Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: Settlement of Estate

It sounds as if your grandmother's estate was never administered, but that it stayed titled in her name.

The estate should have been administered [in the Register of Wills Office in the County where she resided at the time of her death]. Administration should have included finding out about all of her debts as well as assets, filing inheritance tax return, estate tax return [federal, if it was required, based on the size of the estate] and income tax returns, paying all of those taxes and other debts, and only then could the estate be distributed to the heirs or other beneficiaries.

All of her children should have contributed to the expenses of maintaining the house. PA Inheritance tax [and Federal Estate tax, if any was due] have been accruing interest and penalties since 9 months after the date of death.

Was the property condemned because of being in disrepair or violation of local code? or is it being taken by the local government for a public use? If the latter, there should be payment from the government or agency to the legal owner.

Your family will probably need an estates lawyer to assist in clearing title and dealing with the condemning authority. This will involve doing the estate administration, paying the taxes and other costs, and negotiating with the condemning authority to find out if it will be possible to limit the family's obligations.