Estate Planning · Probate · Pittsburgh
The estate attorney represents the estate, not the beneficiaries, and not the executor personally. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3313, the executor has authority to retain counsel on behalf of the estate. That attorney’s obligation runs to the estate. If the executor is mismanaging assets, delaying distribution, or failing to account, that attorney cannot represent the beneficiaries against the executor. If something is wrong, beneficiaries need their own counsel. And if the executor faces personal exposure from a claim or a decision that went wrong, the executor may need independent counsel too. The time to retain either is before irreversible decisions are made throughout Allegheny County and beyond.
The estate attorney represents the executor. Not the beneficiaries. If something is wrong the attorney at the probate table cannot tell you. You need your own counsel and the time to retain one is before the estate closes.
Call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation to discuss what you are entitled to know.
Families leave the first estate meeting assuming everyone is on the same team. The estate attorney drafted the will. The estate attorney is handling the probate. The estate attorney seems knowledgeable and helpful. The assumption that follows is wrong. It is a consequential misunderstanding in estate administration, and it costs beneficiaries every year.
Which situation describes you?
You were named in the will and attended the first meeting
The meeting felt organized but you left with no real information. You are wondering what you are entitled to know and who is actually watching out for you.
The estate has been open for months and nothing is moving
You have asked questions. You keep getting reassurances. Distributions have not happened. You do not know whether the delay is normal or something is wrong.
You were cut out or reduced and no one will explain why
You expected to inherit. What you received does not match what you believed the estate contained. You need someone whose job is to answer your questions honestly.
The executor is also a beneficiary
One family member is running the estate and will also receive from it. The estate attorney represents that person. The conflict between their role as executor and their interest as beneficiary is not the attorney’s problem to solve.
Property or accounts are unaccounted for
You believe assets exist that are not in the estate inventory. You do not know how to challenge it or whether you have standing to compel an accounting. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3501.1, a beneficiary can petition to cite the executor after six months from the first advertisement of letters.
You are a trust beneficiary, not a probate beneficiary
The estate passed through a trust. The trustee has an attorney. You are entitled to a formal accounting and you have the right to demand one, but no one has told you that.
Feeling like something is off after an estate meeting is not paranoia. It is often the first accurate read of the situation. The question is whether you act on it before the estate closes.
The estate attorney represents the executor. The executor hired the attorney, directs the attorney’s work, and is the attorney’s client under Pennsylvania professional responsibility rules. The beneficiaries are third parties.
This is not an abstract distinction. It determines what information the attorney can share with you, whose instructions the attorney must follow, and who the attorney owes a duty of loyalty to when a conflict arises. Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 1.7 governs conflicts of interest. When the executor’s interest and a beneficiary’s interest diverge, the estate attorney cannot represent both. The obligation runs to the executor.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3313, the executor has authority to employ counsel on behalf of the estate. That authority creates the attorney-client relationship between the executor and the attorney, not between the attorney and anyone else in the room. The families who assume otherwise are not foolish. The assumption is understandable. It is consistently wrong.
There is one narrow exception worth knowing. In some matters, the estate attorney may agree in writing to represent specific beneficiaries in addition to the estate. This is uncommon, must be disclosed, and requires a conflict waiver. If no such agreement exists, you are not represented. The attorney’s helpfulness toward you during the meeting does not change that.
Every question you ask in that room is answered through what is good for the executor. Questions that might reveal problems with administration, trigger challenges to the will, or expose fiduciary failures will be answered carefully, if answered at all.
The attorney is doing their job. You should understand what that job is. The estate attorney is there to move the estate through probate, protect the executor from liability, and close the file. If your interest and the executor’s interest are perfectly aligned, none of this matters. If they are not, if there are contested assets, questions about what the decedent owned, disputes over who was supposed to receive what, or concerns about how the executor is handling the estate, then the attorney at the table is not your advocate.
Beneficiaries routinely leave the first estate meeting under the impression that everything is being handled and someone is looking out for them. In an uncomplicated estate where the executor is honest and competent and the assets are clear, that impression may be harmless. In a contested or complex estate, it can cost years and real money before anyone realizes the problem.
The Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court system is the court with jurisdiction over estate disputes. Filing in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Orphans’ Court Division requires an attorney who represents you, not the estate, not the executor, not the family generally.
The clearest cases are also the most common: the executor is also a beneficiary, assets are missing from the inventory, or the estate has been open for so long that something must be wrong. In each of these situations, the estate attorney’s loyalty to the executor creates a structural barrier to honest answers.
Consider the executor who is also a sibling and will receive from the estate. That person has a financial interest in how assets are classified, how the inventory is prepared, and whether certain transfers made before death are characterized as gifts or recoverable advances. The estate attorney represents that person. If you believe those decisions are being made in a way that reduces your share, the attorney representing the executor cannot tell you whether your concern is valid.
Or consider the estate that has been open for two years. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3392, distribution should occur within a reasonable time after the executor has had adequate time to settle debts and claims. Unreasonable delay is actionable. The standard for removal of an executor for cause is set out in 20 Pa.C.S. § 3182. Neither of these statutes will be explained to you at the estate meeting by an attorney who represents the executor.
Trust matters are another category where this distinction matters urgently. If your inheritance passed through a revocable or irrevocable trust rather than the probate estate, the trustee controls distribution. The trustee has their own attorney. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7780.3, a beneficiary has the right to demand a formal accounting. Whether you are entitled to that accounting, and how to demand it if the trustee refuses, requires an attorney who represents you.
Pennsylvania law gives estate beneficiaries specific rights, and those rights exist independent of whether the estate attorney volunteers to explain them. Knowing what you are entitled to demand is the first step toward protecting those rights.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3501, the executor is required to prepare an inventory of estate assets within nine months of appointment. That inventory must be filed with the Register of Wills in Allegheny County. If assets are omitted or undervalued, a beneficiary has standing to challenge. If the executor fails to file at all, the court has mechanisms to compel compliance.
Most estates close without a formal court accounting. The executor provides beneficiaries with an informal accounting — a summary of assets, expenses, and distributions — and the beneficiaries sign a family settlement agreement or a receipt and release. That process works when the executor is honest, the assets are clear, and the family agrees. It is the norm, not the exception.
A formal court accounting is an extraordinary remedy for situations where informal resolution has failed. If you believe assets have been misappropriated and the executor will not account informally, you can petition the Orphans’ Court to compel one. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3501.1, a beneficiary may petition to cite the executor to file a formal account after six months from the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters. Before that threshold, the executor controls the timing. A court-compelled accounting forces the executor to document every asset received, every expense paid, and every distribution made under Orphans’ Court scrutiny. It is adversarial, it takes time, and it is appropriate when the matter warrants it — not as a first response to ordinary estate administration.
In cases involving a trust rather than a probate estate, the accounting right is codified separately under the Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act at 20 Pa.C.S. § 7780.3. A qualified beneficiary — generally a current beneficiary or one whose interest is not too remote — can demand that accounting in writing, and the trustee must respond within a reasonable time or face a court-ordered accounting. If the trustee refuses, a petition to the Orphans’ Court can compel it. These are legal rights the beneficiary holds, not favors the trustee grants.
When a beneficiary believes the executor has committed actual misconduct — not slow administration, but a specific act that harmed the estate — a petition can be filed with the Orphans’ Court requesting that a rule to show cause issue requiring the executor to appear and explain their conduct. The court decides whether to issue the rule on the petition; it does not issue automatically. Under Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rule 3.5, the petition must identify the interested parties, the rule must be served, and respondents have twenty days to file a responsive pleading. This is a serious procedural step and the court applies it carefully. Understanding what qualifies matters before you pursue it.
Conduct that can support a rule to show cause: An executor who purchases estate assets for themselves at below-market value has a direct conflict of interest that the court takes seriously. An executor who transfers estate funds to a personal account, pays personal expenses from the estate, or distributes assets to themselves ahead of other beneficiaries without authorization is committing self-dealing that falls squarely within the Orphans’ Court’s jurisdiction. An executor who has been sitting on liquid assets for two years with no creditor claims pending and no explanation for the delay presents a record that supports a petition to compel action. These are the kinds of situations where a rule to show cause is appropriate.
A missed specific bequest — the ring that was supposed to go to you, the tools that were directed to your brother — is a real problem but the remedy depends on timing. If the executor has not yet made distributions, a petition for distribution is the mechanism. If the property has already been sold or transferred, the remedy is a surcharge action against the executor under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3503, which can result in a personal judgment against the executor for the value of what was lost. The rule to show cause is a procedural vehicle to get the executor in front of the court — the surcharge is the substantive remedy for the harm.
Conduct that does not qualify: An estate that has been open for eight months with no distribution is not misconduct. Pennsylvania sets no fixed deadline for distribution, and most estates take twelve to eighteen months to close. An executor who does not return phone calls promptly, communicates through the estate attorney rather than directly, or provides updates less frequently than you would like is behaving in a way that is frustrating but not actionable. An executor who values household goods at estate sale prices rather than replacement cost is doing what executors do. Disagreement with how the executor is managing the estate is not the same as misconduct. A rule to show cause requires something more specific: an identifiable act, a documented harm, and a beneficiary with standing to raise it.
The line between ordinary administration and actual misconduct is not always obvious from the outside. That is one reason independent counsel matters early. A beneficiary who retains their own attorney can get an honest assessment of whether what they are seeing is within the normal range of executor behavior or whether it crosses into territory the Orphans’ Court will act on.
Pennsylvania inheritance tax is governed by 72 P.S. § 9101 et seq. and administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How tax liability is allocated among beneficiaries, whether each beneficiary pays on their share or the estate pays before distribution, depends on the will and on decisions the executor makes. Those decisions affect your net inheritance. The executor’s attorney advises the executor on how to make them.
The short answer is: before the estate closes. Once assets are distributed and the executor’s account is confirmed by the court, most remedies are gone. The time to raise concerns is during administration, not after.
There are specific situations that warrant retaining independent counsel immediately, without waiting to see how things unfold. If you believe the will was executed under undue influence or when the decedent lacked capacity, the challenge must be filed within one year of the grant of letters testamentary. That deadline does not pause while you decide whether to act. A will contest under 20 Pa.C.S. § 908 requires independent counsel with standing to appear in the Orphans’ Court.
If you have been told you were cut out of an estate you expected to inherit from, or received significantly less than prior versions of the will provided, independent counsel can assess whether a challenge is viable and what evidence you would need. The estate attorney cannot perform that assessment for you.
If the executor is a sibling, a stepparent, or any other person who has a financial interest in how the estate is administered, the structural conflict justifies independent representation from the first meeting. You do not have to wait for something to go wrong before retaining counsel. By the time something clearly goes wrong, the window for remedies is often closing.
The same principle applies to the executor. The estate attorney represents the estate. If a beneficiary threatens a surcharge claim, if a creditor disputes a distribution decision, or if the executor made a judgment call that is now being challenged, the estate attorney’s representation of the estate does not extend to protecting the executor personally. An executor with potential personal exposure needs independent counsel, separate from the estate attorney, to evaluate and defend their own position.
A consultation early in administration is typically a limited engagement. The question it answers: is this situation normal, or is something actually wrong? That question is worth asking before the estate closes, not after. Beneficiary disputes that could have been resolved through an accounting demand or a letter to the executor become expensive Orphans’ Court litigation when the beneficiary waits. The cost difference is significant. Retaining counsel after the estate closes, if remedies remain at all, costs far more than acting during administration.
Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. represents beneficiaries and heirs in Pennsylvania estate and trust disputes before the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Orphans’ Court Division. Docket information for pending estate matters in Allegheny County is available through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System public portal.
Attorney Stephen H. Lebovitz has represented estate beneficiaries in Allegheny County for more than three decades. He is familiar with the practical and legal dynamics that arise when beneficiary and executor interests diverge, and with the remedies available at each stage of administration. Call 412-351-4422 to discuss your situation before the estate closes.
At Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A., we represent estate beneficiaries, heirs, and trust beneficiaries throughout Allegheny County and western Pennsylvania. Our practice includes estate administration disputes, fiduciary accountability matters, formal accounting demands, and contested proceedings before the Orphans’ Court Division of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
Estate Planning · Probate · Pittsburgh
Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. represents beneficiaries and heirs in Pennsylvania estate and trust matters throughout Allegheny County. Call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation to discuss what you are entitled to know and what remedies are available.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The estate attorney represents the executor, who is the attorney’s client under Pennsylvania law. Heirs and beneficiaries are third parties. Unless the attorney has entered a separate written engagement with you, which is uncommon and must be disclosed, you do not have an attorney-client relationship with the estate’s counsel, and that attorney owes you no duty of loyalty.
You can ask questions, but the attorney is not obligated to answer them in a way that serves your interests. Their duty runs to the executor. Questions about what the estate owns, what debts exist, how assets will be valued, or whether certain pre-death transfers will be included in the estate are all questions where the estate attorney’s answer may favor the executor’s position rather than yours.
This is a common and genuinely conflicted situation. The executor has a fiduciary duty to all beneficiaries under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3313, but also has a personal financial interest in how the estate is administered. The estate attorney represents the executor in that dual role. If you believe the executor is making decisions that serve their personal interest rather than the estate, you need independent counsel to evaluate those decisions and, if warranted, seek relief through the Orphans’ Court.
Most estates close without a formal court accounting. Families typically agree on an informal accounting and sign a receipt and release. A court-compelled accounting is an extraordinary remedy when informal resolution has broken down. For a probate estate, beneficiaries may petition the Orphans’ Court to cite the executor to file a formal account, but only after six months from the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3501.1. Before that threshold, the executor controls the timing. If you are a trust beneficiary rather than a probate beneficiary, 20 Pa.C.S. § 7780.3 gives you the right to demand an accounting from the trustee in writing, and the trustee must respond within a reasonable time or face a court-ordered accounting.
It depends on where the estate is in the process. So long as the estate has not been closed and the executor’s account has not been confirmed by the court, beneficiaries generally retain their rights to challenge administration decisions, demand accountings, and raise objections to distributions. Once the estate closes and the court confirms the account, most remedies are gone. The earlier you consult independent counsel, the more options are available.
A consultation during estate administration is a limited engagement. The cost is modest compared to what contested Orphans’ Court litigation costs once problems develop. Many disputes that could have been resolved through a demand letter or an accounting request during administration become years-long proceedings when the beneficiary waits. Retaining counsel early in the process is almost always less expensive than retaining counsel after the estate closes, if remedies remain available at all.
Part of the When Life Changes series: When Life Changes · Executor Duties · Your Parent Has Dementia
Related pages: Executor Duties in Pennsylvania · Beneficiary Rights in Pennsylvania · Removing an Executor in Pennsylvania · Executor Self-Dealing · Estate Planning and Probate Overview
We represent estate and trust beneficiaries throughout Allegheny County and western Pennsylvania. Estate administration questions are time-sensitive. Early consultation preserves options that close when an estate is confirmed. Call 412-351-4422 or use the contact form to schedule a consultation.
