PA intestate succession

[Belsnickel]

Okay, so I figured I'd reach out and see if anyone knew anything about this sort of stuff. Not expecting much, but I'm trying to cast a wide net.

Backstory: My father had two half-brothers. His father divorced my grandmother when my dad was real young. She remarried and had two more sons and my father considered that to be his father. Anyway, the youngest never had any kids, my father had two, and the middle child had one. The middle child's marriage dissolved shortly after his son was born because he was an alcoholic train wreck and they have been estranged from the family since the early nineties.

Fast forward to present day. The middle son passed away a couple of years ago and the youngest had to take care of everything because the estranged son wanted nothing to do with it. My father passed away on December 1. The youngest, already not in good mental or physical health, continued to decline and it culminates in me getting a call last night from a PA State Trooper to tell me they found him dead in his home, yesterday. He was also an alcoholic train wreck and it had only gotten worse in the past year or two. We had tried to get him to draw up a will, but it never happened. We were going to go, together, to get things done when I went up with my father's ashes to spread them, but then COVID-19 happened and we never made it up.

So now, I'm killing time while waiting for the coroner's office to open and trying to figure out how to handle the estate situation. I have looked at the intestate succession for PA and I see that it goes to the children of his siblings, meaning my sister and myself, but I don't know about Gilbert (my estranged cousin). I have zero idea where to go from here. I'm assuming nothing will really be able to be done until I have death certificates in hand, but I have no idea from there. I really have no problems if things are liquidated and split three ways, but there are some things that mean a lot to me that are in that house, things that have been in the family a long time and I am the only one that really cares about them. I just don't know how to ensure that those things are not sold off.

Anyway, just at a loss right now for things. 2020 sucks and I'm rambling a bit here. So anyone with any experience with this sort of thing?

[Goalpost]

Not much help here to be honest with you. Sounds like you need to seek out an attorney. I mean even a will here in Ohio goes thru a probate court allowing people to challenge. Sounds like you are saying there is no will. I guess there would have to be agreement of who is in charge of the estate.

[*Synric*]

If it's a decent size estate I suggest a probate lawyer. Ask around because some of them are very shady. Once you have a lawyer you can apply for I can't remember what it's exactly called but it's like temp executor which will allow you to handle funeral arrangements and charge it to the estate later. As for stuff most of the things with small value can be easily split with a mutual agreement between heirs. It's the expensive things that draw the attention...Property Vehicles etc.

[grampahol]

I still haven't settled my dad's affairs after he died. The probate court was closed for quite some time because of Covid and the pandemic was declared the day after my dad passed away. I keep losing ALL of the paperwork from the funeral home, his death certificates and funeral expense reports, etc. The funeral home has been better than wonderful to us to replace everything on more than one occasion, but it's uhhhhh..embarrassing to keep going back telling them we lost it yet again.. 

[fredtoast]

(08-19-2020, 08:04 AM)Belsnickel Wrote:  I really have no problems if things are liquidated and split three ways, 

It would probably be split two ways and then you and your sister would split one of the halves.  But I don't know PA law.

(08-19-2020, 08:04 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: There are some things that mean a lot to me that are in that house, things that have been in the family a long time and I am the only one that really cares about them. I just don't know how to ensure that those things are not sold off.

Someone will have to open a case in Probate court.  An executor will be appointed.  If it is not a big estate and the heirs get along then it does not have to be an attorney.  It can be any family member who would have the knowledge of the estate and assets.  Their is a good bit of work involved with being executor, but the executor will get paid a fee out of the estate for the work involved.
If no one can agree on how to split the personal items you can still buy them when they are sold at auction.  You would get back 1/4th (or 1/3rd) of the money you pay to buy them.