Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

I bought my parents house from my siblings. I am the estate rep. One of my siblings NOW wants me to send her all of my Mother's bank statements from the time she passed away. I live in Pa, she lives in tx. She said her accountment needs these statements for my sisters income taxes. Do I have to send her the bank statements? I have sent her expenses that were paid out of my Mother's checking acct. which I own now. I have split that money in the checking with my siblings.


Asked on 2/26/17, 7:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Miriam Jacobson Retired from practice of law

If you are the Personal Representative of the Estate (also known as Executor), and you received Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary from the Register of Wills in the County where the last of your parents to die resided at the time of death, then you should have provided a notice to heirs that the Estate was opened. After that, you should have provided an informal or a formal accounting to the heirs and/or beneficiaries under the Will, if there was a Will, and a receipt, release and refunding agreement for the heirs/beneficiaries to sign before you distributed assets of the Estate. Your sister is not entitled to look beyond the accounting and you are not required to send her all of the documents involved in your administration of the estate. If there are objections to your administration, you are better off going through a formal accounting and having it approved by the Orphans' Court. Consult a local estates lawyer to assist you with this. It sounds like an unnecessary expense to have to go through. You may want to ask that your sister's accountant give you a justification of her or his request before you do that.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

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Answered on 2/26/17, 1:27 pm


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