What it means when a house is in probate
When someone dies owning a house in their own name, the house becomes part of their estate. Pennsylvania law says legal title to the real estate passes at death to the heirs, or to the people named in the will, “subject, however, to all the powers granted to the personal representative” (20 Pa.C.S. § 301).
In practice, the personal representative is in charge of the house until the estate is settled. The law directs the personal representative to take possession of, maintain, and administer the real estate. The exception is a house that an heir or a person named in the will was living in at the time of death, with the owner’s consent; even then, the personal representative keeps the power to sell it (20 Pa.C.S. § 3311).
What else belongs to the probate estate depends on how each asset was owned. An estate attorney can tell you which assets go through probate and which pass another way.
Step 1: Open the estate with the Register of Wills
Probate starts with the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived. In Allegheny County, the Wills/Orphans’ Court Division of the Department of Court Records “probates wills, grants letters to representatives of estates” and keeps the records.
- Where: City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, First Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Phone 412-350-4180.
- When: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The office does not process applications after 4:00 pm.
- How: Walk-in service, and since July 6, 2026, pre-scheduled probate appointments, booked at 412-350-4195.
- Fees: The county publishes its probate fees.
With a will, the Register grants letters testamentary to the executor the will names. Without a will, the Register grants letters of administration. The law sets who has priority to serve, “except for good cause” (20 Pa.C.S. § 3155):
- Those entitled to the residue under the will
- The surviving spouse
- The heirs under intestacy law, with preference by the size of their share
- The principal creditors
- Other fit persons
Creditors and other fit persons must wait 30 days after the death unless the people in the first three groups agree. In Allegheny County, letters of administration usually go to the next of kin, and the Director holds a hearing if the heirs disagree about who should serve.
Bond. A personal representative generally must post a bond, but the law excuses most family members. Unless the court or the will requires one, no bond is needed from a Pennsylvania-resident executor named in the will, or from a Pennsylvania-resident administrator who is the sole heir or the choice of all the heirs (20 Pa.C.S. § 3174).
Step 2: Give notice
Two kinds of notice follow the grant of letters:
- A public advertisement of the grant of letters, in one newspaper of general circulation and in the legal periodical the court designates, “once a week for three successive weeks” (20 Pa.C.S. § 3162). This advertisement also starts the creditors’ one-year clock.
- Personal notice to the beneficiaries, the surviving spouse and children, and the heirs, “within three months after a grant of letters.” The personal representative then files a certification with the Register “within ten (10) days after giving the notice” (Pa. O.C. Rule 10.5).
Step 3: List and value the property
The personal representative files an inventory of the estate’s property, including the house. It is due by the earlier of two dates: when the personal representative files the account, or when the inheritance tax return is due, including any extension (20 Pa.C.S. § 3301).
Step 4: Pay the inheritance tax and the debts
Pennsylvania taxes what each person inherits, at a rate set by their relationship to the person who died (72 P.S. § 9116):
| Who receives the property | Rate |
|---|---|
| A surviving spouse | 0% |
| A parent, from a child 21 or younger | 0% |
| A child 21 or younger, from a parent who died after 2019 | 0% |
| Children, grandchildren, and other lineal descendants; parents and grandparents; a child’s spouse | 4.5% |
| Brothers and sisters | 12% |
| Other beneficiaries | 15% |
The tax is due at the date of death and becomes delinquent after nine months. Paying within three months earns a 5% discount (72 P.S. § 9142). The return is due within nine months of the death, and the Department of Revenue can extend it by six months (72 P.S. § 9136). An extension does not stop interest from running after nine months. In Allegheny County, payments are made to “Register of Wills, Agent.”
Debts. The personal representative pays the estate’s valid debts. A personal representative who distributes the estate before the creditors’ period ends does so “at his own risk.” After “one year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters,” the personal representative can distribute without personal liability for a claim they did not know about (20 Pa.C.S. § 3532).
Step 5: Sell or distribute the house
Selling. “Except as otherwise provided by the will,” the personal representative may sell real estate that was not left to a specific person, and may sell a house left to a specific person “with the joinder of” that person (20 Pa.C.S. § 3351). A court order is needed when the personal representative is not authorized to sell, or the will denies the power to sell (20 Pa.C.S. § 3353). The buyer receives “the full title of the decedent,” free of the heirs’ claims, and does not need to track how the estate uses the money (20 Pa.C.S. § 3357).
Transfer tax. A transfer from the estate to an heir or a person named in the will, “for no or nominal actual consideration,” is excluded from the realty transfer tax (72 P.S. § 8102-C.3). A sale to an outside buyer is taxed: 1% to the state, “often along with an additional local realty transfer tax,” and the buyer and seller are jointly liable for it (Department of Revenue).
The seller’s disclosure statement. Pennsylvania’s seller disclosure law does not apply to “transfers by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s estate” (68 Pa.C.S. § 7302). The exemption names the fiduciary. It does not mention heirs who sell a house after it has been deeded to them.
Closing the estate. If the estate is not settled within two years of the death, the personal representative files a status report with the Register, and again each year after (Pa. O.C. Rule 10.6).
How long probate takes in Pennsylvania
No court or county office publishes a typical length for probate. The law sets these periods, and an estate with a house to sell usually runs at least past the first two:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Within 3 months of the grant of letters | Notice to beneficiaries and heirs |
| Within 3 months of death | Inheritance tax paid early earns the 5% discount |
| Within 9 months of death | Inheritance tax return due; tax delinquent after this date |
| 1 year after the first complete advertisement | Personal representative can distribute without the risk of a late creditor claim |
| 2 years after death | Status report due if the estate is not settled |
Disputes among heirs, a missing will, or a house with liens can add time.
Small estates
For an estate whose personal property is worth $50,000 or less, Pennsylvania has a simpler petition. The $50,000 limit is figured “exclusive of real estate,” and the petition covers personal property only (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102). It does not transfer a house.
Selling an inherited house as-is
Many inherited houses need work, sit empty, or are still full of a lifetime of belongings. We buy inherited houses in Pittsburgh and the surrounding counties as they sit, and we work with the personal representative and, if there is one, the estate’s attorney. Whether the estate is settled or not, we can talk through the timing with you and the family. If listing the house would bring the estate more and the family can wait, we will tell you that too.