Estate Planning · Probate · Pittsburgh
Something Changed With the Will in Pennsylvania
Your parent changed the will, died and the probated will is not the one you knew about, the original cannot be found, or there was no will at all. 20 Pa.C.S. § 908 gives you one year from the date of probate to contest a will in Pennsylvania — but not every will problem is a will contest. Some situations have remedies. Some do not. The first step is knowing which situation you are actually in.
Pennsylvania will contests require specific legal grounds — undue influence or lack of testamentary capacity — not just a belief that the outcome was unfair or unexpected. But there are also doctrines that revive destroyed wills, procedures that admit lost wills to probate, and private agreements that resolve estate disputes without any court involvement at all. The answer depends entirely on which situation you are in.
Not every will problem is a will contest. Some situations have legal remedies. Some do not. The first step is knowing which situation you are actually in before the clock runs.
Call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation to find out which situation you are in and what the timeline requires.
Which of these is closest to what you are dealing with?
My parent changed the will and they are still alive.
Your parent changed the will. They are allowed to. A living person can change their will as many times as they want and you have no legal right to see it, stop it, or challenge it while they are alive. What you can do is document what you are observing right now — isolation, dependence, cognitive decline, a new person with influence. That documentation may matter later.
My parent died and the will is not what I expected.
The will that was probated is not the will you knew about. You have one year from the date of probate to contest it under 20 Pa.C.S. § 908. The clock started running the day the estate was opened at the Register of Wills. Undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity are the legal grounds. Unfairness is not.
I was left out of the will entirely.
Your name is not in the will. That may be intentional or it may be a legal error. Pennsylvania has specific protections for pretermitted children under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507 — children omitted from a will because the testator did not know of their birth or mistakenly believed them dead may have a claim. Intentional disinheritance is a different situation entirely.
The will leaves everything to one sibling who had exclusive access.
Your sibling is the sole beneficiary. They also had exclusive access to your parent in the last years of their life. Pennsylvania has a name for what that pattern sometimes represents. Undue influence requires proving that the influencer substituted their will for the testator’s — not just that they were present, but that the result reflects their intent rather than your parent’s.
I cannot find the original will.
There was a will. Everyone knows there was a will. The original cannot be found after the death. In Pennsylvania that creates a rebuttable presumption that the testator destroyed it intentionally under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132. A copy, a draft, or witness testimony about the will’s contents may support a petition to admit the lost will to probate — but the presumption must be overcome by clear and convincing evidence.
There is no will — I thought there was one.
Your parent died without a will that can be admitted to probate. Pennsylvania intestacy law under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2101 et seq. determines who inherits and in what shares. The intestate scheme does not ask what your parent would have wanted — it applies the statutory default regardless of family relationships, caregiving history, or prior expectations.
What a Will Contest Actually Requires
A Pennsylvania will contest must be filed in Orphans Court within one year of probate and based on undue influence or lack of testamentary capacity. Unfairness is not a legal ground.
A will contest in Pennsylvania is filed in the Orphans Court and must be based on one of two legal grounds: undue influence or lack of testamentary capacity. Unfairness, surprise, or disappointment are not grounds. The contest must allege that the testator either lacked the mental capacity to make a will at the time it was executed — not at the time of death, but at the time of signing — or that someone exerted influence over the testator that substituted their will for the testator’s own. Both are specific legal standards with specific evidentiary burdens.
Testamentary capacity requires that the testator understood the nature of a will, the extent of their property, the natural objects of their bounty — meaning their family — and how the will disposed of their property. A testator with early dementia may still have capacity at the time of signing if they understood these four things in that moment. The diagnosis alone is not sufficient. Undue influence requires proving that the influencer had a confidential relationship with the testator, that they were the active cause of the will’s provisions, and that the testator’s free will was overcome by the influence. Opportunity alone — living with the parent, driving them to appointments — is not undue influence. The result must reflect the influencer’s intent, not the testator’s.
A Pittsburgh woman contacted the firm eight months after her mother died. Her brother had been named sole beneficiary in a will executed six weeks before the death. The prior will, executed twelve years earlier, had left the estate equally to both children. The brother had moved into the mother’s home eighteen months before her death, had assumed control of her finances, had driven her to all medical appointments, and had accompanied her to the attorney’s office the day the new will was signed. The mother had been diagnosed with moderate cognitive decline fourteen months before her death. The sister had been told by the mother’s physician that the mother still had capacity to make legal decisions as of the date of the will signing — but that her capacity was fluctuating. The contest was filed. The deposition of the drafting attorney revealed that the brother had been present during the initial consultation and had described to the attorney what his mother wanted. The mother had not spoken at length during the meeting. The case settled before trial. The brother retained a larger share than the prior will provided but the sister received a materially greater share than the new will had given her. The documentation the sister had gathered — text messages, medical records, the physician’s notes about fluctuating capacity — made the difference between a settlement and an unwinnable case.
Doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation
When a testator revokes or destroys a will under the mistaken belief that a new will is valid — and the new will fails — Pennsylvania may revive the old will under the doctrine of dependent relative revocation. The revocation was not absolute. It was conditional on the new will taking effect. If the condition fails the revocation fails with it and the old will may be admitted to probate as if it had never been revoked.
The doctrine applies most commonly when a testator destroys an old will at the same time a new one is executed — believing the new will supersedes it — and the new will is later found to be defective due to improper execution, lack of witnesses, or failure to comply with Pennsylvania’s formal requirements under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502. The old will was destroyed in reliance on the new one. The new one failed. The revocation of the old one was therefore dependent on a condition that did not occur. Courts apply this doctrine cautiously — it requires clear evidence of the testator’s intent and the circumstances of both the revocation and the failed new will.
Lost Will — Petition to Admit Lost Will to Probate
If the original will cannot be found after the testator’s death Pennsylvania allows a petition to admit a lost will to probate under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132. The petitioner must establish the will’s existence, its due execution, its contents, and the cause of its non-production. The burden of proof is clear and convincing evidence — a higher standard than the preponderance of evidence used in most civil matters.
Pennsylvania applies a rebuttable presumption that a will last known to be in the testator’s possession and not found after death was destroyed by the testator with the intent to revoke it. That presumption can be overcome — by evidence that the will was lost rather than destroyed, that the testator lacked the opportunity to destroy it, or that the testator’s statements and conduct were inconsistent with an intent to revoke. A copy of the will held by the drafting attorney, a conformed copy, or witness testimony about the will’s contents can support the petition. Without evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption the court will decline to admit the lost will and the estate will pass under any prior admitted will or by intestacy.
Family Settlement Agreement
When all parties with an interest in the estate agree — every beneficiary, every heir, everyone who would take under the will or by intestacy — Pennsylvania law recognizes a family settlement agreement that modifies the distribution without court approval. The agreement can change what each party receives, can resolve disputes about the validity of the will, and can close the estate without litigation. It requires the consent of all parties and cannot bind anyone who does not agree.
The family settlement agreement is the private resolution path. It is faster than litigation, cheaper than a will contest, and confidential. No Orphans Court proceeding. No public record of the dispute or its resolution. Many estates that appear headed for litigation resolve through a family settlement agreement once counsel on both sides explains the cost, duration, and uncertainty of a will contest. The agreement must be carefully drafted — it is a binding contract that releases all claims among the parties. Once signed it cannot be undone because one party later feels the terms were unfair. For a related discussion of how informal accountings and receipts and releases work alongside family settlement agreements see our page on Pennsylvania inheritance tax and estate administration.
When the Clock Is Running and When It Is Not
The will contest clock runs from the date of probate — the date the will was admitted to the Register of Wills and letters were granted. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 908 the contest must be filed within one year of that date. There is no tolling for ignorance of the change, for the time it takes to obtain a copy of the will, or for the family’s attempts to resolve the dispute privately. The year runs regardless. An estate that has been open for ten months and whose beneficiaries are still discussing the situation informally has two months to decide whether to file.
The family settlement agreement has no statutory deadline — it can be entered at any time while the parties are willing and before the estate is fully distributed and closed. But assets distributed before the agreement is signed may not be recoverable if a party later refuses to sign. The practical deadline for a family settlement agreement is distribution — once assets leave the estate and are spent the agreement becomes difficult to enforce. A lost will petition has no explicit statutory deadline but must be filed before the estate is otherwise administered to finality. The doctrine of dependent relative revocation is raised in the context of the probate proceeding itself and is subject to the same one-year contest window.
Will contests in Pennsylvania are governed by 20 Pa.C.S. § 908. Testamentary capacity and execution requirements are at 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502. Pretermitted children are addressed at 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507. Lost will procedure is at 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132. Pennsylvania intestacy is governed by 20 Pa.C.S. § 2101 et seq. Probate proceedings in Allegheny County are handled through the Allegheny County Register of Wills.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I challenge a will while my parent is still alive?
No. A will has no legal effect until the testator dies. There is no legal mechanism to challenge, contest, or enjoin a will while the testator is alive. The testator can change their will as many times as they want. Your remedy while the parent is alive is limited to guardianship proceedings if they genuinely lack capacity to manage their affairs — not a will challenge.
How long do I have to contest a will in Pennsylvania?
One year from the date of probate under 20 Pa.C.S. § 908. The clock runs from the date the will was admitted to the Register of Wills and letters were granted — not from the date of death, not from when you learned of the change, not from when you obtained a copy of the will. One year from probate.
What is undue influence in a Pennsylvania will contest?
Undue influence requires proving three elements: a confidential relationship between the influencer and the testator, that the influencer was the active cause of the will’s provisions, and that the testator’s free will was overcome. Presence, opportunity, and a close relationship are not sufficient. The result must reflect the influencer’s intent rather than the testator’s own wishes.
What happens if the original will cannot be found?
Pennsylvania allows a petition to admit a lost will under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132 but requires clear and convincing evidence of the will’s existence, execution, and contents. A rebuttable presumption arises that a will last in the testator’s possession and not found after death was destroyed with intent to revoke. That presumption must be overcome by evidence before the lost will can be admitted.
Can the family agree to divide the estate differently than the will says?
Yes. A family settlement agreement allows all parties with an interest — every beneficiary, every heir — to agree to a different distribution without court approval. Pennsylvania recognizes these agreements when all parties consent. The agreement is a binding contract. It is the private resolution path that avoids will contest litigation when everyone can reach agreement.
What is the doctrine of dependent relative revocation?
When a testator destroys a will believing a new will is valid — and the new will fails — Pennsylvania may revive the old will. The revocation was conditional on the new will taking effect. If the new will fails the condition is not met and the revocation may be treated as ineffective. The old will may then be admitted to probate as if it had never been revoked. The doctrine requires clear evidence of the testator’s intent and the circumstances of both the revocation and the failed new will.
For related topics see our pages on executor not communicating in Pennsylvania, forcing an estate accounting in Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
At Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A., we represent heirs and beneficiaries in will contests, lost will proceedings, and estate administration disputes throughout Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania.