Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: Disposal of PA real estate after remaining parent dies intestate

Depending on how the real property was titled (e.g., if your parents owned it as tenants by the entirety), it would have passed to your father automatically upon the death of your mother, and no probate or transfer would have been required for that property. However, if there were any other assets, there may have been inheritance tax due on your mother's estate, and also now on your father's estate.

If the above assumption is correct, and I am also assuming that neither your father nor your mother had a Will, you and your sister should administer your father's estate (which means paying any debts, filing inheritance tax returns and paying any inheritance tax due) in the county where he resided at the time of his death. You may then transfer the house to yourselves, as the sole heirs, as part of the estate administration. Then, you may "give" the property to your cousin, but there will be real property transfer tax due on that transfer.

A copy of the deed to your parents can be obtained from the Department of Records for the county where the property is located.

You may want to consult a probate lawyer who is familiar with estate administration in the county where your father resided, to assist you.