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What happens when a trustee misuses a trust in such a way that does not affect the value of the trust but still substantially benefits the trustee and third parties? Despite the unchanged value of a trust, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently found that a breaching trustee can be...
Attorney Andrew Bell of Anderson Law Firm recently led an insightful Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar on behalf of the Young Lawyers Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association focused on estate planning with LGBTQ+ individuals in mind. Andrew addressed the unique considerations LGBTQ+ clients face, ranging from the challenges...
Pennsylvanians now have a new way to make trusts more flexible and efficient in their estate plans. On July 15, 2024, Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law Act 64 of 2024, bringing a version of the Uniform Law Commission’s Directed Trust Act ( “the Act”) to Pennsylvania, which went...
For many, a key objective of estate planning is to ease the process for loved ones after their passing. While various methods and resources enable individuals to create or modify a Last Will and Testament without consulting an estate planning attorney, doing so may result in unforeseen complications, making estate...
Commonly known as “squatters rights,” adverse possession provides an avenue to obtain title to another person’s real property without purchasing it. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5527.1. While salacious, this law has a reasonable purpose: to encourage the efficient use of land, and to prevent vacant spaces from deteriorating. Title to real...
A common first step in estate planning is deciding who you would like to appoint as the Executor¹ of your Estate. Assuming that the named Executor agrees, they can then be sworn in and granted Letters Testamentary by the Register of Wills for the applicable County in Pennsylvania. But what...
When selling a property in Western Pennsylvania, one critical aspect of the seller’s disclosure is informing potential buyers about easements that may affect the property. An easement is a legal right for one party to use part of the property owned by another party. Easements can have significant implications for...
For many of us the New Year provides the opportunity to look back, reflect and give thanks for what went well in the last 12 months. While a period of celebration for some, this time can also highlight everything that never made it off of the to-do list, no matter...
It’s been a head-spinning couple of days when it comes to enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). Business owners can, at least for now, continue to disregard the CTA’s reporting requirements following the most recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In a...
Anderson Law Firm is getting in the holiday spirit! The Young Lawyers Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association hosts an annual toy drive for underprivileged children in shelters and programs in the area. This year, the staff of Anderson Law Firm collectively sponsored 20 children across Allegheny County and...
The bottom line for estate planning clients and attorneys is that even the best laid plans can go awry. However, with a strategic plan in place and an understanding of its potential for litigation, you can ensure your estate has the best chance of being administered and distributed accordingly. Much...
Attorneys Adam Anderson and Caleb Dunn of the Anderson Law Firm estate planning team were honored to be invited to present at the annual holiday party for The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), on the...
Business owners have one less thing to worry about as we approach the end of the year. A federal district court in Texas ruled on December 3 that a federal law imposing reporting obligations on certain companies is likely unconstitutional. The court issued a nationwide injunction blocking the federal government...
Applying for long-term care can be a difficult benefit to qualify for if you have failed to properly plan. Oftentimes, long-term care applicants fail to be eligible due to excess resources or assets. Maybe you know someone or have a loved one who has applied for long-term care such as...
Attorney Kelly Arbogast of Anderson Law Firm recently delivered insightful presentations on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), first to POSH Women in Business at Napoli Restaurant in Collier Township on October 16, and then at the Allegheny Tax Society’s monthly meeting on October 21. In both sessions, Attorney Arbogast outlined...
Anderson Law Firm was honored to give a presentation to Catapult Greater Pittsburgh and Larimer Consensus Group’s community monthly meeting. We presented on the topic of estate planning and how important it is to get their succession planning documentations, such as Will, a Power of Attorney, and an Advanced Healthcare...
Attorneys Adam Anderson and Reganne McMichael of the Anderson Law Firm estate planning team were honored to give a virtual presentation to UPMC employees on the topic of elder law and guardianship. The discussion centered on the importance of having estate planning documents in place for your elderly loved ones,...
Non-compete agreements are here to stay, at least for now. On August 20, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) final rule banning the majority of non-competition agreements nationwide is unlawful and unenforceable....
Attorneys Adam Anderson and Ana Zampogna of the Anderson Law Firm estate planning team were honored to give a virtual presentation to Fluor Marine Propulsion employees on the topic of elder law and estate planning. The discussion centered on the importance of having estate planning documents in place, such as...
Congratulations, you did it! You have successfully guided your child through the challenging college admissions process and their final year of high school. Now, as you and other parents prepare to send your children off to college, there is an important task that often gets overlooked: getting an “advanced healthcare...
Attorneys Adam Anderson and Ana Zampogna of Anderson Law Firm recently prevailed in a trial concerning a will contest. In a lawsuit filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Anderson Law Firm’s client, one of three daughters of the decedent, found herself in a fierce battle with...
A “power of attorney” is an important estate planning tool that allows you to designate an agent to act on your behalf and manage your affairs. 20 Pa.C.S.A. § 5601, et seq. In Pennsylvania, all powers of attorney are presumed to be “durable,” meaning the authorized powers last through any...
Non-compete agreements may be a thing of the past under a rule adopted by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on Tuesday. In a seismic shift in the field of employment law, the FTC, in a 3-2 vote, approved a final rule banning the majority of non-compete agreements nationwide. The rule...
It is a situation that occurs frequently in hilly Western Pennsylvania: your neighbors’ home is located on a hill above your home, and they decide to perform construction on their property, such as installing a driveway. Now, whenever it rains you experience water seeping into your basement, garage, or another...
A federal district court in Alabama has ruled that a new federal law imposing certain reporting obligations on businesses is unconstitutional. On March 1, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama struck down the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), 31 U.S.C.A. § 5336, which took effect on January...
New Year’s Day may have come and gone, but leaders of homeowners associations and condominium associations in Pennsylvania should resolve to get up to speed on a relatively new state law that authorizes virtual meetings, electronic voting and electronic notifications. The Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted Act 115, which amends Title...
As an iPhone owner, you probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos stored on your phone, but what happens to those photos after you die? Chances are, you haven’t printed all of the photos that you’ve taken, and you may not have taken steps to ensure that those photos...
Failing to file beneficial ownership information could cost you $500 a day and possible jail time. Businesses must report certain identifying information to the federal government under a new law that took effect on January 1. Failing to follow this federal law, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), 31 U.S.C.A. §...
If you have a Will in place, need one completed, or are named executor of a Will, ensure that it is an Original, Self-Proving Will. Whether or not your Will is valid differs among the states, but even if your Will meets the minimum requirements to be valid in Pennsylvania,...
A Beneficiary Defective Inheritor’s Trust, also known as a “BDIT,” is one of the most powerful estate tax and asset protection strategies available to taxpayers. A BDIT is an irrevocable trust created by a third party (“Third-Party Grantor”) that grants the taxpayer (who is both a trustee and the initial...
