Accordingly, the Advisory

Committee established a subcommittee consisting of C. Thomas Work (chair), Judge

Calvin S. Drayer, Jr., Robert L. Freedman, Richard L. Grossman, Neil E. Hendershot and

Edward M. Watters, III. Over a two-year period, the subcommittee met to discuss a more

comprehensive statutory framework for trusts and proposed the Pennsylvania Uniform

Trust Act. The Advisory Committee met on three occasions to review and discuss the

subcommittee’s recommendations. Throughout its deliberations, the Advisory

Committee recognized that an organized, more comprehensive codification of trust law

will facilitate the search for applicable Pennsylvania trust law, encourage better

compliance with Pennsylvania law by trustees who do business in more than one state

and enable beneficiaries of Pennsylvania trusts to better understand and enforce their

rights.

The Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents’

Estates Laws is a standing group of attorneys and judges from across the Commonwealth

who assist the General Assembly by recommending improvements to Pennsylvania law

relating to Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, known as the Probate,

Estates and Fiduciaries Code, and related statutes. Since 1945, the Advisory Committee

has provided expertise and advice in formulating legislation aimed at modernizing

Pennsylvania law to make it more efficient. After reaching consensus on its legislative

recommendations, the Advisory Committee presents its recommendations to the Task

Force on Decedents’ Estates Laws, which is a bicameral and bipartisan panel of

legislators. The Task Force then considers the recommendations and decides whether to

authorize the Joint State Government Commission to publish a report containing the

recommendations, which serve as a basis for legislation.

In 2001, the Advisory Committee decided to review Pennsylvania trust law in

light of the adoption of the Uniform Trust Code (UTC).