Probate in Schuylkill County

Probate Court Record

Schuylkill County Orphans' Court

Schuylkill County

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM

Office

Schuylkill County Courthouse, 401 North Second Street, Pottsville, PA 17901

Filing in person

Appointment required

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

How to file probate in Schuylkill County →

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Schuylkill County? →Settling an estate in Schuylkill County →

Estate Planning Firms Serving Schuylkill County

Reading firm on Liggett Avenue serving Berks County and the neighboring Schuylkill, Montgomery, Lancaster, Chester, and Lebanon counties. Handles Pennsylvania probate and estate administration, from inventorying assets and the required beneficiary notices to the inheritance tax return, and supports named trustees administering a trust. Its elder-law and life-care practice covers Medicaid planning and asset protection; the free consultation follows one of the firm's webinars.

Serves 6 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawAsset Protection+2

Elder law and estate planning firm founded in 1971 on Market Street in Bloomsburg, with a second office in State College, serving central Pennsylvania communities from Williamsport and Lock Haven to Wilkes-Barre, Pottsville and Altoona. Guides executors through probate, from locating heirs and valuing assets to tax compliance and distribution, and handles Medicaid planning, guardianships through its fiduciary services division, and special needs planning; two of its four attorneys are Certified Elder Law Attorneys and meetings can be held virtually.

Since 1971Serves 12 countiesVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianshipSpecial Needs Planning+3

Firm founded in 1985 with offices in Easton, Allentown, Bethlehem, Doylestown, and Stroudsburg, serving Bucks County and the Lehigh Valley. Administers testamentary and living trust estates, preparing Pennsylvania inheritance tax returns, estate settlement agreements, and the ancillary documents for the executor or trustee. Also prepares wills, revocable, irrevocable, charitable, and testamentary trusts, and Medicaid plans.

Since 1985Serves 4 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateMedicaid PlanningFamily LawReal Estate

Bethlehem firm on East Broad Street, practicing in the Lehigh Valley since 1969 and led by Joseph F. Leeson, III. Its estate practice guides executors through probate, paying debts and distributing assets, alongside wills, asset protection trusts, powers of attorney and long-term care planning. The firm's main practice is personal injury.

Since 1969Serves 2 countiesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawAsset Protection

Williamsport elder law and special needs planning firm with offices in State College, Altoona, Wilkes-Barre, Muncy, Wyalusing, and Wysox. Handles probate and estate administration, including collecting assets, paying estate taxes, and distributing the estate, and litigates will contests, guardianships, and trustee removals. Attorneys Julieanne Steinbacher and Landon Hodges are Certified Elder Law Attorneys.

Since 2002Serves 5 countiesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrust LitigationElder Law+4

Harrisburg firm on Linglestown Road, opened in 2005, with a second office in Newport, representing executors, trustees, guardians, and beneficiaries across Pennsylvania. Probates wills for in-state and out-of-state executors, handles ancillary probate, trust administration, and estate tax returns, and litigates will contests, claims against fiduciaries, and demands for accounting or removal of trustees and executors.

Since 2005Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+5

All 9 Pennsylvania estate planning firms serving Schuylkill County →

Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Pennsylvania

Free Pennsylvania forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Pennsylvania.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

Get Started
Free

Last Will and Testament

In Pennsylvania, a will needs no witnesses to be valid20 Pa.C.S. § 2502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony20 Pa.C.S. § 2502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.

Get Started
Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

Pennsylvania requires 220 Pa.C.S. § 5471 (combined example); § 5465 (HC agent form); § 5447 (living will form)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not required20 Pa.C.S. § 5471 (combined example); § 5465 (HC agent form); § 5447 (living will form)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.

Get Started
Free

Financial Power of Attorney

Pennsylvania treats a power of attorney as durable by default20 Pa.C.S. § 5601Verified Sep 20, 2026View source, and it is signed before 220 Pa.C.S. § 5601Verified Oct 21, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.

Get Started
Free

Pour-Over Will

In Pennsylvania, a pour-over will needs no witnesses to be valid20 Pa.C.S. § 2502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

Get Started
Free

Transfer on Death Deed

Transfer real property to a beneficiary upon your death without probate. Available in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

Get Started

All Pennsylvania forms

Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Pennsylvania

Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Pennsylvania: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

In Pennsylvania, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.9%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.

Calculate Costs

Do I Need a Revocable Trust?

Probate in Pennsylvania takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.9%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.

Get the Answer

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Pennsylvania runs $3,830Estimate: 10 hours at $383, Clio's Pennsylvania Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,745Estimate: 15 hours at $383, Clio's Pennsylvania Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,014Estimate: 3 hours at $338, Clio's Pennsylvania Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,028Estimate: 6 hours at $338, Clio's Pennsylvania Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Calculate Costs

How Much Does Probate Cost?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Pennsylvania costs an estimated $26,087In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.9%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.

Calculate Costs

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Pennsylvania automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.2; 20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

Get the Answer

What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Pennsylvania costs an estimated $26,087In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 1.9%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3%Modeled estimate under In re Trust Estate of LaRocca, 431 Pa. 542, 246 A.2d 337 (1968); In re Estate of Preston, 560 A.2d 160, 165 (Pa. Super. 1989); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168 (no statutory fee schedule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $50,00020 Pa.C.S. § 3102Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.

Check the Rules

All Pennsylvania tools