Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

So why will you not go to probate court? What is the house worth? If its in foreclosure, then obviously no one has been paying the mortgage.

You need to first see what the house is worth and how much is owed. If the house is not worth what is owed, then it makes no sense here to stop a foreclosure. If there is a lot of equity in the house then that is a different issue. You would first have to get the foreclosure stopped and the mortgage caught up. A partition action could then be brought to have the property sold and the proceeds divided.

Frankly, I don't understand here why YOU have waited. You knew your mother died. You could have probated an estate if there was no will. You did not have to wait for your brother to act. If there was a will and he was named as executor then you could have compelled him to produce a will and probate an estate. You did nothing and now there is an even bigger mess.

You do not indicate what other probate assets there were if any. Assuming that there are probate assets, it might make sense to administer an estate. If not, forget the estate. If there was a will, then the house passed to the beneficiaries named in the will. If there was no will, then to you, your brother and any other siblings. Any of you would first have to get the foreclosure stopped and then try to work out a deal whereby the person who wants the home will buy out the shares of those who do not.

If the house is in terrible shape, then your brother is not going to buy you out and he obviously does not care about the foreclosure or loss of the house as he would have been paying the mortgage otherwise. This is wishful thinking. And if there is a mortgage and the house needs work, its not likely the home is going to bring in much at a sale such that there would be anything to divide.

You should go and see a real estate/probate attorney who practices in the county where the home is located to see what, if anything can be done. Based on what you say though, if the house is worth less than what is owed, I would just let it go unless you are independently wealthy.