The executor or administrator of a decedent’s estate is required to file the estate tax return for the estate (I.R.C. § 6018(a)) and is liable for the resulting tax (I.R.C. § 2002), and is required to file the decedent’s income...
The recent decision of the Superior Court in In re: Petition of Sandra Navarra by the Limited Guardian of Her Estate, 2018 PA Super 84 (4/11/2018), aff’g 7 Fid.Rep.3d 39 (O.C. Lawrence Co. 2016), is significant in addressing the power of the Orphans’ Court...
One would think that marriage should be a binary condition: It is either “on” or “off,” because two people are either “married” or “not married.” And that is certainly true of the “on” condition, because the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries...
This article will explain some of the drafting decision reflected in the author’s sample form of combined health care power of attorney and living will (“the form”). Like other articles, the comments below are the opinions of the author, are offered...
[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...
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...
The tax bill formerly known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (H.R. 1) is now Public Law No. 115-97. The official title of the act is “To provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent … Continue reading
Up until the Tax Reform Act of 1986, grantor trust status was something to be avoided, but thanks to rulings by the Internal Revenue Service, intentionally creating a grantor trust is now an accepted estate and gift tax planning strategy. … Continue reading
Pennsylvania inheritance tax law allows a trust for the “sole use” of the surviving spouse to be taxed entirely at the death of the surviving spouse, rather than having to pay tax on the present value of the taxable remainder...
The Act of July 8, 2016, No. 79 of 2016 (“Act 79”), enacting S.B. 1104, put into effect a number of changes to the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code (PEF Code, Title 20 of Pa.C.S.) that had been recommended by...