Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You may be able to handle probate on your own, but if the children are adults, one of them should be the personal representative. You might want to talk to the clerk of the probate court in the county/state where your sister resided at the time of her death just to get a better handle on what is involved.

Basically, the duties of the personal representative are to find out what your sister owned and what she owed. Even though the car is sold, it is still worth something. If there are few assets, then the car will have to be sold and the money used to pay funeral or other administrative expensives. The personal representative might even be able to use the simplified procedure if the estate is very small rather than the full blown probate.

Were there debts of any kind? If so, that fact may dictate that you need to go through probate. If you do, the personal representative may want to get a lawyer just to help wade through the process.

If neither of the adult children are willing or able to serve, then they will have to renounced (give up) only their right to serve. They will still inherit any assets which remain after all debts have been paid.