Judicial Services Report 2016, 225th Anniversary Edition

The Orphans' Division is one of the five divisions of the Court of Common Pleas, and serves to protect the personal and property rights of all persons and entities who are otherwise incapable of managing their own affairs. The name "Orphans" in the name of the Court is derived from the general definition of "orphan" as one lacking protection, not the common association of a child deprived by the death of his or her parents. This division of the Court traces its ancestry back to the old City of London’s Court for Widows and Orphans’. In 1776, the Pennsylvania Constitution formally es- tablished an Orphans’ Court in Pennsylvania. The Orphans’ Court was once separate and independent from the Court of Common Pleas. The two Courts were unified in 1969, and since 1970 the Orphans’ Court has been administered by a judge from the Court of Common Pleas. The Court's jurisdiction extends to minors, incapacitated persons, decedents, trusts, principals and agents under powers of attorney, non-profit charitable organizations, cemetery companies, birth records and marriage licenses. The Court appoints guardians for minors and incapacitated persons to handle their financial affairs and/or their health and safety needs. The actions and accounts of fiduciaries, including guardians, agents under powers of attorney, executors, administrators, and trustees are examined and audited. The Court hears disputes involving inheritance and estate tax and marital license issues. Questions regarding the administration and distribution of the decedents', minors' and inca- pacitated persons' estates, testamentary and inter vivos trusts, special needs trusts, non-profit corporations organized for charitable purposes, as well as Appeals from the Register of Wills are adjudicated and resolved. Settlements of ac- tions involving minors, incapacitated persons, decedent's estates and wrongful death and survival beneficiaries are reviewed. Authorizations to act as an approved corporate fiduciary are issued by the Court.

As a Court of equity, it is the Court's mission to ensure that the best interests of those persons and entities, who are "orphans" in the general sense of the word, are not compromised.