Will & Probate
A clear Pennsylvania will paired with hands-on guidance for the executor through Lackawanna County probate.
Estate Planning
Overview
A practice rooted in care and clarity.
I help clients with the planning and probate of their estates. Planning ahead is the key to a successful probate — but unexpected problems often arise along the way, and having an experienced attorney in your corner makes all the difference.
I'm well-versed in Pennsylvania's evolving estate and inheritance tax laws and stay current with the latest information you need to plan and probate estates of all types and sizes. From modest family estates to more involved holdings, the goal is the same: a coordinated plan that works quietly when called upon.
Estate planning is not about volume of paperwork. It is about creating a system that does what you intended — efficiently, privately, and with as little burden on your loved ones as possible.
Who needs this
Individuals and couples drafting their first plan, homeowners with growing assets, parents with minor children, and families whose existing plans haven't been reviewed in years.
When to consider it
At any meaningful life transition — marriage, the birth of a child, the purchase of property, retirement, the loss of a loved one, or significant changes in Pennsylvania tax law.
The process
A measured, transparent journey.
Every engagement follows a deliberate cadence — so you always know where we are and what comes next.
- 01
Initial consultation
We discuss your family, your goals, and your concerns — focused entirely on your vision for what protection looks like.
- 02
Plan design
I outline a clear, plain-language approach so the choices in front of you are easy to understand.
- 03
Drafting & review
Documents are prepared and walked through with you, page by page, until every line is right.
- 04
Execution & follow-through
We handle proper signing under PA law and provide guidance for funding, beneficiary designations, and ongoing maintenance.
Key components
What's included in your engagement.
01
Comprehensive will
A clear, valid Pennsylvania will that anchors your plan.
02
Trust planning where appropriate
Revocable and special-needs trusts when they fit your situation — not when they don't.
03
Probate guidance
Step-by-step support for executors and administrators through the Lackawanna County process.
04
Inheritance & estate tax planning
Strategies aligned with current Pennsylvania and federal tax rules.
05
Beneficiary coordination
Aligning retirement accounts, life insurance, and titled assets with the rest of your plan.
06
Periodic review
Ongoing review as life — and the law — change over time.
Client story
Settling an estate without conflict — or surprises.
After her father's passing, a long-time client stepped into the role of executor with no prior experience and a family spread across three states. We guided her through Pennsylvania probate, coordinated inheritance tax filings, and kept communication steady with the other beneficiaries throughout.
Outcome
A complete, defensible administration — closed cleanly, and with the family's relationships intact.
Common questions
Answers to what we hear most.
It depends on your assets, family dynamics, and goals. For many Pennsylvania families a properly drafted will is sufficient. For others, a trust offers privacy, probate avoidance, and greater control.
PA imposes inheritance tax based on the relationship of the beneficiary to the decedent — 0% for spouses, 4.5% for direct descendants, 12% for siblings, and 15% for most others. Planning can reduce its impact.
Most straightforward estates resolve within 9–18 months. Complex estates take longer. A well-prepared plan shortens the process considerably.
Most documents will remain valid, but state-specific provisions (like inheritance tax planning or healthcare directives) should be reviewed in your new state.
Why planning matters
The estates that settle quietly are almost always the ones that were planned quietly.
A coordinated estate plan does its loudest work invisibly. It avoids confusion among loved ones, removes friction from the probate court, and minimizes the bite of Pennsylvania inheritance and federal estate tax.
Without one, the Commonwealth's intestacy rules — not your wishes — decide who receives what, in what proportion, and on what timeline. Planning ahead replaces that default with a deliberate one of your own.
What a complete plan includes
A handful of documents, working together quietly.
An estate plan is rarely one document. It's a small set of instruments coordinated to do their job at exactly the right moment.
Trust Planning
Revocable, special-needs, or charitable trusts when they fit your family — never as paperwork for its own sake.
Tax & Beneficiary Coordination
PA inheritance, federal estate tax, and beneficiary designations on retirement and life-insurance accounts, aligned with your plan.
Pennsylvania inheritance tax
The bracket depends on the relationship — not the size of the estate.
PA's inheritance tax is calculated by who is inheriting from whom. Understanding the brackets early is one of the simplest ways to keep more of an estate in the hands of the people you intend.
- 0% — surviving spouse and certain charitable beneficiaries
- 4.5% — direct descendants and lineal heirs
- 12% — siblings
- 15% — most other beneficiaries
Keeping it current
A plan only works if it still reflects the life it protects.
Tax law shifts. Families change. The plan you signed a decade ago may name people who are no longer in your life and miss people who now are. A periodic review is the quiet maintenance that keeps everything else working.
I encourage every client to revisit their plan every three to five years — and any time a meaningful life event happens in between.
