Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

The rules are that when two or more people have a joint checking account and one dies, the survivor gets the funds in the account.

Before you start making any distributions, however, you need to sit down with a probate attorney. If there is a will, bring it, as well as any information about joint checking accounts or other non-probate assets.

You should ask the attorney whether you need to probate an estate. If you do, find out if it is possible to use a simplified procedure.

You also need to find out who the possible heirs are as determined by the will or by the state intestacy laws.