How does probate work in Delaware County, PA?

Last updated October 4, 2026.

Probate for anyone who lived in Delaware County when they died takes place at the Delaware County Register of Wills in the Government Center, 201 West Front Street, Media. The executor named in the will, or an administrator if there is no will, books a probate appointment, brings the original death certificate and the original will, pays the fee on the county's sliding scale, and leaves with letters and short certificates that give authority to act. After that come the estate notices, the notice to heirs, the inheritance tax return and inventory within nine months, and a status report at two years.

The steps below follow the Register's own guides and Pennsylvania law. Our help for executors and administrators is described on our probate page. Will planning is covered on our main wills and estates page.

How does probate work in Delaware County, step by step?

1. Confirm the county. The Register's guide says probate must take place in the county where the decedent lived at death, as shown on the death certificate.
2. Find the original will. The original must be presented; a copy alone leads to a presumption that the original was destroyed and possibly a hearing, according to the Register.
3. Book the appointment. In person, by calling the Register's office; or virtually, by emailing the documents for review and then meeting over Microsoft Teams. The online pre-entry form is optional but speeds the appointment.
4. Bring the documents. The original death certificate (not a photocopy), the original will and any codicils, any witness affidavits or renunciations, a bond if the administrator is not a Pennsylvania resident or is under 18, the personal representative's government photo ID, and payment by check, money order or card (a 3 percent fee applies to cards; no cash).
5. Receive letters. At an in-person appointment with complete documents, the personal representative leaves with the Certificate of Grant of Letters and short certificates. After a virtual appointment, originals and payment are sent in and the letters are mailed.
6. Advertise and notify. Immediately after the grant, advertise the estate in a newspaper of general circulation and in the Delaware County Legal Journal, and send the Rule 10.5 notice to all beneficiaries and intestate heirs.
7. File, pay and report. File the certification of notice within three months of the grant, the inheritance tax return and inventory within nine months of the death, and a status report at two years.

What are the deadlines after the appointment?

What does the personal representative do in between?

The Register's introduction to estate administration describes the job in plain terms: obtain the legal documents, locate the original will and present it for probate, protect the estate's assets, pay the debts and taxes, and notify the beneficiaries and heirs. In practice, that usually means:

• opening an estate bank account using the short certificates and keeping every receipt;
• securing the house, car and valuables, and keeping insurance in place;
• collecting money owed to the decedent, from final paychecks to refunds;
• listing debts and deciding, with advice, which claims are valid and in what order to pay them;
• valuing assets as of the date of death for the inventory and the inheritance tax return; and
• keeping a record of every transaction for the final accounting to the beneficiaries or the court.

Medical documents such as a living will governed care during the person's lifetime; they do not control property after death. The difference is explained on our living wills page. Property passes under the will or, without one, under the intestacy statute.

What does probate cost at the Register of Wills?

Government fees are set by the Register's fee schedule, effective December 1, 2025. The base probate fee depends on the value of the probate assets. Selected brackets from the schedule:

The schedule adds charges for every new probate: a $20 inheritance tax return fee, a $20 inventory filing fee, $41.25 JCS, a $15.75 automation fee and $3 for each page of the will after the first. Short certificates are $10 each, a renunciation is $15, a bond filing is $20, and a no-letter (non-probate) inheritance tax filing is $112. The schedule also lists an additional probate fee that the office calculates. Fees are paid from the estate.

What changes the answer?

• No will. Letters of administration go to the person the statute prefers, generally the surviving spouse and then the heirs (20 Pa.C.S. 3155(b)), and the estate passes under the intestacy rules explained in who inherits without a will. A creditor or other "fit person" cannot receive letters until 30 days after the death without the family's consent (3155(c)).
• A will with problems. Cross-outs, writing below the signature, a missing executor or a will that is not self-proving can lead to a hearing. What a valid will needs is in what makes a will valid in Pennsylvania.
• A small estate. Some payments can be made to family without letters: up to $10,000 in wages from an employer and up to $20,000 on deposit at a bank on presentation of a funeral bill or funeral director's affidavit (20 Pa.C.S. 3101). If personal property, excluding real estate, is $50,000 or less, the orphans' court may order distribution on petition (3102).
• A dispute. A party in interest may appeal the Register's decree to the Orphans' Court within one year (20 Pa.C.S. 908). The fee schedule lists a caveat at $100 and an appeal from probate at $100.
• A death caused by someone else. The personal representative is the person who files wrongful death and survival claims; see wrongful death and survival actions.
• An early request for an inventory. Any party in interest may demand an inventory in writing, which is then due within three months after the appointment or 30 days after the request, whichever is later (3301(c)).

For example: an executor from out of state

Here is a hypothetical. A widow from Havertown dies with a five-page will naming her son, who lives in Maryland, as executor. Her probate assets, mainly a brokerage account and a car, total about $180,000; her house was owned jointly with her daughter.

The son uses the Register's virtual option. He emails the documents on the Register's list for review, meets the probate staff on Microsoft Teams, then sends the originals and payment. At the December 2025 schedule, the base fee for $100,000 to $200,000 is $237; with the $20 inheritance tax return fee, $20 inventory fee, $41.25 JCS, $15.75 automation fee, $12 for four additional will pages and four $10 short certificates, the charges come to about $386, plus any additional fee the office calculates. His letters arrive by mail.

He then runs the estate notice in a local newspaper and the Delaware County Legal Journal for three successive weeks, mails the Rule 10.5 notice to his sister, and files the certification within three months. Prepaying inheritance tax within three months of the death earns a 5 percent discount; the REV-1500 return and the inventory are due within nine months. Because the house was jointly owned with the daughter, its treatment for inheritance tax follows the Department of Revenue's joint property rules. This example only illustrates the process; each estate's filings depend on its own assets and family.

What mistakes do executors make?

• Bringing a photocopy. The Register requires the original death certificate and the original will.
• Distributing too early. Claims known within a year of the first complete advertisement can still reach a distribution made at the representative's own risk (3532).
• Skipping the Rule 10.5 notice. Every beneficiary and intestate heir must receive it, and the certification is due within three months.
• Missing the discount or the nine-month date. Tax is delinquent nine months after death.
• Expecting the Register to fill out the tax return. The Register is the Department of Revenue's agent for accepting returns and payments only and does not help complete the forms.
• Forgetting the status report. If the estate is still open two years after death, a report is due, and again each year.

What should I do this week?

1. Order several certified copies of the death certificate.
2. Locate the original will and any codicils.
3. Complete the Register's online pre-entry for probate.
4. Book an in-person or virtual probate appointment.
5. List the assets, how each is titled, and approximate values.
6. Collect names and addresses of all beneficiaries and heirs for the Rule 10.5 notice.
7. Calendar three months and nine months from the date of death.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer to probate an estate in Delaware County?

No, but the Register's introduction to estate administration says an attorney is strongly recommended, because it is very difficult for a non-lawyer to follow every required procedure, and the office cannot guide representatives through all the legal requirements.

How long does estate administration take?

The Register's guide says the average estate takes about one year to conclude, and large or complex estates may take considerably longer.

Where do I file the inheritance tax return?

With the Register of Wills in Media, which accepts the REV-1500 in duplicate as the Department of Revenue's agent, by mail, in person or in the locked drop box outside the office. Tax payments are by check or money order payable to "Register of Wills, Agent."

What are the inheritance tax rates?

0 percent to a surviving spouse, 4.5 percent to direct descendants and lineal heirs, 12 percent to siblings and 15 percent to other heirs, according to the Department of Revenue. Transfers between a parent and a child aged 21 or younger are also taxed at 0 percent, according to the Department's REV-584 brochure.

How much do short certificates cost?

Short certificates are issued with the letters at the probate appointment, according to the Register's guide. The fee schedule charges $10 for each new short certificate and $8 to update one.

Is the Register of Wills near your office?

Yes. The Register is in the Government Center in Media, and our office is across from the Delaware County Courthouse, as our firm overview notes. Other county offices in Media are described in our Delaware County overview.

Call Giribaldi Law at (610) 891-8303 or contact us online for a free consultation about probating an estate. Evening and weekend appointments are available.