Probate in Chester County

Probate Court Record

Chester County Orphans' Court

Chester County

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:00 PM (estate probates and account filings)

Office

Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, Suite 2200, West Chester, PA 19380

E-filing

Filing in person

Appointment required

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

How to file probate in Chester County →

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

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

Trust Administration Firms Serving Chester 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

West Conshohocken trust and estate firm in Montgomery County, founded in 1994, that appears before the Register of Wills and Orphans' Courts throughout Pennsylvania. Represents executors and trustees in probating wills, filing federal estate, state death and fiduciary income tax returns, and discharging the executor by family agreement or formal audit, and litigates will and trust contests, fiduciary accountings, surcharge and removal, and contested guardianships for beneficiaries and fiduciaries alike.

Since 1994Serves 5 countiesVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+3

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

Center City Philadelphia practice on Walnut Street that probates estates in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties. Steven J. Fromm assists executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries with probate procedures, court filings, and estate and income tax returns for decedents and their estates, alongside wills, trusts and business succession planning.

Solo PracticeServes 5 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax PlanningBusiness Succession

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

Harrisburg-based firm on Pine Street with Pennsylvania offices in Lancaster, York, Reading, State College, Pittsburgh, Plymouth Meeting and Radnor. Guides executors and trustees through estate and trust administration, including gathering assets, paying debts, inheritance, estate and income tax returns, fiduciary accountings and Orphans' Court petitions. Its fiduciary litigators handle surcharge actions, objections to accounts, elective share claims and guardianship proceedings in the Orphans' Court.

Serves 8 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+3

All 13 Pennsylvania trust administration firms serving Chester 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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Revocable Living Trust

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

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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.

How Do I Settle a Trust?

Settling a trust in Pennsylvania happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust Code20 Pa.C.S. § 7701 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 30 days20 Pa.C.S. § 7780.3Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.

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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?

In Pennsylvania, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)20 Pa.C.S. § 7768Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.

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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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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?

Pennsylvania requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 104072 P.S. § 7302Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in Pennsylvania take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates72 P.S. § 7302 (Tax Reform Code of 1971, Article III) — flat 3.07% individual rateVerified Sep 15, 2026View source.

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