Wife in divorce action died on the same day the decree of divorce was entered, and the family court later issued a final order for the equitable division of marital property. The family court, and not the Orphans’ Court, had … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Divorce
The Act of November 3, 2022, No. 106, P.L. 1691, amends 23 Pa.C.S. § 3323 to require that divorce decrees and annulment orders include a provision advising the parties to reaffirm or change beneficiary designations for life insurance policies, annuity … Continue reading
An agent’s change of an IRA beneficiary was invalid when the decedent was obligated under a divorce settlement agreement to name his children as beneficiaries. Trembley Agent for Lasser, 10 Fid.Rep.3d 229 (Chester O.C. 2020). … Continue reading
The anti-alienation provisions that protect municipal pensions from attachment only apply while those funds are in the possession of the pension fund administrator, and so a post-nuptial agreement in which a spouse agreed to waive her rights to her husband’s … Continue reading
The execution of a post-nuptial agreement as part of the divorce proceedings was an effective waiver of the right of the surviving spouse to a joint-and-survivor pension annuity, and that waiver can be enforced against the surviving spouse despite failure … Continue reading
The Superior Court has held that an incapacitated person can be represented in a divorce action only by a court-appointed guardian or guardian ad litem, and that an agent under a durable power of attorney cannot prosecute or defend a … Continue reading
Assets awarded to the decedent’s former spouse in a divorce proceeding in which grounds for divorce were established before the decedent’s death were not subject to inheritance tax at a 15% rate but were deductible as debts of the estate. Board … Continue reading
The surviving spouse’s attempt to discontinue a divorce action following the death of the decedent was ineffective under new Pa.R.C.P. 1920.17, but grounds for divorce were not established within the meaning of 23 Pa.C.S. § 3323(g) when the decedent’s affidavit … Continue reading
Plaintiff in divorce action may file for discontinuance after death of spouse and before commencement of trial regardless of whether grounds for divorce have been established, and so have her rights in the estate determined under the Probate, Estates and … Continue reading
Pennsylvania courts have jurisdiction to dissolve a Vermont civil union because it is the “functional equivalent” of marriage. Neyman v. Buckley, 2016 PA Super 307 (12/28/2016). (The Montgomery Co. Court of Common Pleas had reached the opposite conclusion in Corrado v. … Continue reading