Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Pennsylvania

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The deadline has three branches

Pennsylvania does not use one appointment-based deadline for every estate. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3301(c), the ordinary inventory is due no later than whichever comes first: the date the representative files the first account or the due date—counting an extension—for the inheritance-tax return.

The current Tax Reform Code makes that return due nine months after death and allows the Department of Revenue to grant up to six additional months if the extension is requested before the original period expires. An earlier account still moves the inventory deadline forward.

A party in interest can accelerate the filing by delivering a written request to the representative or counsel. The resulting deadline is the later of three months after appointment or 30 days after the request. The court may direct filing at any time, independently of both routes.

Property scope and verified filing

The personal representative files the inventory with the register. It includes all personal property wherever situated and Pennsylvania real estate. An ancillary representative lists only the assets for which that representative is responsible.

Out-of-state real estate follows a disclosure-only rule. It appears in a memorandum at the end, and the representative may choose to state its value, but that value cannot be extended into the inventory total or later accounts. The inventory must also include any surviving debt the representative owes the decedent or claim the decedent held against the representative.

Form RW-09 supplies the verification. The personal representative certifies the inventory as true and correct and acknowledges the penalties for unsworn falsification. The form provides signature lines for the representatives and a separate corporate-fiduciary execution block.

Value and appraiser

Section 3302 assigns valuation to the personal representative:

“The personal representative shall determine and state in figures opposite each item of the inventory its fair value as of the date of the decedent's death.”

Chapter 33 and RW-09 do not require an independent appraiser, an appraisal report, or a qualification statement. Professional valuation may be prudent for a difficult asset, but it is not a separate filing mandate in these inventory provisions. The statute and form also do not direct the representative to subtract encumbrances and report a net value in place of each item's fair value.

Access, supplementation, and objections

The register receives the inventory. Sections 3301-3305 do not require automatic delivery of a copy to heirs, beneficiaries, or creditors, and they do not create a special confidentiality rule for the inventory. A party in interest does have two express procedural rights: requesting an earlier filing and objecting to the filed inventory.

Later-discovered property starts a short supplement clock. Section 3303 requires a supplemental inventory with the register within 30 days after the representative learns of omitted property.

Any party in interest may object through the deadline for objections to the representative's first account. The court may hear the inventory objection at the account audit, and the same issue may be raised as an objection to the account. Chapter 33 authorizes the court to direct filing at any time but does not state an inventory-specific damages, fine, bond, or automatic-removal remedy.

What trips people up

The usual nine-month inheritance-tax date is not always the inventory deadline. An earlier first account, an interested-party demand, or a court direction can all require filing sooner.

Out-of-state real estate is not omitted completely. It belongs in the ending memorandum, but its value does not enter the inventory total or later estate accounts.

Common questions

Does Pennsylvania require an estate appraiser?

No independent appraiser is required by 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3301-3305 or Form RW-09. The personal representative states each item's fair value at death.

What if the representative discovers another asset later?

The representative must file a supplemental inventory within 30 days after discovering the omitted property.

Can a beneficiary force an earlier inventory?

A party in interest may deliver a written request to the representative or the representative's attorney. The filing then becomes due by the later of three months after appointment or 30 days after the request, unless the court directs another timing.

Statutes and sources

• 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3301-3305 — verified filing, timing branches, property scope, out-of-state memorandum, fair value, supplemental filing, claims against the representative, and objections. Official Pennsylvania General Assembly Chapter 33 PDF: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=PDF&ttl=20&div=0&chpt=33 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Tax Reform Code of 1971 § 2136(d) — nine-month inheritance-tax return deadline and possible six-month extension. Official Pennsylvania General Assembly text: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?57&iFrame=true&txtType=HTM&SessYr=1971&SessInd=0&ActNum=0002.&chpt=21&subchpt=000.&sctn=36&subsctn=0 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Pennsylvania Register of Wills Form RW-09 — representative verification, property statement, date-of-death values, total, and out-of-state memorandum. Official Pennsylvania Courts form: https://www.pacourts.us/Storage/media/pdfs/20210224/225712-rw09inventoryeff9116-005413.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10).