Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

If there is a will then there should be an executor. If there is you need to ask them.

{John}

The estate needs to go through the probate process. It is possible that the house would need to be sold to pay debts of your step-father. If there are plenty of assets, most likely the executor will allow you to move in fairly quickly. Most importantly, you should contact an attorney to assist you with the estate. You need to legally take title. Doing so without the help of counsel might create major problems in the future. If you are in the Philadelphia area, feel free to contact me.

You need to talk to the executor of the estate. The executor has to file the will and be appointed. The executor then has to publish notice in the newspaper and inventory the assets. Distribution cannot be made early unless the executor knows there are other sufficient assets to pay any claims of the estate.

So what is happening with the estate? The first step is to review the court file, if any, and see what has or has not been done. If the executor is not giving you information, then you definitely need to see a probate attorney who practices in the county/state where the estate for your step-father is pending. If no estate has been probated, that brings up another set of problems - an executor can be compelled to file a will and if the executor does not want to be an executor, he/she can renounce and the back-up named in the will can take over. If none, then any one else can be administrator. This is all kind of complicated stuff and it would be better to have the will and other estate documents reviewed to see exactly what is going on.