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Practice Areas
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Probate
- Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests
- Tax Law
- Estate Tax Planning
- Family Law
- Adoption, Guardianship & Conservatorship, Prenups & Marital Agreements, Same Sex Family Law
- Business Law
- Business Contracts
- Real Estate Law
- Residential Real Estate
Additional Practice Area
- Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Law
Fees
- Free Consultation
- Credit Cards Accepted
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
- Partner
- Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP
- Current
Education
- Villanova University
- J.D. | Law
- -
- University of Pennsylvania
- B.A. | International Relations
- -
- Honors: Cum Laude, Distinction in Major, Pi Gamma Mu Social Science Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society
- Activities: Penn Band, College Bowl
Awards
- Boutique Estate Planning
- Corporate INTL Global Awards
- 2017-2019
- Top Lawyers
- Main Line Today
- Top Estate Planning and Administration Attorneys List
- Suburban Life Magazine
- Distinguished Peer Rated for High Professional Achievement with High Ethical Standing
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- Lead Counsel Rated Attorney in Estate Planning Law
- Lead Counsel
Professional Associations
- Delaware County Panel of Attorneys for Arbitrators
- Member
- Current
- Philadelphia Estate Planning Council
- member
- Current
- Delaware County Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
Publications
Articles & Publications
- The Perils of Procrastination in Administering a Deceased Family Member’s Estate
- Reger Rizzo & Darnall Client Alert
- Supreme Court Ruling Changes the Rules in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware: LGBTQ+ Employees’ Right to Bring Federal Discrimination Claims
- Reger Rizzo & Darnall Client Alert
- Executing Wills and Powers of Attorney During a Pandemic
- The Legal Intelligencer
- Second-Parent Adoptions: An Option for LGBTQ Parents
- The Legal Intelligencer
- Why You Should Pre-Plan Your Funeral
- Client Alert
Speaking Engagements
- Interviewed on Safe Money Radio
- WDEL 1150 AM
- September 2013
Legal Answers
17 Questions Answered
- Q. What should we do with my widowed mom's house to protect the heirs against capital gains upon her death?
- A: From the information given, it appears that the best thing to do to protect against capital gain tax on your mother's house after her death is to do nothing. If she holds ownership of the house until her death, there will be stepped up basis for calculating capital gain. That is, the capital gain would only be gain that occurs after her death. If the house is sold soon after her death, there will likely be no gain at all.
- Q. Can I renounce my right as an executor, and is it difficult to do so?
- A: It is fairly simple to renounce your right to administer an estate in Pennsylvania. You fill out form Orphans Court Form RW-06 (you can download it) including filling in who is agreeing to administer the estate in your place. You have to sign the form in the presence of a notary. You give the signed and notarized form to the person who will be petitioning to administer the estate and then they include that with their own petition and documents to open the estate.
Note that if the person who ends up administering the estate is a Pennsylvania resident, they will probably not need a bond as long as all the heirs entitled to inherit are over age 18.
- Q. Obtaining guardianship of a minors estate?
- A: A guardianship of a minor's estate is required if the amount of the minor's assets exceeds $25,000.00. A guardianship of a minor's would be established by petitioning through the Orphans Court Division of the Court in your county.
It is important to note, however that while you can file the petition to appoint a guardian, under Pennsylvania law, the Court cannot appoint a minor's parent as a sole guardian of a minor's estate. You would thus need someone else to be the guardian. You could be appointed as a co-guardian along with the other guardian.
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