Pottsville firm representing clients in Schuylkill, Berks, Northumberland, Carbon, and Columbia counties. Attorney Maryann Conway brings 40 years of estate planning experience to wills, living trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, guardianship, conservatorship, and asset protection.
Probate in Berks County
Probate Court Record
Berks County Orphans' Court
Berks County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:00 PM
Office
Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, 2nd Floor, Reading, PA 19601
Website
Filing in person
Appointment required
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Berks County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Berks County? →Settling an estate in Berks County →
Estate Law Firms Serving Berks County
Estate-law boutique with its main office on Delancey Place in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square and meeting locations in Glenside, Doylestown and King of Prussia, serving Philadelphia and the Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Bucks, Berks, Lehigh and Lancaster County areas as well as New Jersey. Helps executors and administrators probate and settle estates, administers trusts and guardianships, and litigates will contests and trust, probate and guardianship disputes; the firm has focused only on estate law for more than two decades and offers a free consultation.
Fogelsville firm handling estates of any size through probate in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, and Berks counties, with its probate attorney carrying 25 years of experience probating estates. Handles estate administration, inheritance tax planning and post-mortem planning to reduce death tax, and probate litigation and will contests, and prepares irrevocable asset protection trusts for Medicaid planning.
Stroudsburg firm serving Monroe County and the Poconos, founded as a solo practice in 1923, with a second office in Bethlehem. In probate its attorneys collect, inventory and appraise estate assets, pay and collect debts, file estate taxes, and distribute what remains, and they handle probate litigation over contested wills and trusts. The firm also prepares wills and living, testamentary, life insurance, and special needs trusts.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Pennsylvania: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 270 days20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3301-3303Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 12 months20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3162, 3381-3392, 3532Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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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.
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