Pennsylvania timeline
Pennsylvania probate timeline and creditor deadlines
The waiting-period requirement has not been verified, so no number is published below.
Creditor-claim deadline in a full Pennsylvania administration, counted from publication of the notice to creditors: One year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters (§ 3532). Source: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3532. The clocks running from actual notice to a known creditor and the date of death are set out below.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
The one date this page can source
No waiting-period number is published for the settlement of small estates on petition (20 pa.c.s. § 3102) route. Section 3102 states no fixed waiting period after death; settlement is available on petition once the gross value condition is met.
Source: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3102, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 - Settlement of small estates on petition(Pennsylvania General Assembly; (Dec. 10, 1974, P.L.867, No.293, eff. imd.; July 11, 1980, P.L.565, No.118, eff. 60 days; Dec. 1, 1994, P.L.655, No.102, eff. 60 days; July 2, 2013, P.L.199, No.35, eff. 60 days)).
The section’s own words
owning property (exclusive of real estate and of property payable under section 3101 (relating to payments to family and funeral directors), but including personal property claimed as the family exemption) of a gross value not exceeding $50,000, the orphans' court division
Creditor deadlines
- From publication of notice to creditors
- One year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters (§ 3532)
- From actual notice to a known creditor
- Claim known to the personal representative (§ 3532)
- Outer limit, running from death
- Claims against distributed property / against distributees (§§ 3532–3534)
How these combine. The Pennsylvania framework combines the personal representative's one-year at-risk period after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters (20 Pa.C.S. § 3532) with separate provisions on claims against distributed property; there is no single statutory day count that safely summarizes creditor exposure.
Source: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3532, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3532 - At risk of personal representative (one-year advertisement)(Pennsylvania General Assembly; rechecked October 3, 2026).
The section’s own words
unless the claim of such claimant is known to the personal representative within one year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters
General sequence: first week, how long probate takes.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Pennsylvania source list · how sources are checked · report a correction