Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

There is no will and its nice that you want to honor your mother's wishes, but, you are not obligated to do so. You will have to go to the Orphans' Court in the county where your mother resides in order to get appointed as the administrator. Depending on how the life insurance policy reads, if you and your brother are in fact beneficiaries, then you can keep the money. Once you have been officially appointed as the administrator, then you can open up an estate checking account. The bank will want to see the court order appointing you as administrator. Once that is done, they will release the funds to you and you can use that to pay any bills.

Don't be in a hurry to pay bills. Depending on the size of the estate, you might be able to use the procedure for small estates. If you cannot, then you have to go through the formal procedure (publishing notice and so forth). If there is not enough money, then you will have to pay bills in order of priority and one of those bills is the funeral expenses. And you will not know what is a priority claim until you see all the bills and can decide how much to spend on what. Funeral bills are only allotted a portion. And you have to obtain approval if there are any inheritance and estate taxes owed.

You may need local counsel depending on the complexity and size of the estate.