Attorneys

Thomas Boulden has been representing clients in the Orphans' Courts of Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years. He has extensive experience in the areas of Will contests, Trust, Fiduciary and surcharge litigation as well as guardianships for incapacitated persons. He has experience representing the fiduciary as well as the beneficiaries. In addition to litigation matters Tom assists and counsels clients in estate planning and the review and interpretation of estate documents. 

Mr. Boulden is admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Boulden has been honored with inclusion in Best Lawyers in America from 2007 to and including the present 2012 edition.  He is a member of the Pennsylvania, Montgomery and American Bar Associations. As a member of the Montgomery Bar Association he has been the chair or co-chair of the Orphans Court Rule Committee for the years 1993-2001 and 2003-2008. Mr. Boulden was a President of the Desmond J. McTighe Inn of Court.

Mr. Boulden has successfully handled matters at the trial court level as well as on appeal. He has been lead counsel or co-counsel in matters before the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. His significant representations include:

• Mr. Boulden represented a beneficiary of a substantial Trust in compelling the distribution of the beneficiaries share. The trustees of the trust offered the beneficiary a discounted value of the beneficiaries share which was also going to be an interest in a limited partnership controlled by the trustee's family. Through the use of court filings and negotiations he was able to secure for the client full value of their share and an immediate distribution, not in the limited partnership. These actions led to the share being received by the beneficiary being increased by a million dollars over the original offered amount.
• In a matter which went up to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania , Mr. Boulden represented the seller of real estate against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania sought to increase the reality transfer tax due by a seller of land by looking at what the purchaser of the land intended to do with the property. The state sought to increase the tax due by over 5 times what was paid at the sale of the property. Mr. Boulden successfully brought the matter before the Commonwealth Court which reversed the lower courts and denied the increase in tax. This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court and was the basis for changes to the tax laws.
• Tom represented the beneficiaries of a will in a challenge to their parents' will by a sibling who was disinherited due to her attempting to have her parents declared incapacitated. The parents will was upheld by the Orphans' Court and on appeal.
• Mr. Boulden represented a widow against the children of her late husband's prior marriage. The children sought to overturn their father's will despite it providing for them fairly. The court struck down the children's challenge to their father's will and due to the children's actions the court enforced an in terroren clause disinheriting them.
• Mr. Boulden assisted a client in challenging the will of an elderly friend which was believed to have been procured through undue influence. After trying the case for several days a settlement offer was made to his client which resulted in his client receiving 65% of the estate rather than nothing under the challenged will.
• Mr. Boulden represented the beneficiary of an estate against a challenge to the trust of the decedent. The decedent made provisions for the beneficiary in a series of trust amendments for over 10 years. He successfully tried the case to uphold the gifts to his client and defend the estate planning of the decedent.
• In an estate administration the Commonwealth sought to increase the value of real estate owned by the estate. The Commonwealth sought to increase the value of the real estate for inheritance tax purposes by a million dollars, which would result in the imposition of substantially more in taxes. Mr. Boulden successfully defended the case against the Commonwealth.
  

Mr. Boulden received his Bachelor of Arts in 1984 from West Chester University graduating Summa Cum Laude. In 1991 he graduated from the Widener School of Law where he was on the Moot Court Honor Board as the DiBona Chairperson in 1990-91 and was a member of the interscholastic Moot Court teams. He was awarded the designation of Order of Barristers.

Mr. Boulden is a frequent author lecturer on estate litigation and estate planning areas for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the Montgomery Bar Association.