THE COURTS

Title 231--RULES
OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART II. ORPHANS' COURT RULES

[231 PA. CODE PART II]

Amendment of Pa.O.C. Rule 6.1 and Approval of Model Accounts; No. 414 Supreme Court Rules; Doc. No. 1

[37 Pa.B. 1759]
[Saturday, April 14, 2007]

Order

Per Curiam:

   And Now, this 29th day of March, 2007, upon the recommendation of the Orphans' Court Procedural Rules Committee, the proposal having been published for comment before adoption at 36 Pa.B. 6929 (November 11, 2006):

   It Is Ordered, pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, that:

   (1)  Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rule 6.1 is amended as follows;

   (2)  The Model Executor's Account and Model Trustee's Account previously attached to the Uniform Fiduciary Accounting Principles, approved pursuant to Rule 6.1(g) and included in an Appendix following Rule 6.1 are rescinded and the revised model accounts (renamed ''Model Estate Account'' and ''Model Trust Account'' respectively) are approved and included in the Forms Appendix following the Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rules;

   (3)  A Model Charitable Unitrust Account is approved and is set forth in the Forms Appendix following the Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rules;

   (4)  The Uniform Fiduciary Accounting Principles previously approved pursuant to Rule 6.1(g) and included in an Appendix following Rule 6.1(g) are relocated to the Forms Appendix following the Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rules; and

   (5)  The Index to Appendix is amended as follows.

   This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 103(b), and shall become effective thirty days from the date of entry of this order.

Annex A

TITLE 231. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART II. ORPHANS' COURT RULES

RULE 6: ACCOUNTS AND DISTRIBUTION

Rule 6.1. Form of Account.

   Accounts shall conform to the following rules:

   (a)  The dates of all receipts [and], disbursements and distributions, the sources of the receipts, and the persons to whom disbursements and distributions are made and the purpose thereof shall be stated except that [where] when a number of payments have been received from the same source or disbursed or distributed to the same recipient for the same purpose over a period of time, such receipts [or], disbursements or distributions need not be itemized but may be stated in total amounts only with dates of beginning and ending of the period covered.

   (b)  Except where otherwise provided by a special order of the local Court in a particular case, [items of administration, distribution, receipts, disbursements, principal, and income shall be separately itemized.] principal and income shall be accounted for separately within the account. As illustrated in the Model Accounts set forth in the Appendix, every account shall contain:

   (1)  cover page;

   (2)  summary and index page;

   (3)  separate schedules, as needed, which set forth receipts, gains or losses on sales or other dispositions, disbursements, distributions, investments made and changes in holdings, and other schedules as appropriate; and

   (4)  signature and verification pages by the accountant(s); the verification of the personal representative's account shall contain a statement that the Grant of Letters and the first complete advertisement thereof occurred more than four months before the filing of the account unless the personal representative has been directed by the court to file an account prior to that time.

   (c)  Assets held by the accountant on the closing date of [filing] the account shall be separately itemized.

   (d)  Testamentary assets shall be segregated from appointive assets.

   (e)  [Each local Court may adopt further rules not inconsistent with the foregoing regulating the form of accounts.

   (f)]  Except where otherwise provided by a special order of the local Court in a particular case, Accounts [may] shall be prepared and filed in substantial conformity with [either (i) the rules prescribed or forms approved by the local Court or (ii)] any form approved by the Supreme Court of this Commonwealth[--whichever the accountant may elect].

   [(g)] (f)  The Uniform Fiduciary Accounting Principles and accompanying commentaries and illustrations recommended by the Committee on National Fiduciary Accounting Standards in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts are approved as an elaboration of the requirements of this rule. Reference may be made to them for determination of the adequacy of a particular account. The model Account formats [attached thereto] set forth in the Appendix to the Pa.O.C. Rules are the approved forms for purposes of paragraph [(f)(ii)] (e) of this Rule in lieu of all forms heretofore approved.

   Committee Comment: For completeness, paragraph (a) of this Rule is expanded to include distributions as a category. Paragraph (b) of this Rule is expanded to delineate the individual schedules required within an account and to require that each account be signed at the end and verified. Consistent with the objective to standardize statewide practice, former paragraph (e) of this Rule was stricken and present paragraph (e) was modified to require use of forms of Account consistent with model forms except upon special order of Court. The National Fiduciary Accounting Standards Project (1983) Report of Fiduciary Accounting Standards Committee previously referenced in Pa.O.C. Rule 6.1 is now included in the Appendix following the Pa.O.C. Rules. However, the Orphans' Court Procedural Rules Committee has corrected and modified the Project's Model Estate Account and Model Trust Account attached to that Report and added a Model Charitable Remainder Unitrust Account. All Model Accounts are also now included in the Appendix following the Pa.O.C. Rules.

INDEX TO APPENDIX

ORPHANS' COURT AND REGISTER OF WILLS FORMS
ADOPTED BY SUPREME COURT
PURSUANT TO Pa.O.C. Rule 1.3

Available as Fill-in Forms on Website
of Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
http://www.aopc.org./Index/Forms/IndexForms.asp.

Orphans' Court and Administration Forms

A.  Audit and Administration Forms

1.  Petition for Adjudication--Decedent's Estate (Pa.O.C. Rule 6.9)       OC-01
2.  Petition for Adjudication--Trust Estate (Pa.O.C. Rule 6.9)       OC-02
3.  Petition for Adjudication--Guardian of Estate of Incapacitated Person (Pa.O.C. Rule 6.9)       OC-03
4.  Petition for Adjudication--Guardian of Estate of Minor (Pa.O.C. Rule 6.9)       OC-04
5.  Petition for Adjudication--Principal's Estate under POA (Pa.O.C. Rule 6.9)       OC-05
6.  Notice of Charitable Gift (Pa.O.C. Rule 5.5)       OC-06
7.  Notice of Claim       OC-07

B.  Guardianship Forms

1.  Important Notice--Citation with Notice (Pa.O.C. Rule 14.5)       G-01
2.  Annual Report--Guardian of Estate       G-02
3.  Annual Report--Guardian of Person       G-03
4.  Guardian's Inventory       G-04
5.  Petition for Adjudication--Guardian of Estate of Incapacitated Person       OC-03*
6.  Petition for Adjudication--Guardian of Estate of Minor       OC-04**

* Form OC-3 is not reprinted here and is located under Audit and Administration Forms at No. 3.
**Form OC-4 is not reprinted here and is located under Audit and Administration Forms at No. 4.

C.  Abortion Control Act Forms

1.  Minor's Application for Judicial Authorization of an Abortion (Pa.O.C. Rule 16.10)      ACA-01
2.  Confidential Unsworn Verification by a Minor (Pa.O.C. Rule 16.10)       ACA-02

D.  Register of Wills Forms

1.  Estate Information Sheet       RW-01

   (Not adopted by Supreme Court; form promulgated by Department of Revenue and maintained with Register
of Wills forms for convenience.)

2.  Petition for Probate and Grant of Letters       RW-02
3.  Oath of Subscribing Witness(es)       RW-03
4.  Oath of Non-subscribing Witness(es)       RW-04
5.  Oath of Witness(es) to Will Executed by Mark       RW-05
6.  Renunciation       RW-06
7.  Pa.O.C. Rule 5.6 Notice       RW-07
8.  Certification of Notice under Pa.O.C. Rule 5.6(a)      RW-08
9.  Estate Inventory       RW-09
10.  Pa.O.C. Rule 6.12 Status Report       RW-10

E.  Model Forms of Account

1.  National Fiduciary Accounting Standards Project--1983 Report of Fiduciary Accounting Standards Committee
2.  Model Estate Account
3.  Model Trust Account
4.  Model Charitable Remainder Unitrust Account

                   

 

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