Pennsylvania Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Pennsylvania.
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Types of Probate in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania probate is opened at the Register of Wills of the county where the decedent was domiciled, who issues the Grant of Letters; contested matters go to the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas. Each of the 67 counties has its own Register, so filing fees and local packet requirements vary while the law does not. Three routes exist. Full administration follows the Grant of Letters. A small-estate petition under 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 lets the orphans' court division direct distribution where the gross value, EXCLUDING real estate and property payable under 20 Pa.C.S. 3101 but INCLUDING personal property claimed as the family exemption, does not exceed $50,000. Section 3101 also allows certain payments to family and funeral directors without letters at all. The fact that shapes most Pennsylvania estates is the state INHERITANCE tax, which is charged on the heir's relationship to the decedent rather than on the size of the estate: 0% to a surviving spouse, 4.5% to lineal descendants, 12% to siblings and 15% to everyone else.
See the full comparison of Pennsylvania probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Pennsylvania Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 67 counties have detailed data.
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Pennsylvania Probate Guides
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Browse Pennsylvania guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Pennsylvania guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
3Forms & Court
4Executor Duties
4Taxes & Deadlines
12- Pennsylvania Probate Timeline
- Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax
- Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return Guide
- Ancillary Probate in Pennsylvania: Out-of-State Property
- Can You Handle Pennsylvania Probate Without a Lawyer?
- How to Contest a Will in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania and the Federal Estate Tax
- Pennsylvania Creditor Claims: Advertising, Deadlines, and Priority
- Pennsylvania Family Exemption: Support During Probate
- Pennsylvania Probate Debt Payment Priority: The Order Executors Must Follow
- Pennsylvania Step-Up in Basis Guide
- Pennsylvania Surviving Spouse Rights in Probate
Planning Documents
8- Digital Assets and Estate Planning in Pennsylvania
- How Pet Trusts Work in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Estate Planning Basics: The Core Documents Every Adult Needs
- Pennsylvania Guardianship: Types, Orphans' Court Process, and Alternatives
- Pennsylvania Healthcare Directive Guide
- Pennsylvania Power of Attorney Guide
- Pennsylvania Revocable Living Trust Guide
- Pennsylvania Trust Administration Guide
Property Transfer
1Avoiding Probate
1Pennsylvania Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Pennsylvania probate resource map by source type
All Pennsylvania self-help resources (4 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Pennsylvania probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Pennsylvania probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Pennsylvania probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, public forms
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-08-11.
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, Representing Yourself
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-08-11.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-08-11.
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Find a Lawyer
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-08-11.
Settled pairs these Pennsylvania source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Pennsylvania Estate Law Overview
Pennsylvania Estate Tax Info
Pennsylvania tax information for estates
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession governs probate property when a Pennsylvania resident dies without a valid will.
Pennsylvania Homestead Protection
Information about homestead protection laws.
Exempt Property
Certain property may be exempt from estate creditors.
