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Franklin County, PA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Where probate begins | The Franklin County Register of Wills, run inside the elected Register and Recorder office. This is where the original will is filed, the Petition for Grant of Letters is presented, letters testamentary (with a will) or of administration (without one) are issued, the inventory is filed, and the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return (REV-1500) is filed |
| Who supervises administration | The Franklin County Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas (39th Judicial District); its filing office is the Clerk of the Orphans' Court, part of the Clerk of Courts, which handles accounts, distributions, small estate proceedings, guardianships, trusts, adoptions, claims against estates, and appeals from the Register of Wills |
| Register of Wills office | Register and Recorder, county Administration Building, 272 North Second Street, Suite 205, Chambersburg, PA 17201. Probating an estate is by appointment |
| Clerk of Orphans' Court office | Franklin County Judicial Center, 14 North Main Street, Chambersburg, PA 17201 (a separate office and building from the Register of Wills) |
| Phone | Register of Wills (717) 261-3872; Clerk of the Orphans' Court (717) 261-3805 |
| Fax | Register of Wills (717) 709-7211; Clerk of the Orphans' Court (717) 261-3896 |
| Clerk of Courts / Orphans' Court [email protected]; the Register of Wills does not publish an email address, call (717) 261-3872 | |
| Hours | Both offices are open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed weekends and county holidays. Probate at the Register of Wills is by appointment |
| Filing fee | Register of Wills grant-of-letters fees are set by Franklin County and graduated by the value of the estate, from $30.00 for an estate not exceeding $1,000 up to $80.00 for an estate of $75,001 to $100,000, plus $35.00 for each additional $100,000; the schedule adds an Automation Fee of $5.00 and a JCP fee of $41.25, paid at probate (42 P.S. § 21022.1; Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025 (verified July 2026)). The Orphans' Court keeps a separate schedule (42 P.S. § 21032.1). See the fees section below and confirm the current amounts with each office |
| Local forms | Pennsylvania uses one statewide Register of Wills and Orphans' Court form set (published on pacourts.us), including Form RW-02 (Petition for Grant of Letters) and Form RW-09 (Inventory); Franklin County has no separate numbered county form set. The small estate petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) is a county petition filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court; obtain it from that office |
| E-filing | The grant of letters at the Register of Wills is handled in person by appointment, not by e-filing. The Clerk of Courts references PACFile for Common Pleas filings, but PACFile's Orphans' Court estate coverage varies, so confirm with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court whether a given estate filing can be e-filed before relying on it |
| Case search | The statewide court case search is the UJS Portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch; its coverage of Register of Wills and Orphans' Court estate records varies by county, so to confirm a specific Franklin County estate filing, call the office that holds it |
| Remote appearance | Not published for Franklin County estates; ask the Register of Wills or the Clerk of the Orphans' Court whether a given step can be handled remotely |
| Website | https://www.franklincountypa.gov/departments/register-recorder/ |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Franklin County question is which path fits the estate, and then which office you deal with first. Pennsylvania probate begins at the Register of Wills, where the will is admitted and letters are granted; the Orphans' Court Division then supervises the administration. A qualifying small estate can instead be settled on a petition to the Orphans' Court division (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102), and some assets pass without any grant of letters at all. Those statewide paths and their dollar thresholds are explained on the Pennsylvania state page. Because opening probate at the Franklin County Register of Wills is by appointment, identify the estate before you call, so you present the right petition once.
Before you file, identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, business interest, and parcel of Franklin County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir by name. How the home is titled matters, because a jointly owned Cumberland Valley home with right of survivorship or a beneficiary-designated account passes outside probate, while property in the decedent's sole name does not. Only then can you pick the right path, calculate the correct county fee, and decide whether counsel is needed. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Franklin County Register of Wills and the Franklin County Orphans' Court Division serve all of Franklin County, in south-central Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. The county takes in Chambersburg, the county seat, along with Waynesboro, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Mont Alto, and Orrstown, the Franklin County portion of Shippensburg, and the surrounding townships including Antrim, Greene, Guilford, Hamilton, Montgomery, Peters, Quincy, St. Thomas, and Washington. Under Pennsylvania's venue rule in Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (20 Pa.C.S.), letters are granted only by the register of the county where the decedent had a last family or principal residence (20 Pa.C.S. § 3151). A decedent who lived anywhere in Franklin County has the estate opened here, regardless of which borough or township the person lived in.
Franklin County is part of the 39th Judicial District, which it shares with Fulton County. That shared district is an administrative overlay: Franklin keeps its own Register of Wills and its own Clerk of the Orphans' Court, so you file every Franklin County estate in Franklin County, not in Fulton County and not in the district at large. The two Franklin County offices sit in different buildings in Chambersburg: the Register of Wills is in the Register and Recorder office at 272 North Second Street, and the Clerk of the Orphans' Court is at the Franklin County Judicial Center, 14 North Main Street. If the decedent was not domiciled in Pennsylvania but left property in the county, the register of the county where the property is located may grant letters (20 Pa.C.S. § 3151), which is the basis for an ancillary administration.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue and make an appointment. Franklin County is the right county when the decedent had a last family or principal residence here at death (20 Pa.C.S. § 3151). Because the Register of Wills probates estates by appointment, call the Register and Recorder office at (717) 261-3872 to schedule before you go.
- Choose the path and the form. With a will, the named executor presents the original will and Form RW-02 (Petition for Grant of Letters) and the Register issues letters testamentary; with no will, an eligible person petitions on Form RW-02 and the Register issues letters of administration in the priority order set by 20 Pa.C.S. § 3155. A qualifying small estate can instead be settled on a petition filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102). The statewide paths and thresholds are on the Pennsylvania state page.
- Gather what the Register needs: the original will (if any), a certified death certificate, an estimate of the estate's assets and debts, and the names and addresses of the heirs. For a will without a self-proving acknowledgment, the witnesses' testimony to the signature is taken. Pennsylvania's umbrella term for the person settling the estate is personal representative, specified as executor (named in a will) or administrator (appointed where there is no will).
- File with the Register of Wills. Present the petition, the original will, and the death certificate in person at the Register and Recorder office, 272 North Second Street, Suite 205, Chambersburg, at your scheduled appointment. Pennsylvania practice requires the personal representative to be sworn before the Register.
- Pay the Register of Wills fee. The grant-of-letters fee is graduated by the value of the estate, from $30.00 for an estate not exceeding $1,000 up to $80.00 for an estate of $75,001 to $100,000, then $35.00 for each additional $100,000; the county schedule adds an Automation Fee of $5.00 and a JCP fee of $41.25 at probate (Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025 (verified July 2026)). Request several short certificates, the certified proof of your authority that banks and transfer agents rely on; Franklin charges $5.00 per short certificate.
- Advertise the grant of letters. Immediately after letters are granted, advertise the grant once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation near the decedent's residence and in the county's designated legal periodical, requesting that creditors present claims (20 Pa.C.S. § 3162). Creditors generally have one year from the first complete advertisement to present claims (20 Pa.C.S. § 3532).
- File the inventory and the inheritance-tax return with the Register of Wills. File a verified inventory of the estate's real and personal property (Form RW-09) no later than the earlier of the account filing or the inheritance-tax return due date (20 Pa.C.S. § 3301), and file the Pennsylvania inheritance-tax return (REV-1500). Pennsylvania inheritance tax becomes delinquent nine months after death, and a 5% discount is allowed on tax paid within three months of death; the rate detail is on the Pennsylvania state page.
- Administer and close through the Orphans' Court. Collect the assets, pay valid claims and taxes, then distribute what remains. When a formal account is required, it is filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court at the Franklin County Judicial Center, 14 North Main Street, advertised, and confirmed; contested matters and appeals from the Register are heard by the Orphans' Court Division. A personal representative who distributes is protected from a claim not made known within one year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters (20 Pa.C.S. § 3532).
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Franklin County
Pennsylvania uses one statewide Register of Wills and Orphans' Court form set, published centrally on pacourts.us and used in every county, and Franklin County files the same set; there is no separate numbered Franklin County form set. The load-bearing form to open an estate is the Petition for Grant of Letters (Form RW-02), presented with the original will and a certified death certificate. Other statewide forms in common use include the Renunciation (Form RW-06), where a person with priority declines to serve; the Rule 10.5 estate notice and certification (Forms RW-07 and RW-08); and the Inventory (Form RW-09). The Orphans' Court account and distribution filings use the statewide OC-series forms.
The small estate petition is different: settlement of a small estate under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 uses a county petition filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court, not a numbered statewide RW form; obtain it from that office at the Franklin County Judicial Center. In Franklin County the grant-of-letters filing is presented in person, by appointment, to the Register of Wills at 272 North Second Street, and the later Orphans' Court filings go to the Clerk of the Orphans' Court at 14 North Main Street.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Register of Wills and Orphans' Court forms (pacourts.us) | The statewide form set used in every county, including the Petition for Grant of Letters (RW-02), the Renunciation (RW-06), the Inventory (RW-09), and the Orphans' Court OC-series forms |
| Franklin County Register and Recorder (franklincountypa.gov) | The Register of Wills office page, with the probate-by-appointment notice, the published Register of Wills fee schedule, hours, and contact information |
| Franklin County Clerk of the Orphans' Court (franklincountypa.gov) | The Orphans' Court filing office for accounts, small estate proceedings, guardianships, trusts, and adoptions, with the Orphans' Court fee schedule |
| UJS Portal case search (ujsportal.pacourts.us) | The statewide court case search; its coverage of Register of Wills and Orphans' Court estate records varies by county |
Fees
Pennsylvania sets probate filing fees county by county, not statewide, and Franklin County publishes two separate schedules: a Register of Wills schedule for the grant of letters and related probate filings, and an Orphans' Court schedule for accounts, petitions, and small estate proceedings. The figures below were read from the county's published schedules in July 2026; confirm the current amounts with each office, because a county can revise its schedule.
The Register of Wills fee for a Petition for Grant of Letters is graduated by the value of the estate. It starts at $30.00 for an estate not exceeding $1,000 and rises with the estate's value ($35.00 over $1,000 to $5,000, $40.00 over $5,000 to $10,000, $45.00 over $10,000 to $20,000, $50.00 over $20,000 to $30,000, $60.00 over $30,000 to $40,000, $70.00 over $40,000 to $50,000, $75.00 over $50,000 to $75,000, and $80.00 over $75,000 to $100,000), then $35.00 for each additional $100,000 or fraction. The schedule adds two surcharges at probate: an Automation Fee of $5.00, a figure Franklin sets itself, and a JCP fee of $41.25, which matches the statewide JCS/ATJ/CJEA surcharge amount. Because the automation fee differs from what other counties print, use Franklin's schedule rather than a statewide assumption.
| Franklin County filing | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Register of Wills, grant of letters (graduated by estate value) | $30.00 to $80.00 | From $30.00 for an estate not exceeding $1,000 up to $80.00 for an estate of $75,001 to $100,000, then $35.00 for each additional $100,000 or fraction (Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Register of Wills, Automation Fee and JCP fee (paid at probate) | $5.00 and $41.25 | Surcharges on the initial estate filing, in addition to the graduated grant-of-letters fee (42 P.S. § 21022.1; Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Register of Wills, short certificate | $5.00 each | Certified proof of the letters that banks and transfer agents rely on (Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Register of Wills, inventory and appraisement | $10.00 | For filing the estate inventory, Form RW-09 (Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Orphans' Court, small estate proceeding (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) | $50.00 | The petition to settle a small estate, filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court (Franklin County Orphans' Court fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Orphans' Court, account for confirmation | $290.00 | Filing and confirming a formal account; an account without confirmation is $50.00 (Franklin County Orphans' Court fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Orphans' Court, petition to sell, mortgage, or transfer real estate | $91.25 | A guardianship appointment is $126.25 and a trust appointment is $91.25 (Franklin County Orphans' Court fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
| Orphans' Court, automation and state surcharges | $10.00 automation; $41.25 JCP/ATJ/CJEA/OAG | A $10.00 automation fee applies per docket number, and the schedule adds a $41.25 JCP/ATJ/CJEA/OAG state fee to certain petitions, including guardianship appointments, trustee appointments, adoptions, and real estate sale petitions (42 P.S. § 21032.1; Franklin County Orphans' Court fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025 (verified July 2026)) |
Local nuance
Franklin County-specific considerations
Probate is by appointment. The Franklin County Register and Recorder office requires that any probating of an estate be done by appointment. Call the office at (717) 261-3872 to schedule before you go, and bring the original will, a certified death certificate, and your estate information to the appointment, because the personal representative is sworn before the Register in person.
The two offices are in different buildings. Unlike the small combined-office counties, Franklin County splits the work across two locations. The Register of Wills is in the Register and Recorder office at 272 North Second Street, Suite 205, where the will is admitted, letters are granted, the inventory is filed, and the inheritance-tax return is taken. The Clerk of the Orphans' Court, part of the Clerk of Courts, is at the Franklin County Judicial Center, 14 North Main Street, where accounts, small estate proceedings, guardianships, trusts, and contested matters are filed. Sending a filing to the wrong building delays it.
There are two separate fee schedules. Because the offices are separate, Franklin publishes two schedules. The Register of Wills schedule (effective November 17, 2025) governs the graduated grant-of-letters fee plus the $5.00 Automation Fee and $41.25 JCP fee paid at probate. The Orphans' Court schedule (effective January 1, 2025) governs account, petition, and small estate fees, with its own $10.00 automation fee per docket and a $41.25 state fee added to certain petitions. Check the schedule for the office you are filing with.
Franklin shares the 39th Judicial District with Fulton County. The 39th Judicial District covers both Franklin and Fulton counties, but the shared district is an administrative overlay only. Franklin County keeps its own Register of Wills and its own Clerk of the Orphans' Court, and every Franklin County estate is filed in Franklin County, never in Fulton County or in the district at large.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Franklin County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Chambersburg-area home held by the spouses as tenants by the entirety, or jointly with right of survivorship, generally passes to the surviving spouse outside the estate on proof of death, so no estate proceeding is needed for the house itself. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need a grant of letters, opened by appointment with the Franklin County Register of Wills on Form RW-02, with letters testamentary if there is a will or letters of administration if there is not. | Asset discovery to separate survivorship property from sole-name assets. Packet generation for the Form RW-02 petition and supporting documents. A vetted Franklin County probate attorney if the estate is contested or complex. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Franklin County and left a qualifying small estate, the child can settle it on a petition to the Clerk of the Orphans' Court (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) rather than a full grant of letters; some assets can pass without any letters at all. A larger estate is opened by appointment with the Register of Wills on Form RW-02. Because opening probate is by appointment and in person, an out-of-state child should call the Register at (717) 261-3872 to plan a single trip to Chambersburg. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate fits the small-estate path and holds no complicating real property. Packet generation for the small estate petition or the Form RW-02 grant of letters, organized so an out-of-state filer can plan one trip. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that must be sold, it proceeds through a full grant of letters rather than a small estate petition. With no will, the parent is granted letters of administration by the Register of Wills (Form RW-02), with priority set by 20 Pa.C.S. § 3155, then advertises the grant (20 Pa.C.S. § 3162), files the inventory (Form RW-09), and settles the Pennsylvania inheritance tax. To sell the Franklin County home, the personal representative files a petition to sell real estate with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court, and any contested step is heard by the Orphans' Court Division. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts and property. Packet generation for the administration petition, the inventory, and the sale papers. A vetted Franklin County probate attorney to run the administration and any contested step. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Franklin County Register and Recorder (franklincountypa.gov/departments/register-recorder) | The Register of Wills office page: the probate-by-appointment notice, the published Register of Wills fee schedule, hours, address, and phone |
| Franklin County Clerk of the Orphans' Court (franklincountypa.gov/clerk-of-orphans-court) | The Orphans' Court filing office at the Judicial Center for accounts, small estate proceedings, guardianships, trusts, and adoptions, with the Orphans' Court fee schedule |
| Franklin County courts, 39th Judicial District (franklincountypa.gov/departments/courts) | The Court of Common Pleas and Orphans' Court Division for the 39th Judicial District, with court administration contacts and local rules |
| Unified Judicial System forms and self-help (pacourts.us/forms/for-the-public/orphans-court-forms and pacourts.us/learn) | The statewide Register of Wills and Orphans' Court forms, including Form RW-02 and Form RW-09, and plain-language help with representing yourself |
| UJS Portal case search (ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch) | The statewide court case search; Register of Wills and Orphans' Court estate-record coverage varies by county |
| Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, inheritance tax (pa.gov/agencies/revenue) | The inheritance-tax rates, the REV-1500 return filed with the Register of Wills, the nine-month deadline, and the three-month early-payment discount |
| MidPenn Legal Services, (800) 326-9177 (midpenn.org) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible residents of Franklin County and 17 other central Pennsylvania counties, including some wills and estates matters |
| Pennsylvania Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, (800) 692-7375 (pabar.org) | The attorney referral service for Franklin County and 45 other Pennsylvania counties, including probate and estate counsel; the Franklin County Bar Association's find-a-lawyer page (franklinbar.org/find) explains the process and lists a local find-a-lawyer line at (717) 660-2118 |
| PALawHELP (palawhelp.org) | Plain-language legal information and legal-aid routing statewide |
When to hire an attorney
Pennsylvania does not require an attorney to open a probate estate, and many uncontested Franklin County estates are handled with the statewide forms, an appointment with the Register of Wills, and the Clerk of the Orphans' Court. Counsel makes sense when a will is contested or an appeal is taken from the Register to the Orphans' Court Division; when the estate is large, taxable, or holds a business interest or out-of-state property; when Franklin County real estate must be sold and the terms are disputed; when a formal Orphans' Court account will be required; or when the heirs are unknown or in conflict. The Register of Wills and the Clerk of the Orphans' Court can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Franklin County probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Franklin County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and can pick the right Pennsylvania estate settlement path before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Franklin County filing: the Petition for Grant of Letters (Form RW-02), the inventory (Form RW-09), and the supporting documents from Pennsylvania's statewide set, or the small estate petition where the estate qualifies, ready to present at your appointment with the Register of Wills or to file with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is contested, taxable, or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Franklin County probate attorney to file and appear.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Franklin County, Pennsylvania?
Probate begins with the Franklin County Register of Wills, run inside the Register and Recorder office at 272 North Second Street, Suite 205, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 261-3872. That is where the original will is filed, the Petition for Grant of Letters (Form RW-02) is presented, and letters are issued. The Clerk of the Orphans' Court, which later supervises the administration, is a separate office at the Franklin County Judicial Center, 14 North Main Street, (717) 261-3805.
Do I need an appointment to open probate in Franklin County?
Yes. The Franklin County Register and Recorder office requires that probating an estate be done by appointment. Call the Register of Wills at (717) 261-3872 to schedule, and bring the original will, a certified death certificate, and your estate information, because the personal representative is sworn before the Register in person.
Can I e-file a Franklin County estate?
The grant of letters at the Register of Wills is handled in person by appointment, not by e-filing. The Clerk of Courts references PACFile for Common Pleas filings, but PACFile's Orphans' Court estate coverage varies, so confirm with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court whether a particular estate filing can be e-filed before relying on it. The statewide UJS Portal is a case search, not an estate e-filing system for this county.
How much does it cost to open a probate estate in Franklin County?
The Register of Wills grant-of-letters fee is set by Franklin County and graduated by the value of the estate, from $30.00 for an estate not exceeding $1,000 up to $80.00 for an estate of $75,001 to $100,000, then $35.00 for each additional $100,000. The county schedule also adds a $5.00 Automation Fee and a $41.25 JCP fee at probate, and a short certificate is $5.00 (Franklin County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective November 17, 2025, verified July 2026). The Orphans' Court keeps a separate schedule for accounts and petitions.
What are the Franklin County Register of Wills and Orphans' Court hours?
Both offices are open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and are closed on weekends and county holidays. Probate at the Register of Wills is by appointment, so call (717) 261-3872 to schedule before you go.
How do I look up a Franklin County estate or probate record?
Use the statewide UJS Portal case search at ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch. Its coverage of Register of Wills and Orphans' Court estate records varies by county, so to confirm a specific Franklin County estate filing, call the Register of Wills at (717) 261-3872 for a probate record or the Clerk of the Orphans' Court at (717) 261-3805 for an account or petition.
What forms do I use for a Franklin County estate?
Pennsylvania's statewide Register of Wills and Orphans' Court forms, the same set used in every county. The core filings are Form RW-02 (Petition for Grant of Letters) and Form RW-09 (Inventory), published on pacourts.us/forms/for-the-public/orphans-court-forms. There is no separate numbered Franklin County form set. The small estate petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) is a county petition filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court; obtain it from that office.
How do I handle a small estate in Franklin County?
A qualifying small estate can be settled on a petition to the Clerk of the Orphans' Court under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 rather than a full grant of letters, and some assets can be released without any letters at all. Franklin County lists a $50.00 small estate proceeding fee (Franklin County Orphans' Court fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025). The statewide threshold is covered on the Pennsylvania state page.
Do I file a Franklin County estate in Fulton County because they share a judicial district?
No. Franklin shares the 39th Judicial District with Fulton County, but the shared district is an administrative overlay only. Franklin County keeps its own Register of Wills and its own Clerk of the Orphans' Court, and you file every Franklin County estate in Chambersburg, not in Fulton County or in the district at large (20 Pa.C.S. § 3151).
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.