How probate works in Pennsylvania: a plain-language guide for executors

Last reviewed October 21, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Probate is the court-supervised process of proving a will, appointing someone to manage the estate, paying debts and taxes, and passing property to the right people. In Pennsylvania, most of it starts at one county office: the Register of Wills.

1. Where an estate is opened

The estate is opened with the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived at death. Every county has one; the PA Courts website keeps a statewide directory of Registers of Wills.

2. With a will: letters testamentary

The executor named in the will brings the original will and a death certificate to the Register of Wills and applies for probate. Once approved, the Register issues letters testamentary, the document that shows banks, title companies, and buyers that the executor can act for the estate.

3. Without a will: letters of administration

If there is no will, Pennsylvania's intestacy rules decide who inherits, and the Register appoints an administrator, who receives letters of administration. A bond may be required. See Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries).

4. Notices and advertising

After letters are granted, the personal representative must advertise the grant of letters in newspapers (20 Pa.C.S. Section 3162) and send notice to beneficiaries and intestate heirs within three months (Pa. O.C. Rule 10.5).

5. Why a house usually means full probate

Pennsylvania has a simpler small-estate petition for personal property worth $50,000 or less, but it does not cover real estate (20 Pa.C.S. Section 3102). If the estate includes a house, expect the executor or administrator to need letters before selling it.

6. Pennsylvania inheritance tax basics

• 0% to a surviving spouse, and between a parent and a child aged 21 or younger
• 4.5% to children, grandchildren, and other direct descendants and lineal heirs
• 12% to siblings
• 15% to other heirs (qualifying charities and government entities are exempt)

The tax is due at death and becomes delinquent nine months after death. Paying within three months earns a 5% discount. Pennsylvania residents' estates pay through the county Register of Wills. Real estate is valued as of the date of death, so a documented market value matters. Sources: PA Department of Revenue: Inheritance Tax; Make an Inheritance Tax Payment; 72 P.S. Sections 2116 and 2142.

7. Where the house fits in

Common steps: secure and insure the vacant home, get a date-of-death value, decide whether to clean out and repair or sell as-is, confirm authority to sell with the estate attorney, then list. I can help with every step on the real estate side.