Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

How do you know your uncle was the executor if you do not have a copy of your aunt's will? If she had a will, go to the Orphan's Court (probate court, in Allegheny County where your aunt lived at the time of her death and see if an estate was ever opened for her and, if so, whether a will was submitted for probate. If no will was ever submitted, it means that either she never actually had a will, or it could not be located or it was destroyed (unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless).

You should talk to a probate attorney in Pittsburgh. If you have a will, check and see if there is a survivorship requirement and let the attorney see it. It may be, that your uncle did not survive by a sufficient time period, but it depends on what the will says. The only way to know is to find the will.

If there is no will, then chances are that her husband (your uncle) would have inherited everything pursuant to the intestacy statutes. If that is the case, then the assets pass as per your uncle's will.

It does not really matter that your aunt had certain possessions or land prior to marriage. She had to make a will if she wanted her family to benefit. The only possible exception would be if your aunt and uncle had a pre or post nuptial agreement. If your uncle waived his rights to inherit from your aunt's estate in that agreement, then the assets would pass either as per her will OR to her relatives as per the state instestacy laws. Unlike a will which gets probated, a pre or post nuptial agreement generally is not filed - you would have to check your aunt's papers to see if one might exist.