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Pennsylvania route screening

Pennsylvania small-estate limit: $50,000

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.

1. Where and when
2. What they left

Asset 1

Asset 2

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Private by design: entries stay in this browser.

Your working estimate

Pennsylvania estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeSet locallyPennsylvania has no statewide probate filing fee. Each county's Register of Wills sets its own fee schedule (commonly graduated by estate value), so the opening cost varies by county.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.20 Pa.C.S. § 3537 provides that the court shall allow the personal representative such compensation as is, in the circumstances, reasonable and just, and may calculate it on a graduated percentage. There is NO statutory percentage schedule; courts commonly reference informal fee guides (e.g., the Johnson estate schedule) but the statute states only a reasonableness standard.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

On petition, the Orphans' Court Division may settle a small estate where the property (exclusive of real estate and of § 3101 property payable to family/funeral directors, but including personal property claimed as the family exemption) has a gross value not exceeding $50,000. Real property is excluded.

Threshold evidence and currency

What the reviewed source establishes

Currency: No later session-law supersession is recorded in the reviewed source set for this threshold. The edition/currentness label below is the basis for the published figure.

Controlling citation: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3102 — (Dec. 10, 1974, P.L.867, No.293, eff. imd.; July 11, 1980, P.L.565, No.118, eff. 60 days; Dec. 1, 1994, P.L.655, No.102, eff. 60 days; July 2, 2013, P.L.199, No.35, eff. 60 days).

Verbatim threshold text from that source:

owning property (exclusive of real estate and of property payable under section 3101 (relating to payments to family and funeral directors), but including personal property claimed as the family exemption) of a gross value not exceeding $50,000, the orphans' court division

How the Pennsylvania screen is measured

ProcedureSettlement of small estates on petition (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102)
What countsPersonal property only; real property is outside this route
Value basisGross value less exempt property the worksheet cannot classify
Waiting periodNot verified, so no number is published

Section 3102 states no fixed waiting period after death; settlement is available on petition once the gross value condition is met.

The official Pennsylvania path

What a small-estate screen can and cannot decide, and which assets never enter it, is explained once in small-estate affidavit or probate and what counts as a probate asset.

Controlling source

Pennsylvania record: 3/3 verified, 10 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction

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