Estate Planning & Administration
Bucks County Probate Process: Step-by-Step
Last updated July 2026
3 min read
✓ Verified Jul. 2026Bucks County Register of Wills
Douglas Wayne, Esquire: Acting Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court
Main Office: 55 E. Court Street, 6th Floor, Doylestown, PA 18901
Satellite: 7321 New Falls Road, Levittown, PA 19055
Phone: (215) 348-6264
The Register of Wills is an administrative office. It probates wills, grants letters, accepts filings, and collects inheritance tax. Disputes (will contests, removal petitions, accountings) go to the Orphans' Court, which is a judicial body. The procedures and authority are completely different.
Ten steps from death to closing the estate. The dates in red are the ones that carry consequences, and most of them run from the grant of letters or the date of death, not from when you get around to it.
Present the original will and death certificate to the Register of Wills and petition for letters. No statutory deadline, but everything downstream waits on this.
The Register issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Get an EIN and open an estate account.
Notice runs once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and in the county legal periodical. This starts the creditor clock.
20 Pa.C.S. § 3162(a)
Written notice of estate administration goes to will beneficiaries, the spouse and children, and intestate heirs. The clock runs from the grant of letters, not the date of death.
Pa. O.C. Rule 10.5(a)
Certify to the Register that notice was given. Miss it and the Register reports the delinquency to the court.
Pa. O.C. Rule 10.5(d)
Optional. Paying inheritance tax within three months of death earns a 5% discount. The tax is legally due at the date of death.
72 P.S. § 9142
Due no later than the account filing or the inheritance tax return due date including any extension, whichever is earlier. A party in interest can force it sooner.
20 Pa.C.S. § 3301(c)
File the REV-1500 and pay. A six-month filing extension is available if requested before the nine months run, but the tax still goes delinquent at nine months.
72 P.S. §§ 9136(d), 9142
One year after the first complete advertisement, the personal representative may distribute at his own risk without liability to unknown claimants.
20 Pa.C.S. § 3532(a)
If administration is not complete at two years from death, file a status report and annually after that. Close by formal account or a family settlement agreement.
Pa. O.C. Rule 10.6(a)
General guidance only, not legal advice. Timing varies with the estate. Real estate, a tax audit, a contested claim, or a disagreement among beneficiaries will all stretch this out. Several deadlines here create personal liability for the executor if missed.
Not all assets go through probate. Jointly-held property with rights of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (retirement accounts, life insurance, POD/TOD accounts), and assets held in trusts pass outside probate. Start by identifying which assets require probate.
The probate process in Bucks County follows these steps:
Present the original will and death certificate to the Register of Wills. Two witnesses must verify the testator's signature, or a self-proving affidavit must be attached. Every filing requires a Certification of Compliance under Administrative Order No. 88.
The Register issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without). The executor obtains an EIN from the IRS and opens an estate bank account. These letters are the legal authority to act for the estate.
Pennsylvania law (20 Pa.C.S. § 3162) requires publication of estate notices once a week for three consecutive weeks in the Bucks County Law Reporter and one other local paper. This first complete advertisement triggers the one-year creditor claims limitation period and starts the clock on your liability protection. Separately, within three months, the personal representative must send written notice to all beneficiaries, heirs, and other required parties under Pa.O.C. Rule 10.5.
File a verified inventory of all estate property (Form RW-09) with the Register of Wills. Real estate must be reported at fair market value as of the date of death, not the tax-assessed value. Getting valuations right at this stage prevents problems on the inheritance tax return.
Satisfy valid creditor claims following the statutory priority under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3392, pay final income taxes, and prepare the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (REV-1500). Consider prepaying within three months to capture the 5% discount.
Due within nine months of death. The REV-1500 must be filed at the Doylestown office, not the Levittown satellite. Errors here trigger deficiency notices and interest.
A Status Report is due two years from death (Pa.O.C. Rule 10.6), then annually until the estate closes. When ready, file a formal accounting with the Orphans' Court or, if all beneficiaries consent, use a Family Settlement Agreement with an informal accounting. The court's decree of distribution authorizes final disbursement to beneficiaries.
Pennsylvania does not legally require an attorney to open or administer an estate. But executors who go it alone often create personal liability: missed filing deadlines, inheritance tax errors, improper creditor notification, distributing assets before debts are resolved, or failing to obtain beneficiary receipts and releases. The cost of an attorney is usually far less than the cost of these mistakes. For a sense of typical fees, see How Much Does a Lawyer Cost?
We handle estate administration from initial filing through final distribution. Call 215-949-0888 or request a free consultation.
Statutory content on this page was last verified against Pennsylvania statutes (20 Pa.C.S.; 72 P.S. Art. XXI): Jul. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.
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