Q: Is it my responsibility or my brother's kids to give the probate attorney a death certificate for him?
In early October, my mom passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. She didn't have a will. She lived in Pennsylvania, and I'm in Texas, so I have to do all this from afar.
The probate attorney told me I would need death certificates for her. A few weeks ago, he told me he would need one for my father, who passed away in 2016, and my brother, who passed away in 2020. He said my brother's children would inherit what would have been his part in the estate.
I have a friend in Pennsylvania who is helping me. He told me that it is my brother's kids' responsibility to give the attorney a death certificate for my brother if they want to claim his part of the inheritance. Is that part?
A:
Determination of legal heirs where there is no Will is provided in the PA statutes.
Your PA probate attorney has this answer at his fingertips.
While it does seem that the brother's children would anxious to prove their entitlement to shares of his estate, it is best to give your lawyer everything he requests. That said, he, too, should be able readily to obtain official death certificates of those involved.
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