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Stephen M. Asbel
Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP
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Claimed Lawyer ProfileQ&A
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
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- Pennsylvania
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- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
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- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
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Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
- Partner
- Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP
- Current
Education
- Villanova University
- J.D. | Law
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- University of Pennsylvania
- B.A. | International Relations
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- Honors: Cum Laude, Distinction in Major, Pi Gamma Mu Social Science Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society
- Activities: Penn Band, College Bowl
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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
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- Philadelphia Estate Planning Council
- member
- Current
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- Delaware County Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
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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
18 Questions Answered
- Q. Is there specific language put in survivorship deed to show added name is my child to be exempt from PA transfer tax?
- A: I do not know all the facts in your situation but before you proceed with adding your daughter to the title of this deed, you should consider the potential that doing so could reduce the benefit of stepped-up basis in calculation of capital gain tax if the house is sold in the future. The inheritance tax you are trying to reduce has a rate of 4.5 percent of the value of the house but the capital gain tax rate could be 15 or 20 percent on the increase in value of the property on the portion that would be owned by your daughter. Depending upon how long you have owned the house and other factors, adding your daughter to the title could result in capital gain tax of an amount greater than the inheritance ... Read More
- 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.
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