The word “situs,” from the Latin for “position” or “location,” is often used in connection with three different issues: which state’s courts have jurisdiction over the administration of the trust, which state’s laws govern the interpretation or administration of the...
The Orphans’ Court had jurisdiction in a dispute over a provision in a will directing that the testator’s wife “remain on the payroll” of a corporation he controlled, and the dispute did not become moot by reason of the wife’s … Continue reading
An agreement to settle litigation is governed by principles of contract law, and an oral agreement among multiple parties may be enforced by the court even though the parties intend to later reduce the contract to writing. The Orphans’ Court … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court had jurisdiction to appoint an administrator of an estate following the removal of the administrator originally agreed to by the parties and it was not necessary to remand the choice of administrators to the Register of Wills. … Continue reading
An Orphans’ Court in Pennsylvania did not have jurisdiction to consider claims arising from the estate and trusts of a Florida resident when the estate and trusts were the subject of a settlement agreement in Florida that was binding upon … Continue reading
The Orphans’ Court of Philadelphia County had jurisdiction to determine the proper distribution of the proceeds of a wrongful death action brought in Delaware County when the Court of Common Pleas of that county had ordered that the proceeds be … Continue reading
A petition for the appointment of a guardian for an alleged incapacitated person (AIP) was dismissed without prejudice under the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act, 20 Pa.C.S. 5901 et. seq., even though the AIP had recently voted … Continue reading
A failure to give notice to an indispensible party deprives a court of jurisdiction, but the other heirs of the estate were not indispensible parties to an action to remove an administrator of an estate because the other heirs had … Continue reading
The attempt by the beneficiaries to change the situs of a trust which was the subject of litigation was properly disregarded by the Orphans’ Court, even though the trust document specifically allowed the beneficiaries to change the situs, because under … Continue reading
The claims by the beneficiaries of a trust against the trustee and others for fraud and conversion concerned the administration of the trust, and so were all within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Orphans’ Court, which has all of the … Continue reading