Rule 14.1A - Guardianship Petition Practice and Pleading. Special Petitions(1) Small Estate of Incapacitated Persons. If at a hearing the incapacity is established, and it appears that the gross estate does not exceed the statutory limitation, the Court may award the entire estate to the person or institution maintaining the incapacitated person, or make such order as may be appropriate under the circumstances. In such case, a decree in approved form, in lieu of the final decree appointing a guardian, shall be attached to the face of the petition. Probate Section Comment: 20 Pa.C.S. § 5101 and § 5505 prescribe the statutory limitation for small estates.
(2)Petition for Allowances. Expenditures for the maintenance or support of an incapacitated person or for a dependent of the incapacitated person, or for payment of counsel fees, shall be governed by the appropriate provisions of Phila. O.C. Rule 5.6C(1) and (3) and as provided below. (a)Filing of Petition and Decrees. A petition for allowance from the incapacitated person's estate, during incapacity, shall be filed, in accordance with Pa. O.C. Rule 4.7 and Phila. O.C. Rule 4.7A, with the Clerk by the guardian or any interested party. A proposed final decree shall be attached to the face of the petition. When the petitioner is not a guardian, a preliminary decree containing a provision for the time and place for hearing to be fixed by the Court shall also be attached to the face of the petition. Notice shall be given to the guardian, to all interested parties, and to such other persons as the Court may direct.(b)Contents of Petition. The petition shall include: (i) the information listed in Pa. O.C. Rule 14.2(a)(1) through (5); (ii) the name(s) of the guardian(s), the date of his or her or appointment, the nature of the guardianship of the estate or person (limited or plenary) and the name of the Hearing Judge; (iii) the names and addresses of all interested parties; (iv) if the petitioner is not a guardian, his or her relationship to the incapacitated person, and, if not related, the nature of his or her interest; (v) a statement of all previous distributions allowed by the Court since the date of the last Court approved accounting, if any; (vi) an itemized statement of all claims of the incapacitated person's creditors known to petitioner; (vii) a statement of the requested distribution and the reasons therefor; and(viii) a prayer for the distribution requested. If the allowance requested will involve a matter which will require annual petitions for substantially similar relief, the petitioner may request the Court to make the grant of the allowance applicable to more than one (1) year, but not to exceed three (3) years, unless otherwise permitted by the Court.(c) Restrictions Governing Allowance:(i) Except in cases of extreme emergency, requests for allowances will not be approved prior to the filing of the inventory or the last required annual report, as the case may be.(ii) Requests for allowances for fees of Court-appointed Counsel will not be approved prior to the filing of the Guardian Inventory. Whenever possible, reasonable counsel fees shall be ordered to be paid from the estate of the incapacitated person. If the incapacitated person is unable to pay for counsel, the Court may order counsel fees and costs to be paid by the county. See 20 Pa.C.S. § 5511(c).(iii) If any portion of the incapacitated person's estate is received from the United States Veterans' Administration or its successor, or any agency of the Commonwealth, notice of the request for allowance shall be given to such agency.(3)Other Petitions. Any other petitions for relief may be filed consistent with the applicable statutes and rules. See 20 Pa.C.S. § 5501 et seq., Pa. O.C. Rule 14.1(c).Adopted effective 6/1/2019.