Legal
State disclosures
Where we work, what we are and are not registered to do, and which activities Pennsylvania gates behind a licence. Anything not yet confirmed is marked as such rather than filled in.
Last updated
Service area
The 6 counties we work in
These are the counties whose Register of Wills offices we have checked directly. It is a service area, not a claim of statewide coverage or statewide licensure.
- Lehigh County
- Northampton County
- Berks County
- Bucks County
- Monroe County
- Carbon County
All six are in Pennsylvania, and probate is filed county by county here, so the office that matters is the one where the person lived rather than the one nearest to you. The filing requirements and fees for each are on our county page.
If the estate is in another Pennsylvania county we will still talk to you, and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right help. If the estate is being administered in another state, we are not the right help: the law is different, and you want somebody who works there.
Registrations and licences
What we hold, and what we do not
Two of these are still to be published. Rather than leave the rows blank or fill them with a plausible number, they say so.
- Legal entity name and registered address
- To be published
Not confirmed yet, which is why no entity name, street address or phone number appears anywhere on this site. Both will be published here and in the footer once the entity is registered.
- Certificate of Finder Registration, 72 P.S. § 1301.11a
- To be published
Required by Pennsylvania before anyone may charge a fee to recover unclaimed property. Until a registration number is published on this page, we do not take unclaimed property work on a fee basis. You can still search the Treasury database yourself for free, and we will show you how.
- Real estate broker licence
- Not held, and not claimed
We buy inherited property as the purchaser, for our own account. We do not list property, market it, or represent a buyer or a seller in a transaction. If you want a property marketed openly to find the highest price, you want a licensed broker rather than us.
- Attorney licence
- Not held, and not claimed
We are not a law firm and we do not practise law. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and nothing you send us is privileged. Work that needs a licensed attorney is referred out.
- Fiduciary appointment
- None, in any estate
We are not a licensed fiduciary, executor, administrator or trustee, we hold no letters from any Register of Wills, and we never act in a fiduciary capacity. We also never hold estate funds.
We are not a law firm
It is the first thing on every page of this site and it belongs here too. We are not a law firm, we do not give legal, tax or financial advice, and nothing here creates an attorney and client relationship. The full statement is on our disclaimer page.
The registered legal entity behind Heirs Legacy is not confirmed yet, so it is not named on this site. It will appear here and in the footer once it exists. Until then, treat this page as the complete statement of what we are and are not registered to do.
Unclaimed property recovery is gated by statute
Pennsylvania regulates this specifically, and the two rules that matter are short.
- Charging a fee to recover unclaimed property requires a Certificate of Finder Registration from the Pennsylvania Treasurer (72 P.S. § 1301.11a).
- Where a fee may be charged, it is capped at 15% of the property recovered (72 P.S. § 1301.11(g)).
Our registration number is not published yet, so it is marked above as to be published. Until it appears here, we do not charge a fee for unclaimed property recovery. When it does appear, the number will be on this page and in every agreement we ask anyone to sign, and the fee will be at or below the statutory cap.
None of that stops you doing it yourself. The official search is free, the claim process is free, and we will point you at it whether or not you ever become a client.
Buying inherited property
When we buy a house we buy it as the purchaser, for our own account. That is a principal transaction, not brokerage. We do not list property, we do not market it on your behalf, we do not represent buyers or sellers, and we do not collect a commission.
Two things follow from that, and both cut against us. A broker owes you duties that a buyer does not owe you. And an open market sale, handled by a licensed broker, will often produce a higher price than any direct offer, including ours. Compare our figure against that, not instead of it.
Whatever route you take, nothing can be sold until somebody has been granted letters by the Register of Wills, and a personal representative may sell real property that is not specifically devised without court approval unless the will says otherwise (20 Pa.C.S. § 3351). Property that is specifically devised needs the person it was left to to join in.
Research and records work
Our research work documents who the heirs of an estate appear to be, from records, with the sources cited so an attorney or a court can check them. We do not decide who inherits. Only a court can do that.
Some kinds of people finding work require a licence in Pennsylvania. Where a matter falls on that side of the line, we do not take it on unlicensed. We say so and refer it out.
What we refer out, and to whom
- Advice about a specific estate, a contested will, a family dispute, or anything that needs somebody to act for you: an attorney licensed in the state where the estate is being administered.
- Preparing or filing an inheritance tax return where you want professional sign off, or any question about federal returns: a certified public accountant or a tax attorney.
- Marketing a property to the open market, or representation in a sale: a licensed Pennsylvania real estate broker.
- Formal valuations for a court or a tax filing: a licensed appraiser.
- Questions about a filing, a fee or a form at a particular office: the county Register of Wills, which will usually answer at no charge.
We do not take a referral fee for any of this, and we are not paid by anyone we send you to.
Advertising and how we describe ourselves
There are no testimonials, client quotes, star ratings or partner logos on this site, and no statistics we cannot source. The situations described on the site are composites, labelled as composites wherever they appear. We do not use the words that would imply a licence we do not hold, and if you ever see us describe ourselves in a way that does not match this page, this page is the one that is correct and we want to know about it.
Fees
Our fee schedule is not published yet. How each service is priced in principle, and the commitments that hold whatever the schedule says, are on the pricing page. A first conversation is free either way.
Start with a conversation, not a contract
Tell us who died, which county they lived in, and what is worrying you most. If the answer is that you need a probate attorney rather than us, we will say so.
Free, and there is no obligation afterwards.