Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You are going to have to probate an estate for your daughter to receive the money.

I don't know how much your daughter's estate would receive and what claims there would be by any credtors. Even though the home is in foreclosure and the truck repossessed, there may still be a deficiency owed.

The general rule is that heirs cannot receive property before creditors are paid. The exception is for things like family allowances (in PA its $3500) which are paid before creditors.

I don't know if your daughter had a will or if she had children or a spouse who might be entitled to claim the exemption.

The California attorney will be of no help to you in regard to PA probate issues. I suggest that you meet with a probate attorney in the county where your daughter lived at the time of her death. Find out whether you need to probate an estate for your daughter and whether any heirs would be entitled to the family exemption. Since your daughter has few assets other than the SSI, perhaps you will be able to use the simplified procedure, but her SSI may preclude that.

If there is not enough money to go around, you will pay claims in order of priority.

You may want to see if it might make more sense to give the money back to the government since your daughter passed away and just not probate the estate. This would be true if all of the money will be going to the creditors.