Letters Testamentary in Pennsylvania: What They Are and How Executors Use Them

Being named executor in a will does not, on its own, let you touch a bank account or sign a deed. The authority comes from a document issued by the Register of Wills. In Pennsylvania that document is called letters testamentary when there is a will and a named executor serves, or letters of administration when there is not. Until you have it, most institutions will politely decline to discuss the estate with you.

For the practical side of filing, see our guides to the Lehigh County Register of Wills in Allentown and the Northampton County Register of Wills in Easton.

What letters testamentary are

Letters are the Register of Wills’ formal grant of authority to a personal representative, the general term for an executor or an administrator. For someone who lived in Pennsylvania, they are issued by the Register of the county where the person had their last family or principal residence (20 Pa.C.S. § 3151). Bethlehem sits in two counties; see which Register to use in Bethlehem.

Before the letters are granted, you swear to “well and truly administer the estate according to law” (20 Pa.C.S. § 3161). By accepting the appointment, you also submit personally to the orphans’ court division of that county for anything to do with your duties (20 Pa.C.S. § 3163).

Letters Testamentary vs Letters of Administration

Where there is no will, Pennsylvania’s intestacy rules decide who inherits, which shapes who ranks for appointment.

Who can get Letters of Administration, and in what order

Where letters of administration are needed, the Register grants them, except for good cause, in this order (20 Pa.C.S. § 3155(b)):

1. Those entitled to the residuary estate under the will.
2. The surviving spouse.
3. Those entitled under the intestacy law, whoever the Register judges most suitable to administer the estate, with a preference for those with larger shares.
4. The principal creditors of the person who died.
5. Other fit persons.
6. If someone in any of the classes above renounces, the Register may, in its discretion, appoint that person’s nominee ahead of the later classes.

Unless those in the first three classes consent, letters cannot go to a creditor or an “other fit person” until 30 days after the death (20 Pa.C.S. § 3155(c)).

Who cannot serve, and when bond is needed

Some people cannot serve at all (20 Pa.C.S. § 3156), including:

• Anyone under 18.
• A corporation not authorized to act as a fiduciary in Pennsylvania.
• A person the Register finds unfit. This ground does not apply to an executor named in the will.

Living out of state is not a disqualification, but the Register may refuse Letters of Administration to a non-resident (20 Pa.C.S. § 3157). The statute does not say the same about a named executor.

Then there is bond, a form of insurance for the estate. The general rule is that a bond is required before letters are granted (20 Pa.C.S. § 3171). Unless the will or the court requires one, no bond is needed from an individual who is (20 Pa.C.S. § 3174(b)):

• Named in the will as executor or successor executor and either lives in Pennsylvania or has been excused from bond by the will.
• Not named in the will, but lives in Pennsylvania and is the sole residuary beneficiary or next of kin, or is the nominee of all the adult, legally competent residuary beneficiaries or next of kin.

Renunciation: stepping aside without leaving a gap

Pennsylvania uses a statewide form for this, Form RW-06. On it you renounce the right to administer the estate and may ask that letters be issued to a person you name, but only to the extent 20 Pa.C.S. § 3155 allows. It is signed before a deputy at the Register’s office or before a notary.

What that request is worth depends on where you stand. If you also rank on the priority list, for example as a residuary beneficiary or the surviving spouse, the Register may, in its discretion, appoint your nominee ahead of the later classes (20 Pa.C.S. § 3155(b)(6)). If you do not, the nomination carries no statutory preference. If the executor named in the will renounces and no other named executor serves, the estate usually moves to letters of administration c.t.a. (20 Pa.C.S. § 3158).

Using your letters: banks, brokerages, title companies

Banks and brokerages

Your letters give you the right to take possession of, maintain and administer the estate’s property, to collect income, and to spend what is reasonably needed to preserve it (20 Pa.C.S. § 3311). In practice, that usually means moving accounts into the estate’s name.

Sign everything as “[Your name], Executor of the Estate of [Name]”. A personal representative is not personally liable on a written contract within their authority that discloses they are signing in that capacity, unless they agree otherwise in writing (20 Pa.C.S. § 3331).

Title companies and real estate

Unless the will says otherwise, a personal representative may sell personal property and any real estate that is not specifically left to someone. If the will leaves the house to a named person, that person must join in the sale. If you were bonded, the court rules on additional security before proceeds from real estate are paid to you (20 Pa.C.S. § 3351).

Real estate occupied at death by an heir or devisee with the person’s consent is outside your automatic right of possession, although the court can direct otherwise. That does not take away your power to sell it (20 Pa.C.S. § 3311(a)).

What the letters start

Receiving letters starts the formal work:

• Advertising. Immediately after the grant, you as personal representative must advertise it once a week for three successive weeks in a local newspaper of general circulation and in the legal periodical designated by the court, asking creditors to present claims (20 Pa.C.S. § 3162). See which debts get paid after a death.
• Notice to beneficiaries and family. Within three months of the grant, written notice must go to the beneficiaries, the spouse and children, and certain others, and a certification that it was given must be filed with the Register within 10 days after (Pa. O.C. Rule 10.5).
• Inventory. A verified inventory of the estate is filed with the Register, generally no later than the account or the inheritance tax return deadline, whichever comes first (20 Pa.C.S. § 3301(a), (c)).
• Inheritance tax. The personal representative files the return; see our guide to the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return (REV-1500).
• Status report. If the estate is not finished within two years of the death, a status report is filed with the Register, and again each year until it is (Pa. O.C. Rule 10.6).

For the wider picture, see what to expect during probate in Pennsylvania.

What if the executor named in the will has died or will not serve?

If the will names a successor or alternate executor, that person is granted letters testamentary. If no named executor qualifies, the Register can grant letters of administration c.t.a. following the priority list (20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3155(b), 3158). The will still governs who inherits.

Talk to us about this estate

If you have just been named executor, a short first conversation can tell you which letters you need, whether bond is likely, and what has to happen first. More on the probate and estate administration work of Leeson & Co.

Joseph F. Leeson III trained and practiced as a CPA before he practiced law, spending four years in tax accounting at an international public accounting firm and a large financial corporation. He holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and an MBA in accounting from DeSales University, and was named to MSN’s Legal Powerlist: 2026’s Most Respected Lawyers. He was born and raised in Bethlehem. If fees come up, you will receive a written fee proposal before any work begins.

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This page explains general principles of Pennsylvania law and is not legal advice for your situation. Procedures and forms change; please speak to us before acting on it.