From the Legal Hotline

By Teri Henning, General Counsel; Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: Our newspaper only accepts estate notice advertising from attorneys. Is this required by law and should the policy continue?

A: Pennsylvania law does not require an attorney to administer an estate or place estate notice advertising although many people do retain an attorney for that purpose. The newspaper is free to continue the policy but it may exclude many potential advertisers.
Under Pennsylvania law, the personal representative of an estate, immediately after the "grant of letters," must place a notice of the "grant of letters" in one newspaper of general circulation published at or near the place where the decedent resided, or in the case of a nonresident decedent, at or near the place where the letters were granted.
Notice must also be placed in the designated county legal journal, if one exists. Both notices must run once a week for three successive weeks. Each notice must include the name and address of the personal representative, and must request all persons having claims against the estate to notify the personal representative or his attorney, and anyone indebted to the decedent to make payment, without delay.

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