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.
Probate in Lancaster County
Probate Court Record
Lancaster County Orphans' Court
Lancaster County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
Lancaster County Courthouse, 50 North Duke Street, 2nd Floor, Lancaster, PA 17602
Website
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Lancaster County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Lancaster County? →Settling an estate in Lancaster County →
Probate Litigation Firms Serving Lancaster County
Harrisburg firm on North Front Street, with offices in Trevose and Sunbury and more than 50 years of service across Pennsylvania. Its estates and trusts attorneys guide executors and beneficiaries through probate proceedings, trust administration and contested estate matters. Also handles guardianships, special needs trusts, and elder law and Medicaid long-term care planning.
Firm with offices in McConnellsburg, Waynesboro, and Greencastle serving Fulton and Franklin County families. Helps personal representatives understand their obligations and complete the tasks of estate administration, and represents clients in estate litigation, including will contests and challenges to the improper use of powers of attorney. Also prepares wills, trusts, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, and lifetime gift plans.
Downtown Pittsburgh firm at One PPG Place, with a Harrisburg-area office in Camp Hill, whose estates and trusts team lists eleven attorneys. Guides executors, trustees, and beneficiaries through probate filings, the estate inventory and tax returns, asset distribution, and trust administration including compliance and tax filings. Its fiduciary services group defends surcharge actions and handles beneficiary disputes for banks and trust companies.
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.
All 12 Pennsylvania probate litigation firms serving Lancaster 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.
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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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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.
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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Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Pennsylvania, a surviving spouse takes the first $30,000 plus half of the rest20 Pa.C.S. § 2102Verified Oct 21, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representation20 Pa.C.S. § 2104(1)Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?
In Pennsylvania, the 12 months20 Pa.C.S. § 3532 (one year from first complete advertisement of the grant of letters — a risk-distribution protection period for the personal representative, not a nonclaim bar)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source period after first publication of the creditor notice protects a representative who distributes after it; late claims can still reach undistributed assets.
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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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How Much Can an Executor Charge?
Pennsylvania pays executors reasonable compensation20 Pa.C.S. § 3537 (compensation "reasonable and just"; no statutory percentage); In re Estate of Sonovick, 541 A.2d 374, 376 (Pa. Super. 1988); Estate of Andrews, 2026 PA Super 168Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
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