Guides for executors and families

These guides are written in plain language for people handling an estate in Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey. Pennsylvania and New Jersey each have their own process—use the guide that matches the state where the house is. They are general information, not legal advice.

• How to sell a house in probate in Pennsylvania

  A plain-language overview of how executors sell a house in probate in Pennsylvania: authority to sell, when a court order may be needed, and how Philadelphia-area estates usually proceed. General information, not legal advice.

• How to sell a house in probate in New Jersey

  A plain-language overview of how executors sell a house in probate in New Jersey: Surrogate’s Court authority, when court approval may be needed, and links for Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester Counties. General information, not legal advice.

• What is a probate real estate agent?

  What a probate real estate agent does for an executor in Pennsylvania, what they don't do, and what the Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist (CPRES) designation does and doesn't mean.

• How to choose a probate agent

  Practical, no-pressure questions for executors choosing a probate real estate agent in Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, or Chester County.

• Probate process in Pennsylvania for real estate: a general timeline

  A general, non-legal overview of the Pennsylvania probate process as it affects a house, with the few deadlines set by statute or the Department of Revenue and links to each county's Register of Wills.