In Re: Estate of Ann Nancy Luciani, 451 MDA 2018

John J. Luciani Sr. died in 2002; his 1993 revocable trust transferred principal (including Concrete Step and Wayne Crushed stock) to his wife Ann during her lifetime.
Ann Luciani died in Florida in 2012; her 2011 will and related trust were litigated and upheld in Lake County, Florida; Ann's estate/trust received and distributed the stock, and administration was closed in Florida.
In 2017 appellants (John Jr. and Christopher Luciani) filed a Pennsylvania declaratory-judgment petition seeking (1) distribution of Concrete Step shares to ensure equal legacies and (2) that a shareholder agreement govern Wayne Crushed stock distribution, asserting Nealon (trustee) treated beneficiaries inequitably.
Nealon filed preliminary objections arguing Lackawanna County Orphans’ Court lacked jurisdiction because the Ann Trust is Florida situs and governed by Florida law; the Florida courts already resolved Ann’s estate/trust.
The trial court sustained Nealon’s jurisdictional objection and dismissed the petition; appellants appealed. The Superior Court affirmed, holding Pennsylvania courts lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the Florida trust matters and that Florida had already adjudicated the estate/trust.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court has jurisdiction to decide claims about distribution of stock held in Ann Luciani's trust	Appellants: Pennsylvania court can hear claims about distributions and inter vivos trusts; Nealon is a Pennsylvania resident so PA has jurisdiction	Nealon: Ann's trust designates Florida situs and Florida law; estate/trust were litigated and closed in Florida, so PA lacks jurisdiction	Court: Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; Florida is situs and matter was litigated/closed in Florida
Whether Superior Court statement about trustee discretion is binding/controlling here	Appellants: Superior Court’s prior opinion created a right of action or required distribution to equalize legacies	Nealon: Prior opinion did not alter that Florida trust governs distributions and does not confer PA jurisdiction	Court: Declined to reach this issue because dismissal for lack of jurisdiction was affirmed (thus prior statement need not be addressed)

De Lage Landen Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Urban P’ship, LLC, 903 A.2d 586 (Pa. Super. 2006) (standard of review for preliminary objections)
Filipovich v. J.T. Imports, Inc., 637 A.2d 314 (Pa. Super. 1994) (treat well-pleaded facts as true on appeal from preliminary-objections dismissal)
B.J.D. v. D.L.C., 19 A.3d 1081 (Pa. Super. 2011) (subject-matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time and reviewed de novo)
Estate of Gentry v. Diamond Rock Hill Realty, LLC, 111 A.3d 194 (Pa. Super. 2015) (jurisdictional principles for Orphans’ Court matters)
Aronson v. Sprint Spectrum, L.P., 767 A.2d 564 (Pa. Super. 2001) (definition and scope of jurisdictional inquiry)
Saffan v. Saffan, 588 So.2d 684 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1991) (factors establishing Florida as the situs of a trust)