Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: What can an heir expect from an executor

The duties of an executor in administering an estate begins with filing the will with the Register of Wills for the County in PA where she resided at the time of her death. The executor's duties are to determine all of the debts and obligations, including income and inheritance and estate taxes, gather all of the belongings of any kind, arrange to file all tax returns, pay all debts (only out of the assets of the deceased, not the executor's personal assets), and then to distribute the balance as directed in the will.

Executors do not have the right to give belongings of the decedent away to whomever they please. If the Will referred to a personal property memorandum written by the decedent, and one was found, personal property may be distributed in accordance with the memorandum.

Usually, executors provide an accounting to the beneficiaries [Not all "heirs" (relatives) are necessarily beneficiaries under the Will], and have all of the beneficiaries sign a release of some kind, before distributing any assets. Executors are personally liable if they distribute assets without paying off all debts and obligations of the decedent, and also if they distribute property to persons other than the beneficiaries named in the Will.