Letters of administration in PA and letters testamentary are both issued by the county Register of Wills, and both give one person authority to act for an estate. The difference is how that person got the job. Letters testamentary go to the executor a will names. Letters of administration go to someone the Register appoints, usually because there is no will or the named executor cannot or will not serve.

Once issued, they carry the same authority and the same duties. A bank asks for a short certificate either way. Where they differ is who is allowed to serve, how long the appointment can take, and whether the estate has to buy a bond first.

Letters testamentary: there is a will and the executor serves

Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3155(a), the Register grants letters testamentary to the executor designated in the will. The executor brings the original will, the death certificate, and the county's petition packet. A photocopy of the will is usually not enough.

Letters of administration: the order of priority

When there is no will, or the named executor has died, declines, or is not qualified, the Register grants letters of administration. Except for good cause, Section 3155(b) sets the order:

Those entitled to the residuary estate under the will.

The surviving spouse.

The heirs under the intestate law, with the Register choosing who will best administer the estate and giving preference to those with larger shares.

The decedent's principal creditors.

Other fit persons.

Someone with priority can renounce and nominate another person, and the Register may appoint that nominee ahead of the later classes. Creditors and other fit persons cannot receive letters until 30 days after the death unless the residuary beneficiaries, spouse, and heirs consent.

When there is a will but no named executor serves, the appointment is still letters of administration, often called administration with the will annexed. The will still decides who inherits. Only the person in charge changes.

Who cannot serve

Section 3156 disqualifies anyone under 18, and anyone charged with homicide in connection with the decedent's death (other than homicide by vehicle) until the charge is withdrawn, dismissed, or ends in acquittal. The Register can also find a person unfit to administer the estate, but that power does not reach an executor named in the will.

How to get letters of administration in PA

There is no separate court case. The person seeking letters files a petition with the Register of Wills, takes an oath, and walks out with the letters and short certificates if everything is in order. The steps below are the ones that decide whether that happens in one visit or drags on for weeks.

File in the right county. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3151, letters are granted only by the Register of the county where the decedent had their last family or principal residence. A parent who died in a Montgomery County nursing home but kept the house in Philadelphia is a question of domicile, not where the death occurred. If the decedent lived outside Pennsylvania, the petition goes to a county where estate property is located.

Bring the facts the petition requires. Section 3153 lists them: the decedent's name, age, domicile, last residence, and place and date of death; the surviving spouse's name and address; the names, relationships, and addresses of the other heirs; and the estimated value of the personal property plus the value and location of any Pennsylvania real estate. Bring a certified death certificate and a rough list of accounts and their balances so the estimates are not guesses.

Collect renunciations first. If someone stands ahead of you or alongside you in the Section 3155 order, the Register will want that person's written renunciation before appointing you. A surviving spouse who does not want the job signs one so an adult child can serve. Two siblings with equal priority either serve together or one renounces. Without the signatures, the Register generally requires notice to the people with equal or higher priority, and that is where the delay comes from.

Take the oath in person or arrange it in advance. Section 3154 requires the petition affidavit and the fiduciary's oath to be taken before the Register, or before a similar officer in another state who has been authorized by the Register of the county where the petition will be filed. An out-of-state petitioner should ask the Register's office about that authorization before traveling.

Expect the Register to ask about residence. Section 3157 gives the Register discretion to refuse letters of administration to anyone who is not a Pennsylvania resident. Registers do appoint out-of-state family members, but the bond rules below usually apply to them, and some counties ask for a Pennsylvania co-administrator or agent for service.

Pay the fee and buy the bond, if one is required. The Register's fee is set by county and scaled to the estimated estate value. If a bond is required, the surety company needs the estimate before it will write one, and the Register will not issue letters until the bond is on file (Section 3171).

Order short certificates at the counter. Banks, brokerages, and the Department of Transportation each want their own certified copy of the letters. Order several the day letters issue. Going back for more later costs another trip and another fee.

Bond: the cost difference families miss

Section 3171 starts from the rule that a personal representative files a bond before letters are granted, in an amount the Register sets based on the personal estate. Section 3174 then carves out the common exceptions. Unless a court orders a bond or the will requires one, no bond is needed when:

The person is named in the will as executor and lives in Pennsylvania.

The will expressly excuses the executor from filing a bond.

A nonresident named executor serves alongside a Pennsylvania co-executor who will hold the assets.

The person is not named in a will but lives in Pennsylvania and is the sole residuary beneficiary or next of kin, or the nominee of all of them who are adults.

The practical result: a child who lives out of state and is appointed administrator of a parent's estate often has to post a bond, and the premium comes out of the estate. A will that names a Pennsylvania executor, or excuses bond, avoids that.

After letters: the executor duties are the same

Whichever letters issue, the clock that follows is the same. The grant of letters is advertised once a week for three successive weeks (Section 3162). Heirs and beneficiaries get written notice within three months under the Orphans' Court rules. The inheritance tax is delinquent nine months after death, with a 5 percent discount for paying within three. Distributing before the one-year creditor window closes (Section 3532) leaves the personal representative exposed.

When you may not need letters of administration at all

Pennsylvania lets some small estates move without a personal representative. Before paying the Register's fee and a bond premium, check whether one of these fits.

Final wages and employee benefits up to $10,000. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(a), an employer may pay them directly to the surviving spouse, a child, a parent, or a sibling, in that order, whether or not letters have been issued.

Bank and credit union accounts up to $20,000 at one institution. Section 3101(b) lets the institution pay the balance to the same family members on presentation of a receipted funeral bill or a funeral director's affidavit that arrangements for payment have been made.

Personal property up to $50,000 by small estate petition. Section 3102 allows a party in interest to ask the Orphans' Court of the county of domicile to direct distribution without letters when the personal property, excluding real estate and the Section 3101 payments, is worth $50,000 or less. The decedent's ownership of real estate does not disqualify the estate, but the petition does not transfer the real estate.

A house in the decedent's name alone, a vehicle title the family wants to transfer to a non-relative, or a brokerage account over the limit still requires letters. The small estate route also offers no creditor cutoff, so it fits estates with known debts and a clear list of heirs, not estates where a creditor may surface later.

New Jersey uses the same words for different paper

New Jersey also issues letters testamentary and letters of administration, but through the county Surrogate and under New Jersey law, with its own priority and bond rules. Do not assume a Pennsylvania answer carries across the river.

Questions people ask about letters of administration in PA

Does letters of administration mean there was no will?

Not always. When a will exists but no named executor is able or willing to serve, Section 3158 provides for letters of administration cum testamento annexo, usually abbreviated c.t.a. The will still controls who inherits. The letters simply name a different person to carry it out, chosen from the Section 3155 order starting with the residuary beneficiaries.

What happens if the administrator dies or resigns before the estate is finished?

The Register grants a second set of letters to finish the job. Section 3159 calls them letters of administration de bonis non, or d.b.n., in an intestate estate, and d.b.n.c.t.a. when there is a will. The successor picks up the remaining assets and the remaining duties, including any inheritance tax return that has not been filed.

Can a relative who lives outside Pennsylvania get letters of administration?

Often, yes, but two rules apply. Section 3157 gives the Register discretion to refuse letters of administration to a nonresident, and the bond exception in Section 3174 for a person not named in a will requires Pennsylvania residence. An out-of-state child who is the sole heir should expect to post a bond unless the Register or the court excuses it.

How long do letters of administration take in PA?

When the petitioner has the death certificate, the heir information, the value estimates, every needed renunciation, and the bond arranged, many Registers issue letters at the counter the same day. Missing renunciations, a dispute between heirs with equal priority, or a creditor petition under Section 3155(b)(4) can add weeks because notice has to go out first. The 30-day waiting period in Section 3155(c) applies only to creditors and other fit persons, not to the spouse or heirs.

Are letters of administration the same as a short certificate?

No. The letters are the grant of authority. A short certificate is the Register's certified one-page proof that the letters were issued and remain in effect, and it is the document a bank actually asks to see. The Register issues both, and the short certificate reads the same whether the underlying grant was letters testamentary or letters of administration.

When to call

Call before filing if the original will is missing, if two relatives with equal priority both want to serve, if the person with priority lives out of state, or if a creditor is pressing to be appointed. Ravenell Law handles Pennsylvania and New Jersey estate administration from Elkins Park. William Ravenell reviews administration matters before they go out the door. This page is general information, not legal advice.