Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
Settlement of Estate
My grandmother passed away in 1972. Her estate (some money, house and property) was willed to her 5 children. The children decided to rent out the house. My father was put in charge of the rental. The house has not had a tenant for many years. All the money in the estate has been used up to pay property tax. For the past 20-some years, my father has been paying the property tax himself. Also, he has taken care of the property, mowing grass and doing repairs. Now, the house has been condemned and he is facing thousands of dollars in demolition fees. Is he liable for the cost of demolition, or should that be shared among his siblings? Also, the estate tax has never been paid (it was $2,000 in 1972). What can he do to get this estate settled? He is 76 years old and no longer able to keep maintaining the property.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Settlement of Estate
It sounds as if your grandmother's estate was never administered, but that it stayed titled in her name.
The estate should have been administered [in the Register of Wills Office in the County where she resided at the time of her death]. Administration should have included finding out about all of her debts as well as assets, filing inheritance tax return, estate tax return [federal, if it was required, based on the size of the estate] and income tax returns, paying all of those taxes and other debts, and only then could the estate be distributed to the heirs or other beneficiaries.
All of her children should have contributed to the expenses of maintaining the house. PA Inheritance tax [and Federal Estate tax, if any was due] have been accruing interest and penalties since 9 months after the date of death.
Was the property condemned because of being in disrepair or violation of local code? or is it being taken by the local government for a public use? If the latter, there should be payment from the government or agency to the legal owner.
Your family will probably need an estates lawyer to assist in clearing title and dealing with the condemning authority. This will involve doing the estate administration, paying the taxes and other costs, and negotiating with the condemning authority to find out if it will be possible to limit the family's obligations.
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