THE FOLLOWING STUDY ARTICLE POSTING IS INTENDED TO SUPPORT AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING. IT IS ONLY A PRELIMINARY LEVEL LEGAL STUDY ARTICLE AND IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER SEEKS LEGAL ADVICE CONCERNING HIS OR HER PARTICULAR SITUATION, HE OR SHE SHOULD SEEK OUT AN ATTORNEY IN A LAWYER CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.
Regardless Of The Value Of A Decedent Estate’s Ownership of Real Estate , The County Orphan’s Court Has Authority To Award The Distribution Of The Personal Property Of Such Decedent’s Estate Via A Settlement Of Small Estates On Petition Process That Does Not Entail The Time Or Expense Of A Formal Administration, Accounting or Appraisal Of That Property By A Personal Representative.
Pennsylvania provides a “settlement of small estates on petition” process in order to streamline the distribution and settlement of small personal property estates of a decedent and reduce the overall cost and time of probating and administering a decedent’s estate by a personal representative.
The gross value the personal property of such decedent’s estate must not exceed $50,000. However, as the settlement of small estates on petition process only encompasses those personal property assets owned by the decedent’s estate at the time of the decedent’s death, such process and the calculation of the value of the personal property of the estate does not include the decedent’s personal property distributed to others such as via beneficiary designations named on accounts or policies, by operation of law when personal property assets are owned through joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, personal property in “transfer on death” accounts, “in trust for” accounts, or personal property transferred by a trust. See PA C.S.A § 3102; ; PA Code Rule 5.50. (a) (b)(2)
Also excluded from the personal property value calculation are : wages, salary or any employee benefits due the deceased in an amount not exceeding $10,000 ; deposit accounts up to 10,000 if paid to a spouse, any child, the father or mother or any sister or brother to cover funeral expenses; payments from a decedent’s patient care account of up to 10,000 if paid to a spouse, any child, the father or mother or any sister or brother if some or all of those monies were to cover the burial expenses of the decedent ; any life , endowment, accident or health insurance, or any annuity or pure endowment contracts or insurance policies from any insurance company of any total amount of 11,000 or less payable to the decedent’s estate that is paid the spouse, any child, the father or mother or any sister or brother of the decedent ; as well as any unclaimed property or funds up to $11,000 paid by the State Treasurer to the surviving spouse, child, mother or father, or sister or brother of the decedent. See PA C.S.A § 3101 ; PA Code Rule 5.50. (a) (b)(2)
Although the personal representative must advertise his or her grant of letters of administration and provide notice of that administration to all interested parties, none of the personal assets of the decedent disposed of via the small estate petition process need a formal administration with the expense of a formal accounting See PA C.S.A §3102; 3531. Additionally, none of these assets need to be formally appraised unless ordered by the county Orphan’s Court See Pa C.S.A. § 3102 : Pa O.C.R. 5.8 B(3).
The personal representative, after the expiration of one year from the date of the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters, may present his petition to the court with an annexed account showing the administration of the estate, the distribution theretofore made and suggesting the proper distribution of the estate not theretofore distributed. Thereupon, the court, upon satisfactory proof of notice to all known parties in interest, may approve the distribution theretofore made and order distribution of the assets not theretofore distributed and discharge the personal representative and his sureties from future liability without the expense of proceedings as in a formal account. See PA C.S.A. § 3531
Although the settlement of small estates on petition process can streamline the distribution and settlement of small personal property estates of decedents and reduce the overall cost and time of administering those estate by personal representatives , if the decedent owned real estate passing by will or the intestacy statutes at the time of his/her death, then that real estate will still have to be administered and distributed through Pennsylvania’s formal probate and estate administration process. See PA C.S.A. § 3102 , 3531 ; PA Code Rule 5.50. (a) (b)(2)