Blog & Resources

Rich or poor, everyone needs to designate a person to manage assets or make medical decisions in case of incapacity. No matter what your age, you could become ill or have an accident. If you were unable to pay your bills or decide which medical treatment to receive, who would have that power? Working through that decision and then signing a General Durable Power of Attorney and a Medical Power of Attorney is the bare minimum estate planning everyone should accomplish.

A Will is a legal document that specifies the beneficiaries who are to inherit your assets either outright or in trust. It is a good idea to consider the possibility that any beneficiary that you name in your will might die before you. If so, you can name an alternative beneficiary who will receive the asset.

If you are the executor or administrator of a Pennsylvania estate you will need to file a Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return.

If you are not familiar with the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax, this return can be rather difficult and confusing.

The Bucks County Register of Wills has bowed to popular demand and the changing electronic (and plastic) world in which we live. As of February 2014, the Bucks County Register of Wills will accept credit cards. This means that when you are filing a Will for probate at the Register of Wills, you no longer need to use your personal funds to cover the cost until you can obtain Letters allowing you to access the deceased’s accounts. By using your credit card, you can now obtain the letters and have your estate planning lawyer access the accounts and free up the funds to cover the cost before the card payment comes due.

Whenever a fiduciary files an Orphans’ Court Accounting, whether the filing is by an Agent under a Power of Attorney, a Trustee of a Trust or the Executor of an Estate, a person interested in that accounting has a handicap. The person filing the accounting has all the information; the beneficiary has only what the fiduciary has given them.

Interested persons do have a right to object to an accounting, but if, for example, the beneficiary does not have access to the bank statements, how exactly does the beneficiary know if the charges reflected on the accounting are accurate?

Robinson Estate: Discovery in an Orphans’ Court dispute can be tricky to understand. Read Peter Klenk’s new article dissecting a real, Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court case that ruled on a subtle discovery issue. Reviewing a real case can help you understand rules that otherwise are difficult to follow.

Tax Returns for Pennsylvania Estates and Probate: If you are the executor of a Pennsylvania estate, you are responsible for filing all required tax returns. This will likely include the deceased’s last personal income tax return, both Pennsylvania and federal for all income from January first through the date of death. These are Forms 1040 and PA-40. If after the date of death the estate had income, for example from a bank account, stocks or rent, the estate will also need to file a federal and states income tax return. These are Forms 1041 and PA-41. Beyond income tax, you will also file a Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (Form 1500) and you might have to file a Federal Estate Tax Return (Form 706).

Whenever I am helping my Pennsylvania clients with estate planning, or working with the executor of a Pennsylvania estate, I am given the opportunity to explain how the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax works.

First, let’s break the tax down to its roots. The Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax is a Transfer Tax. It is different from the other taxes which you might pay regularly, like income tax, real estate tax or sales tax. A transfer tax is a tax levied when an asset is transferred from one owner to another. In this case, the transfer tax is taxing the transfer from the deceased to the beneficiary. You have paid transfer taxes in the past if you have ever bought a house or a vehicle with a title. To get the deed or title transferred you paid a fee to the state or county…a transfer tax.

The Bucks County Register of Wills possesses a wealth of data for those interested in genealogical research. When a Bucks County will is probated, the Register collects a copy of the person’s death certificate, the person’s original will, an inventory of the person’s probate assets and a copy of the person’s inheritance tax return.

The Bucks county probate file might also include many other family related items. All of these documents can provide invaluable family information to a person working on a family tree.

According to a recent national survey on pet ownership, there are more than 71 million households in the United States that own at least one pet. Many pets are an integral part of the family that owns them, but how many of these owners have considered what will happen to their pets after their death?