Who administers an estate when there is no will (or the executor named in the will is unable or unwilling to serve)?
If there is no will, or there is a will but the executor (or executors) named in the will is unable or unwilling to serve, the Register of Wills is required to issue “letters of administration” to the following persons (and with the following priority): • To those who are entitled to the residuary estate under the will (if there is a will). • To the surviving spouse. • To those intestate heirs that the Register believes will best administer the estate. • To the creditors of the estate. • To other fit persons. • To a nominee of any of the preceding persons who renounces his or her right to administer the estate. • To a guardianship support agency serving as guardian of an incapacitated decedent. For information on filing a petition for letters of administration (and a form of renunciation), see my article “How to Probate a Will in Pennsylvania.
If there is no will, or there is a will but the executor (or executors) named in the will is unable or unwilling to serve, the Register of Wills is required to issue “letters of administration” to the following persons (and with the following priority): • To those who are entitled to the residuary estate under the will (if there is a will). • To the surviving spouse. • To those intestate heirs that the Register believes will best administer the estate. • To the creditors of the estate. • To other fit persons. • To a nominee of any of the preceding persons who renounces his or her right to administer the estate. • To a guardianship support agency serving as guardian of an incapacitated decedent.
