Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

The number of heirs is not dispositive of whether a will must be probated or not. Regardless of whether there has to be an estate administration, all wills should be filed once the testator is deceased.

The question is whether there has to be an estate administration. The answer is it depends on whether there are probate assets. Not all assets are probate assets. Things like jointly owned real property, life insurance, retirement benefits with a designated named beneficiary and jointly held bank accounts are all examples of non-probate assets. These assets pass to the other surviving joint owner/named beneficiary upon death of the testator.

So you must first determine what the dead person owned and how it was titled. If the person had nothing jointly owned but had a house/land, vehicle or money in the bank then you are probably going to have to probate an estate.

If you have less than $10,000 then I would talk to the Register of Wills at the Orphans Court in the county where the person who died lived at the time of his or her death (assuming the estate would be in Pennsylvania) and see what the process is.

If you have more assets than that, I suggest that you consult a probate attorney who practices in the county where the decedent lived at the time of his/her death. You do not need to hire an attorney to probate the estate, but it would be a good idea to at least consult with one to see what all is involved and have him/her review the assets and any potential claims to make sure things are properly handled.