Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

You don't provide really relevant information. It does not matter where he lives or how old you both are. Wills have nothing to do with non-probate assets either so if there is no probate estate to administer then your brother is executor of nothing.

So let's start with relevant information. When did your mother die? What did your mother own besides a bank account? Has your brother sought to probate an estate for your mother or merely filed a will as your mother has no probate assets? What claims, if any, are there? Were the funeral expenses paid? Any other debts? Whose name, if any, was on the bank account besides your mother's?

If your mother had a joint bank account solely with your brother, then you get nothing. If the account was joint solely with you, then you get it all and your brother gets nothing. If the account was solely in your mother''s name, then your brother will need to probate an estate and deposit the funds into an estate bank account. There is a simplified process for small estates and he will need to talk to the register of wills at the Orphans' Court (assuming that your mother lived in Pennsylvania at the time of her death) in the county in which your mother resided.

Creditors would of course need notified. Inheritance taxes and any claims must be paid if there are sufficient funds other than the family exemption. The process takes 1-2 years on average depending on the size and complexity of the estate. If there is only money here, once taxes are filed and paid and assuming no claims, then your brother should be able to have this wrapped up in a year. Once the account is confirmed by the court or clerk, then distribution can be made quickly.