Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: Rights of Legal Heirs

Both the estates of your mother and of your father should have been probated and administered. Even with trusts set up before death, inevitably people leave probate assets, such as personal property, or accounts that they failed to title in the name of the trust. Those assets must be administered through the estate, and may be distributed only after all debts, including taxes payable to the Commonwealth [inheritance and income] and the Federal Government [estate tax, if applicable, and income taxes] have been paid.

At the beginning of the estate administration, the personal representative appointed by the Register of Wills is responsible for sending written notices to all heirs and beneficiaries, so that they will have the opportunity to see a will, if there was one, and to receive information about the estate administration.

You may check with the Register of Wills in the County where your parents resided at the times of their deaths to find out if any estate was opened and by whom.

It is also possible to seek an accounting of a trust, but you would need to have additional information. For that purpose, you would probably need the advice of an estates lawyer in the County having jurisdiction over the trust/estate.