Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: brother asking fro rununciation

From the facts you presented it appears your mother died without a will. It seems your brother applied for letters of administration. If there was in fact no will, which usually specifies who will be executor, then the Register of Wills requires all other parties who can apply to be the administrator to sign off to allow the person who applied to be administrator. If this is the case then you should not sign if you also would like to be a co-administrator.

If your house was jointly held with your mother and you had a survivorship deed then the house belongs to you and would not be part of the probate. However there still may be some interest of the state while your mother was in a nursing home.

It sounds that your brother is trying to establish legal basis to bring a potential law suit against the nursing home for your mother's death. In order to do this an estate has to be opened and an administrator appointed. You should call the Register of Wills in the county where the estate papers have been filed to find out more information. These are public records. You also should consider scheduling an appointment with an attorney to discuss these issues. I would be happy to speak with you should you desire to schedule a consultation.