Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Why is the girlfriend involved at all? Was there a will? How do you even know that an estate was opened? Its not really possible for an estate to be open this much time. The clerk or the court would be wanting to know why the estate is not closed and would ask for status reports. If they are not filed then the girlfriend would be removed as personal representative. So I question whether an estate was even opened here absent more details.

The starting point would be the county/state where your brother's estate is or would be pending. If an estate was opened, then there will be a court file. Review it - there should be a will, inventory and accounting. There should also be a notice of appraisal from the PA Revenue Department showing that the taxes were paid. Have any status reports been filed?

The clerk can remove a personal representative if he/she is not doing the job. But you would need a probate attorney to file a removal petition. I would first get the estate file and pay the attorney to review and see what needs to be done to close the estate if there is one.