The Orphans’ Court awarded legal fees to an executor against a beneficiary who had impeded the executor in his attempts to recover property of the decedent in the possession of the beneficiary, but the court allowed only about ten percent … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Attorney fees
Objections filed by the individual beneficiary of two charitable remainder unitrusts to the administration and investments of the trusts, and the legal fees paid by the trusts, were overruled after a hearing on the objections, and so the trustee is … Continue reading
When objections are made to expenses claimed by an executor, the burden is on the executor to provide receipts or other evidence of the purpose and payment of the expenses, and the Orphans’ Court properly surcharged the executor for undocumented … Continue reading
It was not an abuse of discretion for the Orphans’ Court to deny the attorney fees requested by a law firm representing alleged incapacitated persons (“AIPs”) when the firm’s engagement letter was voidable because it was signed by the AIPs … Continue reading
A surviving spouse who received erroneous legal advice and failed to elect against the will should not be required to pay legal fees of the executor when she mistakenly files objections to the account of the executor and then withdraws … Continue reading
It was a breach of fiduciary duty for the trustee to fail to ensure legal fees were reasonable and failing to review and question the fees charged, which were excessive in relation to the value of the trust (almost one … Continue reading
It was not an abuse of discretion for the Orphans’ Court to dismiss the incapacitated person’s petition to reconsider or modify the original adjudication of incapacity without a hearing when the petition merely alleged that the incapacitated person “no longer … Continue reading
The trustee was properly removed for commingling trust assets with his own, failing to make distributions in accordance with the trust instrument, and making distributions to himself without the approval of a disinterested trustee as required by the trust instrument. … Continue reading
Although trustees may employ legal counsel to advise them about discretionary distributions, and to negotiate settlements with beneficiaries, the requested legal fees were largely denied because they were excessive, imprudent, and disproportionate to the value of the trust. Mandell Trust, … Continue reading
The executor of a deceased trustee had standing to object to the account filed by the surviving trustee when other beneficiaries joined in the objections and the objection to standing was waived by not raising it until after two and … Continue reading