Can I eSign Pennsylvania Affidavit of Death

Can i document type e sign affidavit of death pennsylvania

hello this is Andrew Sikes at Sykes elder law bringing you this update about what I know about opening a probate estate on behalf of someone who has died during the current kovat 19 crisis opening in a state is also called probate in every Pennsylvania County there is an office for opening a probate estate in most counties it's called the Register of Wills office and you can usually find it in the County Courthouse Allegheny County is a little different there it's called the department of court records and it's located in the city county building as of now it appears that the probate offices in Pennsylvania are open and are accepting new probate estates in a minute I'll tell you what I know about how they are operating but first let me say a word about why they are operating many governmental offices usually open to the public are currently closed and of course we all know why that is it's essential during this health emergency for everyone to stay at home to not go out unless you really need to to stop the spread of the virus but there are some essential functions that need to carry on pharmacies grocery stores banks or operating funeral businesses are operating and I believe the reason probate offices are open is that probate is one of those essential governmental functions so when a person dies it wouldn't do to let all of their accounts remain frozen their house unattended their business if they owned one leave that unattended so that's why probate offices are accepting new estates and I should mention that my law firm Sykes elder law has been granted permission to operate on a limited basis including such things as opening a probate estate although we are required to do most of our work remotely from home by phone email etc to learn more about what we can do during this public health emergency visit our website and click the link at the top and you can read all the details so now let's get to how probate offices are currently operating and that depends on the county and by the way the county you have to go to to open a probate estate is the county listed on the death certificate as the person's residence currently in Allegheny County the office is open in accepting new probative states last week as I record this a client of mine and I successfully presented an original well and opened a probate estate in Allegheny County and reseed what are called short certificates which is the official proof that someone is the executor of an estate the office was observing strict social distancing procedures so most of the office was cordoned off there was a basket where you place your documents onto and step back the clerk that helped us was wearing a facial mask and disposable gloves and the clerk takes the documents out of the basket once you've already placed them in but other than that the process proceeded as usual my client was sworn in as the executor of the estate and we received the short certificates placed into the basket when I went there was a sign saying the probate was unavailable from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. so keep that in mind that there might be limited hours in other counties the process is not done in person in Lehigh County for example they have a process called temporary virtual probate proceedings just search for Lehigh County Register of Wills and you can find their website click on the link and read all the details I note that you do need to be represented by counsel which I recommend anyway because administering in a state has many complications and you want to make sure it gets done properly things get filed on time and if you're the executor you want to make sure that you're not held liable in some way other counties have also adopted some sort of virtual proceedings so you need to check with your local counties Register of Wills after a probate estate is open many of the later filings such as an inventory or a status report can be filed remotely by mail or in some counties electronically if you're a lawyer practicing in this area you're probably already familiar with the counties procedures for electronic file if they had that so the best advice during this pandemic if you're an attorney who has been granted an exemption that allows you to open probate estates is to check with the probate office where you need to go check the website or call first if you're not an attorney I recommend finding someone who has an exemption from the government's closure order which allows them to help you open the probate estate if you found this video helpful please click the like button and that helps other people find the video - and as always thanks for watching