Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

What does the will say?

If its like most wills, it would say something like "after payment of my just debts, my estate shall be divided between A and B share and share alike" or "I leave my estate to A and B in equal shares."

The problem with this is often sentimental items - things that may mean something to the heirs but has no real value (like family photos or perhaps small items of personal property). if there is only one of these then who gets it? How do the heirs/beneficiaries decide?

Sometimes, the will of the deceased will provide a mechanism. For example, a woman with 2 children might say something like "I leave my jewelry to my daughters, C and D. They shall divide this as nearly equal in value as possible and shall each take turns or draw straws until all items they desire are selected. The remainder shall be sold by my executor or donated to charity."

So what does the will say, if anything? What is your relationship to the deceased? What is your relationship to the executor? Do you and the executor get along? Do you trust the executor to do the right thing if you are not there? What sorts of personal property did the deceased own? Was there anything of value there? What is the likelihood that the deceased may have kept something of value hidden such that it would only be discovered by cleaning out the deceased's personal items? If the executor was alone and found it, would the executor tell you or hide the item?

The answers to the above may dictate what you do. If you and the executor are siblings and have a good relationship and your parent or relative died, then maybe you could say, "executor, i know you are the executor, but decedent died and left a lot of stuff and do you want any help sifting through that?" Or "would you mind if I helped you go through the decedent's stuff?"

If you and the executor do not get along, then ... you have no right to be there. You cannot force this unless the will clearly envisions some kind of a procedure for divvying up the decedent's personal items by having you both present.