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Lehigh County, PA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Where probate begins | The Register of Wills, run as a division of the Lehigh County Clerk of Judicial Records: this is where the original will is filed, the Petition for Grant of Letters is presented, letters testamentary or of administration are issued, and the Pennsylvania inheritance-tax return (REV-1500) is filed |
| Who supervises administration | The Lehigh County Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas (31st Judicial District), which handles inventories, accounts, distributions, guardianships, and disputes; its filing office is the Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Room 123 in the same courthouse |
| Filing office | Lehigh County Courthouse, Register of Wills Division, 455 West Hamilton Street, Room 122, Allentown, PA 18101-1614 |
| Phone | Register of Wills Division (610) 782-3170; Orphans' Court Division (610) 782-3000, Clerk of the Orphans' Court (610) 782-3172 |
| Fax | (610) 871-2895 (Register of Wills Division) |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed weekends and county holidays. Confirm any filing cutoff before making a trip to the courthouse |
| Filing fee | Register of Wills probate fees are set by Lehigh County and graduated by the value of the estate, starting at $50.00 for an estate up to $10,000 and rising with estate value (for example $100.00 for $10,000.01 to $50,000 and $150.00 for $50,000.01 to $100,000); the county also collects a Judicial Computer Project fee of $40.25, an automation fee of $5.00, and an e-filing fee of $5.00 at case initiation, itemized separately (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026, 42 P.S. § 21022.1). See the fees section below, and confirm the current schedule with the Register of Wills |
| 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). Lehigh County posts its own fillable versions and estate forms on its courts site (lccpa.org). The small-estate petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) is a county petition filed with the Orphans' Court division; obtain it from the office |
| E-filing | Mandatory. Electronic filing is required in the Orphans' Court Division for all case types (effective January 1, 2023) and in the Register of Wills Division for all new and pending case types (effective February 15, 2023), except as exempted by the court, through Lehigh County File and Serve at pennsylvania.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb. A filer who does not e-file must submit a hard copy and pay a $1.00-per-page conversion fee. The original will and any codicil are still presented to the Register in paper form, and opening probate involves being sworn by the Register; confirm what your matter requires |
| Case search | The statewide court case search is the UJS Portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch (Register of Wills and Orphans' Court estate-record coverage varies by county) |
| Remote appearance | E-filing handles the paperwork remotely; hearing and swearing-in formats are set by the court and the Register, so confirm any remote option before a scheduled date |
| Website | https://www.lehighcounty.org/departments/clerk-of-judicial-records/register-of-wills |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Lehigh 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 of $50,000 or less 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 (20 Pa.C.S. § 3101). The statewide thresholds and paths are covered on the Pennsylvania state page. A jointly owned Allentown home or a beneficiary-designated account often passes outside the estate, so the estate that actually goes through probate can be smaller than the family expects.
Before you file, identify every bank, credit-union, brokerage, and retirement account, life-insurance policy, business interest, and parcel of Lehigh County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir by name. Only then can you pick the right path, calculate the correct county filing fee, and set up the e-filing account Lehigh County now requires. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Lehigh County Register of Wills and the Lehigh County Orphans' Court Division serve all of Lehigh County, in the heart of the Lehigh Valley. The county takes in Allentown, the county seat, along with the Lehigh County portion of Bethlehem (a city that straddles Lehigh and Northampton counties), Emmaus, Whitehall Township, Catasauqua, Coplay, Fountain Hill, Slatington, Coopersburg, Macungie, Alburtis, and the surrounding townships such as South Whitehall, Upper and Lower Macungie, Salisbury, Upper Saucon, and North Whitehall. 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 Lehigh County has the estate opened here, regardless of which municipality within the county the person lived in.
Lehigh County is its own single-county judicial district, the 31st Judicial District. The Register of Wills Division and the Orphans' Court Division are both housed in the Lehigh County Courthouse at 455 West Hamilton Street in Allentown, so the grant of letters and the later administration filings are handled in the same building, though they are separate offices: the Register of Wills sits within the Clerk of Judicial Records, and the Orphans' Court Division has its own Clerk of the Orphans' Court and its own judges.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue. Lehigh County is the right county when the decedent had a last family or principal residence here at death (20 Pa.C.S. § 3151). The estate is opened with the Lehigh County Register of Wills regardless of which municipality within the county the person lived in.
- 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 to the Orphans' Court division (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 subscribing witnesses provide oaths identifying the decedent's signature.
- Set up e-filing and file with the Register of Wills. Lehigh County requires electronic filing in the Register of Wills Division for new estate matters, through Lehigh County File and Serve at pennsylvania.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb; a filer who does not e-file must submit a hard copy and pay a $1.00-per-page conversion fee. The original will and any codicil must still be presented to the Register in paper form before letters are granted, and opening probate by practice involves being sworn by the Register, so plan to complete those steps as the office directs. The Register of Wills Division is at 455 West Hamilton Street, Room 122, Allentown, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Pay the county filing fee. Lehigh's Register of Wills probate fee is graduated by the value of the estate, starting at $50.00 for an estate up to $10,000 and rising with estate value; the county also collects a Judicial Computer Project fee of $40.25, an automation fee of $5.00, and an e-filing fee of $5.00 at case initiation, itemized separately (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026). Filing fees may be paid electronically by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or eCheck (in the Orphans' Court Division, eCheck is limited to attorney and agency filers); card payments carry a vendor convenience fee.
- 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 legal periodical (the Lehigh Law Journal), 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 Pennsylvania inheritance-tax return. E-file the REV-1500 (resident decedent) with the Register of Wills; the tax becomes delinquent nine months after death, and a 5% discount is allowed on tax paid within three months of death (make a payment on account within three months to secure the discount). The rate detail is on the Pennsylvania state page.
- File the inventory. E-file a verified inventory of the estate's real and personal property with the Register on Form RW-09, due no later than the earlier of the account filing or the inheritance-tax return due date (20 Pa.C.S. § 3301); an interested party may demand it sooner.
- Administer and close. Collect the assets, pay valid claims and taxes, and account to the interested parties. Accounts, petitions for distribution, and any contested matter are e-filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court and 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). Lehigh County also requires a Rule 10.6 status report within two years of death if the estate is not yet closed.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Lehigh County
Pennsylvania uses one statewide Register of Wills and Orphans' Court form set, and Lehigh County files the same set as every other county. The load-bearing filings are Form RW-02, the Petition for Grant of Letters, used with or without a will; Form RW-06, the Renunciation, where a person with priority declines to serve; and Form RW-09, the Inventory. The Orphans' Court account and distribution filings use the statewide OC-series forms. These are published centrally on the Unified Judicial System forms hub at pacourts.us/forms/for-the-public/orphans-court-forms.
Lehigh County also posts its own fillable estate forms on its courts site at lccpa.org, including the Petition for Grant of Letters, ancillary letters petitions, the estate inventory, oaths of subscribing and non-subscribing witnesses, the pro se filing timetable, and the certification of notice under Pa. O.C. Rule 10.5. The small-estate petition is different: settlement of a small estate under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 uses a county petition filed with the Orphans' Court division, not a numbered statewide RW form; obtain it from the office. Because filing in Lehigh County is electronic, the completed forms are uploaded through Lehigh County File and Serve at pennsylvania.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb rather than dropped at a counter, unless you are exempt from e-filing and pay the per-page conversion fee. The one standing paper exception is the original will and any codicil, which must still be presented to the Register of Wills before letters are granted.
Fees
Pennsylvania sets probate filing fees per county, and Lehigh County publishes its own Register of Wills fee schedule, graduated by the value of the estate. Unlike the generic statewide framing, Lehigh itemizes its surcharges as their own line items: a Judicial Computer Project fee of $40.25, an automation fee of $5.00, and an e-filing fee of $5.00 are collected at case initiation in addition to the graduated grant-of-letters fee (42 P.S. § 21022.1). The figures below were read from the county's published schedule; confirm the current amounts before you file, because a county can revise its schedule. Each figure carries its source.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Grant of letters, estate up to $10,000 | $50.00 | The lowest tier of the graduated grant-of-letters fee (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Grant of letters, estate $10,000.01 to $50,000 | $100.00 | The fee rises in steps with the gross value of the estate (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Grant of letters, estate $50,000.01 to $100,000 | $150.00 | A mid-range tier; larger estates pay $250.00 for $100,000.01 to $200,000 and higher amounts above that (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Judicial Computer Project fee | $40.25 | Collected at case initiation, separate from the graduated grant-of-letters fee (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Automation fee | $5.00 | Collected at case initiation (42 P.S. § 21022.1) (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| E-filing fee | $5.00 | Collected at case initiation; a filer who is exempt from e-filing and submits a hard copy pays a $1.00-per-page conversion fee instead (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Short certificate (certified proof of the letters) | $10.00 each | The certified proof of the personal representative's authority that banks and transfer agents rely on (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Inventory (Form RW-09) | $10.00 | Filed with the Register of Wills (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Renunciation | $5.00 | Where a person with priority declines to serve (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
| Ancillary letters | $60.00 | For an estate of an out-of-state decedent with Lehigh County property (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7237), verified July 2026) |
Local nuance
Lehigh County-specific considerations
The Register of Wills is a division of the Clerk of Judicial Records. Unlike most Pennsylvania counties, Lehigh does not have a stand-alone elected Register of Wills. The Register of Wills is run as a division of the county's Clerk of Judicial Records, the consolidated records officer, at the Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 West Hamilton Street, Room 122. It still performs every Register of Wills task: admitting the will, granting letters, and taking the REV-1500. The Orphans' Court Division, which supervises administration, is a separate office with its own Clerk of the Orphans' Court and its own judges. Because the offices are run by appointed and elected officials who change, this page refers to the offices rather than the officeholders.
E-filing is mandatory in both offices. Lehigh County requires electronic filing through Lehigh County File and Serve at pennsylvania.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb: in the Orphans' Court Division for all case types since January 1, 2023 (Leh. O.C. Rule 4.7-1), and in the Register of Wills Division for all new and pending case types since February 15, 2023, except as the court exempts. A filer who does not e-file must submit a hard copy and pay a $1.00-per-page conversion fee, and the original will and any codicil must still be presented to the Register in paper form. Filing fees may be paid electronically by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or eCheck (in the Orphans' Court Division, eCheck is limited to attorney and agency filers). Set up an e-filing account before you begin.
The office opens at 8:00 a.m. The Register of Wills Division is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., earlier than the 8:30 a.m. opening some sources list. If you need to be sworn by the Register or deliver a document or an inheritance-tax check in person, plan around those hours and confirm any cutoff first.
Lehigh publishes a pro se filing timetable. The county's Register of Wills Division posts a filing timetable for self-represented personal representatives that tracks the key deadlines: a payment on account of inheritance tax within three months of death to secure the 5% discount, the Rule 10.5 certification of notice within three months of the grant of letters, the inventory and inheritance-tax return within nine months of death, and a Rule 10.6 status report within two years of death (renewed annually until the estate closes). The forms are on lccpa.org.
Recent updates
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | A new Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule took effect (adopted September 18, 2025, published at 55 Pa.B. 7237), superseding the January 1, 2023 schedule; the graduated grant-of-letters tiers and the itemized Judicial Computer Project, automation, and e-filing fees carried over unchanged. |
| February 15, 2023 | Electronic filing became mandatory in the Lehigh County Register of Wills Division for all new and pending case types (except as exempted by the court), through Lehigh County File and Serve; Orphans' Court e-filing became mandatory for all case types on January 1, 2023. |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Lehigh County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | An Allentown-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; the survivor clears title with the county. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need a grant of letters, opened with the Lehigh County Register of Wills on Form RW-02 through Lehigh County File and Serve, 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 the supporting documents, ready for e-filing. A vetted Lehigh County probate attorney if the estate is contested or complex. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Lehigh County and left a qualifying small estate, the child can settle it on a petition to the Orphans' Court division (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) rather than a full grant of letters; some assets can pass without any letters at all (20 Pa.C.S. § 3101). A larger estate is opened with the Register of Wills on Form RW-02. Lehigh's mandatory e-filing lets an out-of-state child file remotely, though opening probate may still require being sworn by the Register. | 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. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger or contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | A grant of letters at the Lehigh County Register of Wills. Because there is no will, the parent petitions for letters of administration (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. The administrator obtains the authority to sell the child's Lehigh County real estate; a 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 Lehigh County probate attorney to run the administration and any contested step. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Lehigh County Register of Wills (lehighcounty.org, Clerk of Judicial Records, Register of Wills) | The county page for the Register of Wills Division: address, hours, contact, and links to the fee schedule and estate forms |
| Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas forms and e-filing (lccpa.org) | The county's fillable estate forms, the pro se filing timetable, the Orphans' Court Division page, and the e-filing rules and account setup for Lehigh County File and Serve |
| Lehigh County File and Serve (pennsylvania.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb) | The mandatory electronic filing portal for Register of Wills and Orphans' Court matters in Lehigh County |
| 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, the nine-month deadline, and the three-month early-payment discount |
| North Penn Legal Services, Allentown office (610) 969-3463, central intake (877) 953-4250 (nplspa.org) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible residents of Lehigh County and northeastern Pennsylvania, including advance directives, powers of attorney, and related matters |
| Lawyer Referral Service of the Bar Association of Lehigh County (610) 433-7094 | Referral to a Lehigh County attorney, with an initial consultation of about 30 minutes for a modest fee |
| 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 Lehigh County estates are handled with the statewide forms and the county's e-filing system. 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 Lehigh County real estate must be sold and the terms are disputed; when the heirs are unknown or in conflict; or when a formal accounting or a dispute over the personal representative is filed. The Register of Wills staff can explain procedure but are not permitted to help prepare or file estate documents, so complex matters often call for counsel. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Lehigh County probate attorney when the situation calls for one.
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, Lehigh County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value for estate settlement and can pick the right Pennsylvania path before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Lehigh 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 upload through Lehigh County File and Serve.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is contested, taxable, or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Lehigh 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 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania?
Probate begins with the Register of Wills, run as a division of the Lehigh County Clerk of Judicial Records, at the Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 West Hamilton Street, Room 122, Allentown, PA 18101-1614, (610) 782-3170. That is where the original will is filed, the Petition for Grant of Letters (Form RW-02) is presented, and letters are issued. The Orphans' Court Division that later supervises the administration is in the same courthouse; its Clerk of the Orphans' Court is in Room 123, (610) 782-3172.
Do I have to e-file probate in Lehigh County?
Yes. Lehigh County requires electronic filing through Lehigh County File and Serve at pennsylvania.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb: in the Orphans' Court Division for all case types since January 1, 2023, and in the Register of Wills Division for all new and pending case types since February 15, 2023, except as the court exempts. A filer who does not e-file must submit a hard copy and pay a $1.00-per-page conversion fee. Opening probate still involves being sworn by the Register, so confirm what your specific matter requires.
How much does it cost to open a probate estate in Lehigh County?
Lehigh's Register of Wills probate fee is set by the county and graduated by the value of the estate, starting at $50.00 for an estate up to $10,000, $100.00 for $10,000.01 to $50,000, and $150.00 for $50,000.01 to $100,000, with higher tiers for larger estates. The county also collects a Judicial Computer Project fee of $40.25, an automation fee of $5.00, and an e-filing fee of $5.00 at case initiation, and short certificates are $10.00 each (Lehigh County Register of Wills fee schedule effective January 1, 2026, verified July 2026). Confirm the current schedule before you file.
What are the Lehigh County Register of Wills hours?
The Register of Wills Division is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is closed on weekends and county holidays. Because most filing is now electronic, plan an in-person trip only for steps that require it, such as being sworn by the Register or delivering an inheritance-tax check, and confirm any cutoff first.
How do I look up a Lehigh County estate or probate record?
The statewide UJS Portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch is the general court case search, though its Register of Wills and Orphans' Court estate-record coverage varies by county. For a specific Lehigh County estate, you can also contact the Register of Wills Division at (610) 782-3170, which holds the official file.
What forms do I use for a Lehigh 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; Lehigh County also posts fillable versions on lccpa.org. The small-estate petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) is a county petition filed with the Orphans' Court division; obtain it from the office.
Do I have to appear in person to open probate in Lehigh County?
Filing is electronic, but opening probate by practice involves being sworn by the Register, which is not simply a mail-in step, and the original will and any codicil must be presented to the Register of Wills in paper form before letters are granted. Lehigh County handles the rest of the paperwork through Lehigh County File and Serve, so confirm with the Register of Wills Division what your matter requires in person and what can be completed online.
Does Lehigh County charge inheritance tax, and where do I file the return?
Pennsylvania has a state inheritance tax keyed to the beneficiary's relationship to the decedent, and it applies to Lehigh County estates. The REV-1500 resident return is e-filed with the Register of Wills, which acts as the collection agent. The tax becomes delinquent nine months after death, with a 5% discount for tax paid within three months; the county lets you make a payment on account within three months to secure the discount. The rate detail is on the Pennsylvania state page.
How do I handle a small estate in Lehigh County?
A qualifying small estate can be settled on a petition to the Orphans' Court division under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 rather than a full grant of letters, and some assets can be released without any letters at all under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101. The small-estate petition is a county form obtained from the office; the statewide thresholds are covered on the Pennsylvania state page.
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.