Effective September 1, 2016, Pursuant to the newly revised Orphans' Court Rules, as of today, only the standardized forms provided by the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania will be accepted. This is in regards to Rule 10.5 and Rule 10.6.
Effective July 27, 2016, Our office will only accept REV-1500’s that are dated January, 2016 (01-16). The date of the form can be found on the first page in the upper left-hand corner. If an inheritance tax return is submitted to us for filing with a different form date we are required to reject it per the Department of Revenue. This information was provided to Karen Heflin, Register of Wills at the annual Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans’ Court Convention.
Effective May 2, 2016, I request that the address and telephone/cell number for any estate fiduciary be referenced on the Petition for Letters. This will ensure a way to contact the fiduciary should the estate become unrepresented by counsel during the administration process. Also, our office will begin to keep an original death certificate at the time of probate. We will not make copies or provide this information as public record. The death certificate will be kept in the file as part of original estate documents. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation.