Blog & Resources

My Mother transferred her Bucks County home to me two years ago. She recently died. I am going to sell the house soon, but do I have to pay Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax?

Not in your case. The Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax of 4.5% applies to transfers to children at death, and includes all gifts made within one year of the date of death. If the house was transferred properly into your name 2 years ago, it will not be subject to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax.

My mother’s Will gives me the option to disclaim on my inheritance, how is this done and how long does it take to prepare a disclaimer?

A disclaimer is an heir’s legal refusal to accept a gift or a bequest. If you properly execute a disclaimer, the asset disclaimed will pass to whoever would have received it had you died before the person who left the asset to you.

We posted recently about attorney’s fees in Pennsylvania. Let’s take a look at how a dispute over fees actually plays out.

A Montgomery County Orphans’ Court case, DeVitis Estate, is a cautionary tale for executors. It shows what judges will do when faced with unexplained fees. In this case, the deceased named her daughter executor of the estate. Due to perceived foul play, two beneficiaries of the estate requested an audit of the estate and then filed objections to the accounting.

First, if your Mother’s attorney is serving as the executor and will also be providing your mother’s estate legal services in Montgomery County, the attorney should not be charging both an executor’s fee and a fee for legal services based solely on a percentage of the estate.

The Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax is levied on the net estate value, meaning the fair market value of the estate’s assets less expenses and debts.

With one exception, if a Pennsylvania resident dies before reaching the age 59½ his IRA is not subject to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax. This is because of a Pennsylvania rule stating that there will be no tax levied on the value of any retirement plan for which the deceased would have been penalized had he removed the funds during his lifetime.

To avoid interest and penalties, the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax must be paid within 9 months of the date of death. As executor, you are responsible to make the payment. If you delay and interest or penalties are created, the beneficiaries may demand that you be held responsible.

To avoid interest and penalties, the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax must be paid within 9 months of the date of death. The date you filed the Will does not matter. Otherwise, executors would simply hold off filing the Will to delay making the tax payment.

Each Pennsylvania estate is subject to two potential estate related taxes; the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax and the Federal Estate Tax. When you mention a “limit”, you are speaking about the Federal Estate Tax, not the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax.

The amount of Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax due will depend on the beneficiary’s relation to the deceased. For example, the tax rate for siblings is 12% while the tax rate for someone who was only a close friend is 15%.