Lancaster firm on East King Street whose Trusts & Estates Practice Group works across south-central and southeastern Pennsylvania, with main offices in Gettysburg, Hanover, Camp Hill, Lebanon, Malvern, Wyomissing, Schuylkill Haven and York. Guides personal representatives through estate administration and assists trustees, guardians and agents under powers of attorney with their fiduciary duties. Trust and estate litigators handle will contests, surcharge actions and contested guardianship proceedings.
What to Do When Someone Dies in Pike County, Pennsylvania
How probate works in Pike County: the Orphans' Court record, what the process costs, and how to file there.
Probate Court Record
Pike County Orphans' Court
Pike County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
Pike County Administration Building, 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337
Website
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
Self-represented filing
AllowedThe office page links the petition for probate and grant of letters, a renunciation form and the Register of Wills fee schedule.
Accepted payment
- At the counterCheck.Checks are payable to Pike County Register of Wills.
County forms
- Register of Wills Fee ScheduleThe flat probate fee and the letters fee by gross estate value, collected when the inheritance tax return is filed.
Fax
1-570-296-1931
Departments
- Clerk of the Orphans' Court1-570-296-7231 · Pike County Courthouse, 412 Broad StreetThe Clerk of the Orphans' Court takes accounts, petitions and guardianship filings; probate is at the Register of Wills.
About the court
- The Register of Wills probates wills at 506 Broad Street. The Clerk of the Orphans' Court, a combined office with the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts, is at the County Courthouse, 412 Broad Street, phone 570-296-7231.
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
How Probate Works in Pike County
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In Pike County, probate runs through the Orphans' Court at Pike County Administration Building, 506 Broad Street, Milford.
The personal representative opens the case, gives notice to heirs and creditors, files an inventory of the estate's assets, settles outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributes the remainder under the will — or under Pennsylvania intestacy law when there is no will.
Most Pennsylvania estates take 9 months to 14 months to move through this process. Creditors have 12 months20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3162, 3381-3392, 3532Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present a claim, counted from the first publication of the notice to creditors.
What Probate Costs in Pike County
What probate costs in Pike County, Pennsylvania comes down to a handful of line items — the court filing fee, attorney and executor compensation, publication, and sometimes a bond — scaled by the estate's size and whether the will is contested. The case itself runs through the Orphans' Court at Pike County Administration Building, 506 Broad Street, Milford.
The Orphans' Court charges $50 - $950+ (based on estate value)42 P.S. § 21022.1; 42 Pa.C.S. § 3733; 204 Pa. Code § 29.351(c), (g)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source to open a probate case. Additional filings during administration — inventory, accounting, the final petition — add to the total.
Estimate the costs for this estate:
Attorney fees in Pennsylvania are negotiated, 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 estate value. Flat-fee arrangements are common for straightforward estates.
Pennsylvania allows executors 'reasonable compensation' — around 2.2%–3.8% of a $500,000 estate, judging by what the states with statutory schedules pay20 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. Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive the fee — executor pay is taxable income while inheritances are not.
Pennsylvania requires publishing notice to creditors in a local newspaper, and the estate pays for it.
A surety bond may be required unless the will waives it or all beneficiaries consent. Premiums run roughly 0.5%Industry surety premium estimate; the bond itself under 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3171, 3174 (bond before letters except as § 3174 provides; a PA-resident PR named in the will or sole residuary legatee excused); § 3175 (bond may still be required)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value annually.
Probate in Pennsylvania typically runs 9 months to 14 months, and costs accrue throughout that period.
How to File Probate at the Orphans' Court
Probate cases in Pike County are filed at the Orphans' Court. File in person during business hours or by mail.
Beside the filing office, the court lists a separate line for Clerk of the Orphans' Court.
Can You File Without an Attorney?
In Pennsylvania, informal probate is available20 Pa.C.S. § 901 (register jurisdiction over probate and letters), § 3155 (register grants letters), § 908 (appeal from the register's decree to the Orphans' Court)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, and a self-represented executor can usually handle it for a simple, uncontested estate.
For a full cost comparison and filing checklist, see the Pike County Self-Filing Assessment.
What to Bring
Filed with the opening petition at the Orphans' Court: Original will and any codicils, presented to the Register of Wills of the county of the decedent’s last family or principal residence (20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3131, 3132); Original (raised-seal) death certificate, presented at the county Register of Wills — county intake practice, not a statutory, rule, or statewide-form requirement for a grant of letters; Completed RW-02 Petition for Grant of Letters (rev. 10/11/2011), including the Oath of Personal Representative on page 220 Pa.C.S. §§ 3155-3157 (persons entitled; nonresidents); § 901 (register’s jurisdiction)Verified Aug 24, 2026View source.
Death Certificates and the Coroner in Pike County
In Pike County certified copies of the death certificate come from Pennsylvania Department of Health - Division of Vital Records; the Local Registrar files the certificate and issues no copies to the public.
Vital Records Office Record
Pennsylvania Department of Health - Division of Vital Records
Pike County · State vital records office
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM (except holidays; Philadelphia by appointment only)
Website
Certified copies
From Pennsylvania Department of Health - Division of Vital Records; the Local Registrar files the certificate and issues no copies to the public
Division of Vital Records
Death Certificate Processing Unit
P.O. Box 1528
New Castle, PA 16103
Phone
1-724-656-3100Monday-Friday 7:15 AM-6:00 PM; Saturday-Sunday 8:30 AM-4:00 PM
Certified copy fees
| First certified copy | $20 |
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Coroner or Medical Examiner Record
Coroner
Pike County · Coroner
Phone
Office
506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337
Website
Cremation authorization
Signed by this office
Mail and offices
Fax
1-570-296-2700
Verified November 3, 2026 · Source
Transferring Property in Pike County
Clearing title to real estate after a death, whether by a personal representative’s deed, an affidavit of survivorship, or a court order, happens at the Recorder of Deeds.
Deeds and other real property documents for Pike County are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds at Pike County Courthouse, 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337. Phone: 1-570-296-3508. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM.
The Recorder of Deeds charges $83 for the first 4 pages plus $4 for each page beyond 4.
Pike County accepts electronic recording through Simplifile and CSC.
Recording Office Record
Recorder of Deeds
Pike County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
Pike County Courthouse, 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337
Website
E-recording
Fees
Recording fees
| Base fee (first 4 pages) | $82.75 |
| Each page beyond 4 | $4 |
County fee schedule adopted under the Recorder of Deeds Fee Law (Act 87 of 1982, 16 P.S. § 11011-1 et seq.), 42 Pa.C.S. § 3733(a.1)(1)(v), and 53 Pa.C.S. § 6011
Verified October 17, 2026 · Source
Forms that put a death on the title
- Free forms: Affidavit of Death Form · Affidavit of Heirship Form
Probate Attorneys Serving Pike County
Pennsylvania allows informal probate, so many families settle straightforward estates in Pike County without hiring an attorney. A probate attorney earns the fee when the estate is contested, includes a business or out-of-state real estate, has unclear or insolvent debts, or when beneficiaries disagree.
Probate attorney fees in Pennsylvania are based on reasonable compensation, billed hourly or as a flat fee. Ask a Pike County firm to quote a structure up front.
A probate attorney files the petition with the Orphans' Court, publishes the required creditor notices, prepares the inventory and accounting, handles creditor claims and tax filings, and guides the final distribution. They represent the personal representative — not the beneficiaries — a distinction that matters if a dispute develops.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Legal Sources
(9)·
- 20 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 168
- 20 Pa.C.S. § 901 (register jurisdiction over probate and letters), § 3155 (register grants letters), § 908 (appeal from the register's decree to the Orphans' Court)
- 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3155-3157 (persons entitled; nonresidents); § 901 (register’s jurisdiction)
- 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3162, 3381-3392, 3532
- 42 P.S. § 21022.1; 42 Pa.C.S. § 3733; 204 Pa. Code § 29.351(c), (g)
- County fee schedule adopted under the Recorder of Deeds Fee Law (Act 87 of 1982, 16 P.S. § 11011-1 et seq.), 42 Pa.C.S. § 3733(a.1)(1)(v), and 53 Pa.C.S. § 6011
- Pike County Orphans' Court, official page
- Pike County Recorder of Deeds, official page
- Pike County vital records and death investigation offices, official page
Data sourced from Pennsylvania statutes and official state code. Fee percentages are modeled estimates; each figure's note says how. How we research.
Tools for Settling an Estate in Pennsylvania
Free tools for settling an estate in Pennsylvania: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool.
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.
See the Steps
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.
See the Steps
Can I Self-File Probate?
In Pennsylvania, informal probate is available20 Pa.C.S. § 901 (register jurisdiction over probate and letters), § 3155 (register grants letters), § 908 (appeal from the register's decree to the Orphans' Court)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, and a self-represented executor can usually handle it for a simple, uncontested estate.
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