Blog & Resources

If you are a Montgomery County resident with a will, following your death your executor will take your death certificate, the original copy of your will, a checkbook and an ID card to the Montgomery County Register of Wills Office to be sworn in as the executor of your estate.

Being an executor means that this person is a fiduciary with many responsibilities and duties. Selecting the correct person for the job is a vital part of your estate plan.

Question: I am the Executor of a Montgomery County estate and the trustee of the trust into which the estate assets pour. The trust is for my brother. He is the beneficiary of the estate. What do I do when the beneficiary’s lawyer does not engage me?

Careful! First, the executor needs to understand that the beneficiary of the estate is not the brother; the beneficiary of the estate is the trust for the brother. The brother is a beneficiary of the trust, but he is not the heir of the estate. He may have an attorney, but the executor may be giving that attorney too much power over estate matters.

Montgomery County Orphans’ Court Local Rule 3.7A states that the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Montgomery County shall now accept all legal papers and exhibits either by traditional paper filings or Petitions for Probate and other filings may be made by electronic filing through the Clerk of Orphans’ Court of Montgomery County Electronic Filing System.

Unlike other counties, Montgomery County chose not to change its filing rules so that all filing must be electronic by a certain date. This will be helpful for older practitioners who might need some time to modify their practice to include electronic filing. Over time, though, electronic filing will make the Montgomery County system much more user friendly, speed up the process and reduce costs.

Rich or poor, everyone needs to designate a person to manage assets or make medical decisions in case of incapacity. No matter what your age, you could become ill or have an accident. If you were unable to pay your bills or decide which medical treatment to receive, who would have that power? Working through that decision and then signing a General Durable Power of Attorney and a Medical Power of Attorney is the bare minimum estate planning everyone should accomplish.

The Montgomery County Register of Wills cannot hold or file your Will until after you have died. Your executor will go to the Register’s office in Norristown with the original Will, an original death certificate, an ID and a check. After verifying all is in order, the Register will then file the Will. There is no Pennsylvania procedure to hold Wills of the living.

Simply put, a will is a writing that specifies the beneficiaries who are to inherit the testator’s assets, names a representative to administer the estate and who is responsible for distributing the assets to the beneficiaries. To be valid a testator you must have legal capacity when the will is written and follow state law.

Montgomery County probate clients sometimes believe that after filing the original Will with the Montgomery County Register of Wills, the Register will return to them the original document. Usually, this is because they have the experience of filing deeds with the Montgomery County Register of Deeds. After a deed is filed, it traditionally is mailed back to the buyer who may keep the original.