Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

In this day and time, there are companies which specialize in locating missing heirs. If the heir truly cannot be found, then a trustee will be appointed and the person may be presumed dead or his share will end up being held by the state treasurer and escheated.

An adopted child is treated just like a biological child. Any attorney would need to see your brother's will to figure out what he intended. If his will said I leave everything to my children or my issue then the brother's share goes to all the children including the adopted child.

You do not indicate the order of deaths (did your mother or brother die first?) or if there is an estate attorney. You also do not indicate why you are asking - are you the executor or merely a concerned family member?

There should be an executor for both your mother and brother's estates. It may be the same person or not. The executor(s) need to hire a probate attorney or at least consult with a probate attorney regarding the distribution and an attempt will need to be made to locate the missing child.

If the brother died before your mother (or he could have died after but there might be a survivorship clause in the mother's will and the brother may not have lived long enough), then his share goes directly to his children and they take his share under the anti-lapse statute as concerning your mother's estate, unless your mother's will made a different provision. An attorney would have to review her will to know for certain. If your brother died after your mother, then your brother's share will pass to your brother's estate where it will be distributed among all of your brother's beneficiaries as per his will.

In the former case (where brother died first), the executor of your mother's estate would have to locate the missing child of your brother. In the latter case the executor of your brother's estate would have to locate the missing child.

Again, you do not really provide all of the relevant information so if there is no probate attorney then you are going to have to consult with one. If the mother and brother lived in different states, then the attorneys will have to be in the county/state where each estate is or will be probated.