No Hearing for Heir Occupying Real Estate

An heir who was occupying real estate at the death of the decedent with the consent of the decedent is not entitled to a hearing before being ordered to vacate the property and deliver possession to the administrator, and the Orphans’ Court did not err in ordering the heir to vacate the property on the basis of the pleadings, when the property was the primary asset of the estate, five years had elapsed since the decedent’s death, the administrator had advanced funds to pay real estate taxes and insurance premiums, and it was clear that the sale of the property was necessary to the administration of the estate. The Orphans’ Court also did not err in ordering the same heir to return funds to the estate that had escheated to the Commonwealth and had been claimed and received by the heir because the administrator attached a copy of a bank statement to his petition showing that the decedent was the sole owner of the account. The Orphans’ Court did not abuse its discretion in failing to address claims by the heir about a later will and the propriety of the appointment of the administrator because those claims were raised in a new matter to the administrator’s petition instead of an appeal from the Register of Wills. Estate of Ethelene Scott Hatcher, 2046 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. 6/24/2025) (non-precedential).

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