Someone's hand signing a document

Trusts in Estate Planning and Litigation

Trusts are an ancient legal mechanism that protect your assets, and they’ve only become more popular with time. Trusts can be used instead of wills to pass on your assets to the next generation, or as a way to protect money for a family member…
A couple sitting together and watching a sunset

Common Law Marriage in Pennsylvania

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https://youtu.be/CDlEpqWrVZ4 Common law marriage is an old rule that originally comes from England. The idea behind it is that a man and woman could be married simply because they represented themselves as a married couple enough times in…
An attorney at his desk with two clients sitting on the other side

When is the Reading of the Will?

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The scene opens in an oak-paneled conference room, as shafts of light descend through the large windows in the lawyer’s office onto the pages of an ancient, creased will. The grumpy lawyer slowly begins with some preamble when he is interrupted…
A flowering tree at sunset

Am I Responsible for My Parent's Debts?

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When a parent dies, the adult children often ask if they are responsible in any way for the debt that is left behind. The quick and easy answer is, no, you are generally not responsible for the debts of your loved one who passed away. There…
Parents feeding ducks with their adopted stepchild

Adopting your Stepchildren

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The Brady Bunch was meant to be a humorous show about the difficulties of merging two families with kids. But 50 years after the show debuted, there isn’t really any joke about it. Merged families are the norm, and for parents working to ensure…
A woman signing a short certificate

What can I do with a short certificate?

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When you obtain a short certificate for an estate, what does it empower you to do? The short certificate is the document granted by the Register of Wills in a county to the Executor of an estate. The Executor, having named and granted these…
A field at sunset

The Right of Sepulchre

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When a loved one passes away, there can be disputes regarding how to treat and dispose of the body. Ideally, the decedent would have included clear funeral instructions in his or her last will and testament. In some cases, those wishes might…
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Drafting a Will: What Should I Include?

https://youtu.be/qOIzdBCDhEk When drafting your last will and testament, there are several important questions you will need to ask. While drafting a will can be a fairly simple process for most people, it still contains a few potentially stressful…
A woman calculating numbers on a document

What is a Power of Attorney in Pennsylvania?

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Power of Attorney is a document granting one person the ability to make decisions regarding property and possessions on behalf of another. The power of attorney document (POA) is named this because the agent can act in many ways as an attorney…
A woman signing a document

Giving Notice to Estate Beneficiaries

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Beneficiaries of an estate are entitled to notice when the estate is being probated, and it’s the executor’s job to send the notice. Today, we’ll give a brief overview on how to fulfill this part of the estate process. Giving notice…
A person signing a document

Avoiding Probate in Estate Planning

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As we have discussed in other articles, probate is the process of an opening of an estate and transferring ownership of assets from a deceased individual to that person’s beneficiaries. Probate can be an expensive and time-consuming process,…
Pennsylvania Death Certificate

Why You Can’t Photocopy Pennsylvania Death Certificates

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When a loved one passes away, one of the first steps in the estate administration process is the issuance of death certificates. Death certificates are required for many things, including opening probate and obtaining a short certificate.…