Key Takeaways
- Real estate is governed by the law of the state where it sits. A Pennsylvania executor’s authority stops at the state line.
- A second probate proceeding, called ancillary probate, is usually required in the other state before that property can be sold or transferred.
- It means a second set of filings, a second attorney licensed in that state, and months added to the timeline.
- Some states restrict who may serve as personal representative for a nonresident decedent, which can put the Pennsylvania executor out of the running entirely.
- Almost all of it is avoidable with planning done while the owner is alive. Almost none of it is fixable afterward.
The camp in Ohio. The condo in Florida that started as a winter rental and turned into six months a year. The lot in West Virginia that has been in the family since before anyone remembers who bought it. Plenty of families in Westmoreland and Allegheny Counties own a piece of ground in another state without thinking of it as complicated.
It becomes complicated the day the owner dies. The Pennsylvania estate opens normally, letters are granted, and then the executor discovers that those letters mean nothing to a county clerk four states away.
Why a Second Probate Is Necessary
Personal property follows the owner. Bank accounts, investments, vehicles, and household goods are administered through the estate opened where the decedent lived. Real estate does not work that way. Land is governed by the law of the state where it is located, and only a court in that state can clear title to it.
So a Greensburg estate with a Florida condo needs two proceedings. The Pennsylvania estate, called the domiciliary estate, opens at the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived. A second proceeding, called ancillary probate, opens in the Florida county where the condo sits, usually supported by authenticated copies of the Pennsylvania will and letters. Neither one substitutes for the other.
Until the ancillary proceeding concludes, the property is frozen. It cannot be sold, the deed cannot be transferred, and any buyer’s title company will refuse to close.
What It Actually Costs
The expense is not the filing fee. It is the duplication of everything around it.
- A second attorney, licensed in the other state, since a Pennsylvania attorney cannot appear there
- A second set of court filings, notices, and often a second round of creditor advertising
- Additional months on the timeline, frequently running past the point where the Pennsylvania estate would otherwise be ready to close
- Carrying costs on the property throughout: taxes, insurance, association dues, and maintenance on a house nobody is living in
- Potentially a second state’s death or estate tax filing, depending on where the property sits
On a modest vacation property, the cost of clearing title can consume a meaningful share of what the property is worth. Families are often surprised that the least valuable asset in the estate generates the largest share of the legal work.
The Nonresident Executor Problem
Some states limit who may serve as personal representative for a nonresident decedent. Florida is the one Western Pennsylvania families run into most, because it restricts the role to close relatives or Florida residents. A trusted friend or a professional executor named in a Pennsylvania will may simply not qualify there.
Other states require a nonresident personal representative to post bond, or to appoint an in state agent for service of process. None of this is insurmountable, but each requirement is a step that has to be discovered, satisfied, and paid for, usually at the moment the family least wants another problem.
How Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Treats It
Pennsylvania does not tax real estate located outside the state, even when the owner was a Pennsylvania resident. That sounds like relief, and partly it is. But the property may be exposed to the other state’s own death tax regime, and the estate still has to account for it in the ancillary proceeding.
The reverse situation catches people too. Someone who lived elsewhere but owned real estate in Westmoreland or Allegheny County has Pennsylvania exposure on that parcel and files a nonresident return here. If that is the situation you are facing, our guide to filing the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return [internal link, /filing-pa-inheritance-tax-return/, publish first] covers the filing side, and our guide to Pennsylvania inheritance tax covers the rates.
Planning Around It While There Is Still Time
Ancillary probate is one of the few estate problems that is close to fully preventable. The tools differ depending on which state the property sits in, since each option is governed by that state’s law rather than Pennsylvania’s.
| Approach | How It Works | The Trade-off |
| Revocable living trust | The trust holds title to the out of state property, so nothing passes through probate anywhere | Requires deeding the property into the trust and keeping it there, which is the step people most often skip |
| Transfer on death deed | The deed names a beneficiary who takes title automatically at death, in states that authorize it | Not available in every state, and Pennsylvania does not offer it for real property |
| Joint ownership with right of survivorship | The surviving owner takes title outright without probate | Gives the joint owner present rights in the property and exposes it to their creditors and divorce |
| LLC ownership | The LLC owns the real estate, and what passes at death is the membership interest rather than the land | Adds annual filings and cost, and works best for rental or investment property rather than a family camp |
When clients come to Bumbaugh | George | Prather | DeDiana with property in more than one state, we look at that parcel first, because it usually drives the structure of the whole plan. A straightforward Pennsylvania estate with one out of state parcel is often the case where a trust earns its cost, and it is worth reviewing whether a living trust fits your situation before assuming a will alone is enough.
A Real World Situation
A couple from Murrysville retired, kept the house here, and bought a condo near Fort Myers. Both were in the husband’s name alone, which nobody thought about because the will left everything to his wife.
When he died, the Pennsylvania estate opened at the Greensburg Register of Wills without difficulty. The condo was a different story. Florida counsel had to be retained, a separate proceeding opened, and the association dues, taxes, and insurance kept coming due through the whole thing. The property sold roughly a year after the Pennsylvania estate would otherwise have closed. A deed prepared while he was alive would have avoided the entire second proceeding.
When to Speak With an Attorney
- You own real estate in another state, including a timeshare, a vacant lot, or hunting land
- You are considering buying property in another state and want it titled correctly from the start
- You already hold a revocable trust but are not certain the out of state property was ever deeded into it
- You have been named executor of an estate that includes property outside Pennsylvania
- You lived elsewhere and inherited or own real estate in Westmoreland, Allegheny, or Fayette County
- Your intended executor is not a relative and the other state may not allow them to serve
We handle domiciliary estates through the Register of Wills in Greensburg, the Allegheny County office in Pittsburgh, and the Fayette County office in Uniontown, and coordinate with counsel in other states when a second proceeding cannot be avoided. The better conversation, though, is the one that happens before it is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ancillary probate?
It is a secondary probate proceeding opened in a state where the decedent owned real estate but did not live. Because land is governed by the law of the state where it sits, a Pennsylvania executor’s authority does not extend to it, and only a court in that state can clear title.
Does a Pennsylvania will cover property in another state?
The will controls who inherits the property, but it does not give the executor authority to transfer it. That authority has to come from a court in the state where the property is located, which is what the ancillary proceeding provides.
Does Pennsylvania inheritance tax apply to out of state real estate?
No. Pennsylvania does not tax real property located outside the state, even when the owner was a Pennsylvania resident. The state where the property sits may impose its own death tax, and the property is still accounted for in the ancillary proceeding.
How can a family avoid ancillary probate?
The most reliable approach is holding the out of state property in a revocable living trust, so no probate is required anywhere. Depending on the state, a transfer on death deed, survivorship titling, or LLC ownership may also work. Each option is governed by the law of the state where the property sits, not Pennsylvania law.
Can my Pennsylvania executor serve in the other state?
Sometimes. Several states restrict who may serve as personal representative for a nonresident decedent, and Florida limits it to close relatives or Florida residents. Others require a bond or an in state agent. This is worth confirming when the will is drafted rather than after death.
How long does ancillary probate take?
It varies by state and county, but it commonly adds several months and often runs past the point where the Pennsylvania estate would otherwise be ready to close. Carrying costs on the property continue throughout.
What if the out of state property is a timeshare?
A timeshare interest is frequently real property, which means it can trigger the same ancillary requirement as a house, even though its value may be minimal or negative. Confirming how the interest is titled is worth doing well before it becomes an estate problem.
