Title 20, DECEDENTS, ESTATES AND FIDUCIARIES

(a) Powers.--Upon registration of a guardianship or protective order from another state, the guardian or conservator may exercise in this Commonwealth all powers authorized in the order of appointment except as prohibited under the laws of this Commonwealth, including maintaining…

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

(a) General rule.--Except as set forth in subsection (b), this chapter modifies, limits or supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (Public Law 106-229, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.). (b) Exceptions.-- (1) This chapter does not modify, limit or superse…

The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: "Charity" or "charitable purposes." (Deleted by amendment). "Conveyance." An act by which it is intended to create…

2006 Amendment. Section 6102 was deleted by amendment July 7, 2006, P.L.625, No.98, effective in 120 days.

2016 Repeal. Section 6103 was repealed July 8, 2016, P.L.497, No.79, effective January 1, 2017.

(a) Interests releasable.-- (1) Subject to paragraph (2), an interest in property that has been accepted may be released. (2) An income interest in a spendthrift trust may be released only if the released income passes to one or more of the releasor's descendants. (b) Effect of r…

(a) General.--No interest shall be void as a perpetuity except as herein provided. (b) Void interest; exceptions.--Upon the expiration of the period allowed by the common law rule against perpetuities as measured by actual rather than possible events, any interest not then vested…

(a) Valid interests following void interests.--A valid interest following a void interest in income shall be accelerated to the termination date of the last preceding valid interest. (b) Void interests on condition subsequent or special limitation.--A void interest following a va…

(a) General.--Except as set forth in section 6107.1 (relating to applicability of rule against perpetuities), no direction or authorization to accumulated income shall be void, except as herein provided. (b) Void accumulations; exceptions.--Except as set forth in section 6107.1, …

Except as set forth in section 6107.1 (relating to applicability of rule against perpetuities), income subject to a void direction or authorization to accumulate shall be distributed to the person or proportionately to the persons in whom the right to such income has vested by th…

(a) Traditional rule.--Sections 6104 (relating to rule against perpetuities), 6105 (relating to rule against perpetuities; disposition when invalidity occurs), 6106 (relating to income accumulations; when valid) and 6107 (relating to income accumulations; disposition when invalid…

(a) In general.--The designation of beneficiaries of life insurance, annuity or endowment contracts, or of any agreement entered into by an insurance company in connection therewith, supplemental thereto or in settlement thereof, and the designation of beneficiaries of benefits p…

1980 Repeal. Section 6109 was repealed July 11, 1980, P.L.565, No.118, effective in 60 days.

2006 Amendment. Section 6110 was deleted by amendment July 7, 2006, P.L.625, No.98, effective in 120 days.

1978 Repeal. Section 6111 was repealed April 18, 1978, P.L.42, No.23, effective in 60 days.

Any provision in a conveyance which was revocable by a conveyor at the time of the conveyor's death and which was to take effect at or after the conveyor's death in favor of or relating to the conveyor's spouse shall become ineffective for all purposes unless it appears in the go…

(a) Applicability.--This section is applicable if an individual: (1) is domiciled in this Commonwealth; (2) designates the individual's spouse as beneficiary of the individual's life insurance policy, annuity contract, pension or profit-sharing plan or other contractual arrangeme…

2006 Amendment. Section 6112 was deleted by amendment July 7, 2006, P.L.625, No.98, effective in 120 days.

A person having a present interest in personal property, or in the proceeds of the conversion of real estate, which is not in trust, and which is subject to a future interest, shall be deemed to be a trustee of such property, and not a debtor to the remainderman, with the ordinar…

(a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (b), in the absence of a contrary intent appearing therein, conveyances shall be construed, as to real and personal estate, in accordance with the following rules: (1) Meaning of "heirs" and "next of kin," etc.; time of ascertai…

An interest conveyed to a person for the life of another, whether or not such conveyance is to him and his heirs, shall, on his death before expiration of the interest, be considered as personal property forming a part of his estate and shall be subject to distribution in like ma…

Whenever by any conveyance an estate in fee tail would be created according to the common law of the Commonwealth, it shall pass an estate in fee simple, and as such shall be inheritable and freely alienable.

(a) Rule in Shelley's case.--The rule in Shelley's case and its corollaries shall not be applied, and a conveyance directly or in trust which shall express an intent to create an estate for life with remainder to the life tenant's heirs or the heirs of his body or his issue or hi…

1976 Repeal. Section 6118 was repealed July 9, 1976, P.L.551, No.135, effective immediately.

A person to whom an interest in property would have devolved by whatever means, including a beneficiary under a will, an appointee under the exercise of a power of appointment, a person entitled to take by intestacy, a joint tenant with right of survivorship, a donee of an inter …

A disclaimer on behalf of a decedent, a minor or an incapacitated person may be made by his personal representative, the guardian of his estate or in the case of an incapacitated person who executed a power of attorney which confers the authority to disclaim upon his agent and wh…

A disclaimer in whole or in part may be made of any present or future interest, vested or contingent, including a possible future right to take as an appointee under an unexercised power of appointment or under a discretionary power to distribute income or principal.

(a) Will or intestacy.--If the interest would have devolved to the disclaimant by will or by intestacy, the disclaimer shall be filed with the clerk of the orphans' court division of the county where the decedent died domiciled or, if the decedent was not domiciled in this Common…

(a) In general.--A disclaimer relates back for all purposes to the date of the death of the decedent or the effective date of the inter vivos transfer or third-party beneficiary contract as the case may be. The disclaimer shall not in any way diminish the interest of any person o…

(a) Acceptance.--A disclaimer may be made at any time before acceptance. An acceptance may be express or may be inferred from actions of the person entitled to receive an interest in property such as the following: (1) The taking of possession or accepting delivery of the propert…

The provisions of this chapter do not abridge the right of a person to disclaim interests under any other statute and do not affect any additional requirements for a disclaimer to be effective for inheritance tax purposes or other purposes covered specifically in other statutory …

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings given to them in this section: "Account" means a contract of deposit of funds between a depositor and a financial institution, and includes a checkin…

The provisions of this chapter are applicable solely to the determination of property rights among parties to multiple-party accounts and all claims made through them but do not apply to and do not affect financial institutions or their rights and liabilities with respect to mult…

(a) Joint account.--A joint account belongs, during the lifetime of all parties, to the parties in proportion to the net contributions by each to the sum on deposit, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent. (b) Trust account.--Unless a contrary intent …

(a) Joint account.--Any sum remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belongs to the surviving party or parties as against the estate of the decedent unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent at the time the account is created. If t…

The applicability of the provisions of section 6304 (relating to right of survivorship) is determined by the form of the account at the death of a party.

No transfer resulting from the application of section 6304 (relating to right of survivorship) shall be considered as testamentary or subject to Chapter 21 (relating to intestate succession) or Chapter 25 (relating to wills).

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Beneficiary form." A registration of a security which indicates the present owner of the security and the intention of …

Only individuals whose registration of a security shows sole ownership by one individual or multiple ownership by two or more with right of survivorship, rather than as tenants in common, may obtain registration in beneficiary form. Multiple owners of a security registered in ben…

A security may be registered in beneficiary form if the form is authorized by this or a similar statute of the state of organization of the issuer or registering entity, the location of the registering entity's principal office, the office of its transfer agent or its office maki…

A security, whether evidenced by certificate or account, is registered in beneficiary form when the registration includes a designation of a beneficiary, which may include a trustee of a trust, to take the ownership at the death of the owner or the deaths of all multiple owners.…

Registration in beneficiary form may be shown by the words "transfer on death" or the acronym "TOD," or by the words "pay on death" or the acronym "POD," after the name of the registered owner and before the name of a beneficiary.

The designation of a TOD beneficiary on a registration in beneficiary form has no effect on ownership until the owner's death. A registration of a security in beneficiary form may be canceled or changed at any time by the sole owner or all then surviving owners, without the conse…

On death of a sole owner or the last to die of all multiple owners, ownership of securities registered in beneficiary form passes to the beneficiary or beneficiaries who survive all owners. On proof of death of all owners and compliance with any applicable requirements of the reg…

(a) General rule.--A registering entity is not required to offer or to accept a request for security registration in beneficiary form. If a registration in beneficiary form is offered by a registering entity, the owner requesting registration in beneficiary form assents to the pr…