Erie E-Law is a complimentary service of the Erie County Bar Association designed to make basic legal information available to you with ease. You can gain access to E-Law either by reading the information found below or by contacting us to request a copy of the transcripts.
A Living Trust is a written document that sets up a new entity (the Trust) and can direct how assets you deliver to that Trust will be handled during your life and, like a Will, a Living Trust can also direct how assets in the Trust will pass upon your death. Property of a Pennsylvania decedent is usually subject to administration by the Orphans' Court of the county in which the decedent lived. However, there are numerous exceptions. A Will is the cornerstone of your estate plan. It is the way that you can direct how your property will be distributed upon your death and who will be responsible for handling your affairs. A Will is not just about money. A power of attorney is a document by which a person appoints someone else to perform certain legal duties on his or her behalf. The appointed person is called the “agent.” The term "power of attorney" does not mean that the agent has to be a lawyer. Any adult can be the appointed agent, provided that both parties agree. Two types of taxes can affect the estates of Pennsylvania residents - Pennsylvania's inheritance tax and the Federal estate tax. The two taxes work in very different ways. Some assets are subject to the Pennsylvania Inheritance tax but not the federal tax. The rates of tax are very different. A guardian is a person given the power and the duty to take care of and manage the property and rights of another person by the court. A ward is a person placed by authority of law under the care of a guardian. While all of us are concerned with medical care in the event we suffer a medical emergency, many of us are also concerned about so-called "heroic measures" when medical treatment cannot save our lives but only prolong the process of death.
Living Trusts
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Small Estates
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Wills
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Trusts
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Power of Attorney
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Inheritance and Estate Taxes
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Guardianship
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
Advance Health Care Declarations (Living Wills)
Wills & Estates
READ MORE
