not just the differences in rates but also the changes in deductions for medical expenses, state and local income taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and miscellaneous itemized deductions, as well as the elimination of the personal exemption and the increases in the standard deduction and the child credit.

A similar feature has been added to the income tax calculations for estates and trusts (although the differences are generally less significant).

See http://wcalcs.com (registration required).

More New Public Access Rules

Five more counties have adopted public access rules to comply with Section 7 of the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, which applies to the Clerks of the Orphans’ Courts.  (See “Public Access Compliance Policy for Orphans’ Court Filings” for additional information.)

“Amendments to Local Rules; No. 17-381 Prothonotary; No. CP-06-AD-27-2017 Clerk of Courts” (Berks Co. 12/15/2017), 48 Pa.B. 227 (1/13/2018).

“Local Rule of Judicial Administration; Public Access Policy; Civil Doc. No. 17-5120; Criminal Doc. No. MD-1545-17” (Delaware Co. 12/7/2017), 48 Pa.B. 236 (1/13/2018).

“Order Adopting Local Rule of Judicial Procedure 510; No. 14316 of 2017” (Luzerne Co. 12/18/2017), 48 Pa.B. 249 (1/13/2018).

“Amendments to Local Rules; No. 17-381 Prothonotary; No. CP-06-AD-27-2017 Clerk of Courts” (Potter Co. 12/14/2017), 48 Pa.B. 249 (1/13/2018).

“Amendments to Local Rules; No. 17-381 Prothonotary; No. CP-06-AD-27-2017 Clerk of Courts” (Susquehanna Co. 12/4/2017), 48 Pa.B. 249 (1/13/2018).

Reasonable Access to Burial Grounds

Act 64 of 2017 (H.B. 1019), which was signed by the governor on 12/21/2017 and will be effective on 2/19/2018, adds a new Chapter 7 to Title 9 of the Pa. Consolidated Statutes (“Burial Grounds”) giving people “reasonable access” to visit burial plots in cemeteries, including privately owned cemeteries.

Public Access Policy Compliance for Orphans’ Court Filings

Posted on by April 14, 2023

On January 6, 2017, the Supreme Court adopted a new public access policy (“the Policy”) for records of appellate and trial courts in Pennsylvania, which became effective January 6, 2018.  The Policy applies to filings in the Orphans’ Courts of…

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Public Access Forms Published

The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts has announced that the following forms required by the Public Access Policy are now available at http://www.pacourts.us/public-records/public-records-forms: Request for Access Form, Confidential Information Form, Confidential Document Form, Request for Correction of Clerical Errors, and sample Certificate of Compliance   “Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts,” 48 Pa.B. 20 (1/6/2018).