Pennsylvania Probate Estates and Fiduciaries Code - Print Version
Bisel Publishing
6th Edition
AUTHORS: LISA M. RHODE, CAITLIN J. AKINS, W. STEVEN WOODWARD
1 Volume, Soft-cover, Paperback. Digital Download included.
Main Text Published: February 2025 (6th Edition)
(Previous Editions:1975, 1999, 2006, 2013, 2021)
Most recent supplement/update: N/A
Library of Congress Number: 2013951293
ISBN: 979-8-9858848-7-6
This handy reference book assembles in one place all the material dealing with each section of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code. Designed as a companion to the PEF Code, this publication offers subscribers:
- The full text of the Pennsylvania Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code (20 Pa. C.S.), organized by statutory section
- Official Comment to the Code
- Prior statutory references
- Official Comment to prior statutory references
- Cross-references to Orphans’ Court Rules and many other reference materials
- Case notes
- Sample forms including petitions, pleadings and other documents
For many years The Pennsylvania Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code Annotated has been an indispensable resource, found on the desk or bookshelf of almost every trust and estate practitioner in the Commonwealth.
The Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code (familiarly known as the “PEF Code”) was originally enacted as Act 164 of 1972, and was the product of the herculean efforts of the Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws of the Joint State Government Commission to reorganize all preexisting separate acts dealing with wills, decedents’ estates, trusts, minors’ estates, incompetents’ estates, and fiduciaries in general and to consolidate all of them into one code.
The late J. Brooke Aker, one of the leading trust and estate lawyers in the Commonwealth, immediately saw the need for an annotated book that would assist practitioners in working with the new PEF Code provisions. He produced the first edition of this work in 1975. Supplements and subsequent editions followed in the succeeding decades as the legislature made significant additions and changes to the PEF Code. In all, Mr. Aker was responsible for four editions of this handbook. The present editors are honored to have been asked to take on the task of updating his work.
As stated in the 2013 Preface to the Fourth Edition, the present book aims “to assist the busy practitioner by assembling in one place references to all the materials dealing with each section of the PEF Code.” Although research and reference methods have changed, and continue to change, the editors believe that a printed and convenient one volume compendium still serves a valuable purpose.
This Sixth Edition follows the general arrangement of the Fifth Edition in presentation of the material supplementing the statutory text (e.g., legislative history, statutory notes, references to helpful secondary materials, case notes, and forms).
If there are not any statutory notes following the statutory text of a particular provision, then that provision derives from Act 164 of 1972 and has not been amended. If the provision was enacted as part of Act 164 of 1972 and has been subsequently amended, the statutory notes provide the entire legislative history beginning with Act 164 of 1972. Similarly, if the provision was enacted subsequent to Act 164 of 1972, the relevant legislative history is noted at the end of the statutory provision, or in some cases, at the start of the chapter. Because the statutes pertaining to wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, and fiduciaries have been consolidated in the PEF Code for more than 50 years now, the statutory notes include citations to those prior acts but omit Advisory Committee comments relating the PEF Code provisions to the predecessor statutes.
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
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Preface
Contents
IndexChapter 1. Short Title and Definitions 3. Ownership of Property, Legal Title and Equitable Estate 7. Orphans' Court Divisions A. Organization B. Jurisdiction C. Venue D. Judges (Repealed) E. Duties of The Clerk and Sheriff F. Masters, Auditors, Examiners, Guardians Ad Litem and Trustees Ad Litem G. Procedure 9. Register of Wills A. Jurisdiction and Powers B. Records and Certified Copies 21. Intestate Succession 22. Elective Share of Surviving Spouse 25. Wills 27. Contractual Arrangements Relating To Succession 28. Formula Clauses for Federal Tax Purposes 31. Dispositions Independent of Letters; Family Exemption; Probate of Wills and Grant of Letters A. Dispositions Independent of Letters B. Family Exemption C. Probate D. Grant of Letters E. Personal Representative; Bond F. Personal Representative; Revocation of Letters; Removal and Discharge 33. Administration and Personal Representatives A. Inventory B. Personal Representatives; Powers, Duties and Liabilities C. Sales, Pledges, Mortgages, Leases, Options and Exchanges D. Abatement, Survival and Control of Actions E. Claims; Charges; Rights of Creditors 35. Accounts and Distribution A. Accounts B. Audits C. Review D. Distribution E. Rights of Distributees F. Legacies, Annuities, and Other Charges 37. Apportionment of Death Taxes 39. UNIFORM FIDUCIARY ACCESS TO DIGITAL ASSETS 41. Foreign Fiduciaries A. Power and Duties B. Distributions To Foreign Fiduciaries C. Transfer of Administration 43. Temporary Fiduciaries 45. Sureties A. Rights In Administration B. Enforcement of Bond 51. Minors A. Small Estates B. Appointment of Guardian C. Bond D. Removal and Discharge E. Powers, Duties and Liabilities; In General F. Sales, Pledges, Mortgages, Leases, Options and Exchanges G. Accounts, Audits, Reviews, Distribution 53. Pennsylvania Uniform Transfers To Minors Act 54. Health Care A. General Provisions B. Living Wills C. Health Care Agents and Representatives D. Combined Form E. Out-of-Hospital Nonresuscitation 55. Incapacitated Persons A. General Provisions B. Small Estates C. Appointment of Guardian; Bonds; Removal and Discharge D. Powers, Duties and Liabilities of Guardians E. Accounts, Audits, Reviews and Distribution F. Guardian Support 56. Powers of Attorney 57. Absentees and Presumed Decedents 58. Mental Health Care A. General Provisions B. Mental Health Declarations C. Mental Health Powers of Attorney 59 Uniform Adult Guardianship And Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction A. General Provisions B. Jurisdiction C. Transfer of Guardianship or Conservatorship D. Registration and Recognition of Orders from Other States E. Miscellaneous Provisions 61. Estates 62. Disclaimers 63. Multiple-Party Accounts 64. Transfer on Death Security Registration 71. Trust Estates (7101-7192 Deleted by 2006 Act No. 98, Effective Nov. 6, 2006) 72. Prudent Investor Rule 73. Municipalities Investments 75. Limitations on Exercise of Trustee Powers and Powers of Beneficiaries to Appoint Trustees 77. Trusts A. General Provisions B. Judicial Proceeding C. Representation D. Creation, Validity, Modification and Termination of Trust E. Creditor's Claims; Spendthrift and Discretionary Trusts F. Revocable Trusts G. Office of Trustee H. Duties and Powers of Trustee I. Liability of Trustees and Rights of Persons Dealing with Trustees J. Miscellaneous Provisions 79. CHARITABLE INSTRUMENTS 81. Principal and Income A. Preliminary Provisions; Power to Adjust; Power to Convert to Unitrust B. Decedent's Estate or Terminating Income Interest C. Apportionment at Beginning and End of Income Interest D. Allocation of Receipts During Administration of Trust E. Allocation of Disbursements During Administration of Trust F. (Reserved) G. (Reserved) H. Miscellaneous Provisions 83. Inalienable Property 84. Military Service 85. Simultaneous Death 86. Anatomical Gifts A. General Provisions B. Express Anatomical Gifts C. Corneal Transplants D. HANDS, FACIAL TISSUE, LIMBS AND OTHER VASCULARIZED COMPOSITE ALLOGRAFTS 87. Employee Benefits 88. Slayers and Elder Abusers