Probate in Berks County

Probate Court Record

Berks County Orphans' Court

Berks County

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:00 PM

Office

Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, 2nd Floor, Reading, PA 19601

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 →

Special Needs Planning 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.

Serves 8 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+3

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.

Since 1923Serves 2 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationSpecial Needs Planning

All 3 Pennsylvania special needs planning firms serving Berks County →

Forms for Planning Your Estate in Pennsylvania

Free forms for planning your estate in Pennsylvania: will, living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney and TOD deed. 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

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

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

All Pennsylvania forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in Pennsylvania

Free tools for planning your estate in Pennsylvania: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for Pennsylvania.

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living 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 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Calculate Costs

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In Pennsylvania, four years at a public university cost about $114,932NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; an inheritance tax falls on beneficiaries72 P.S. § 9116Verified Sep 15, 2026View source by relationship.

Calculate the Amount

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

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

All Pennsylvania tools