Pennsylvania Orphans' Court account format

The format: the Model Accounts

In Pennsylvania, a court rule sets the accounting format. Under Orphans' Court Rule 2.1, accounts must conform to the Model Accounts in the Appendix to the rules, unless the court orders otherwise in a particular case. The rule then spells out what that means:

• dates, sources and purposes of every receipt, disbursement and distribution, with recurring items allowed in totals;
• principal and income accounted for separately;
• assets on hand at the closing date itemized;
• a cover page, a summary page with page references, schedules (receipts, gains or losses on sales, disbursements, distributions, investments made, changes in holdings and others as needed) and signature pages verified by an accountant.

A personal representative's verification must state that the grant of letters and the first complete advertisement occurred more than four months before the account was filed, unless the court directed an earlier account.

Rule 2.1(c) adopts the Uniform Fiduciary Accounting Principles as an elaboration of the rule. The Unified Judicial System publishes the Model Estate Account, Model Trust Account and the 1983 standards report. The model's summary runs principal receipts, net gain on sales, disbursements (debts, funeral and administration expenses, taxes, fees and commissions), distributions and principal balance on hand, then the same for income, then the combined balance, with investments made and changes in holdings shown "for information".

The petition for adjudication

The account is filed with a petition for adjudication/statement of proposed distribution (Rule 2.4), on the statewide forms OC-01 (decedent's estate) and OC-02 (trust). Before an account is confirmed, the accountant gives written notice of the filing to unpaid claimants, beneficiaries and others listed in Rule 2.5, at least 20 days before the audit or the objection deadline (60 days for a party outside the United States). Objections under Rule 2.7 must be specific as to description and amount.

Trusts outside court

A trustee doesn't have to file an account just because a trust is administered. But 20 Pa.C.S. §7780.3 requires notices after a settlor dies or is adjudicated incapacitated, and each current beneficiary has the right to receive, on request, periodic written financial reports at least annually. The model trust account format works well for those reports too.

Principal and income

Chapter 81 of Title 20 is the Pennsylvania Uniform Principal and Income Act (20 Pa.C.S. §8101).

What Summafolio produces

Separate principal and income sections with receipts, gains and losses, disbursements, distributions, balance on hand, investments made and changes in holdings, in the order of the Model Accounts, plus a summary with page references. The OC-01 or OC-02 petition is a separate court form that you complete.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file a simple receipts-and-disbursements list?

Not as a formal account. Rule 2.1 requires the model form unless the court orders otherwise.

Does the rule apply to guardianship accounts?

Guardianship accounts have their own petition forms (OC-03, OC-04). Summafolio doesn't support minors' guardianships.

Samples and next steps

• Sample: Pennsylvania trust account21-page PDF and Excel workbook from a fictional matter.
• Guide: Principal and Income Act: Allocating Trust Receipts & ExpensesPlain-English explanation with citations.
• Free template: Trust accounting template (annual account)Blank PDF and Excel. A template, not a court form.
• PricingOne price per accounting, every export included.
• How it worksFrom statements to a reconciled accounting.
• All states and formatsCompare the 14 state formats and the uniform format.

Other states

• California
• Florida
• New York
• Texas
• Illinois
• Ohio
• Georgia
• North Carolina
• Arizona
• Washington
• New Jersey
• Michigan
• Virginia
• Uniform format