In Re: Order Amending Rule 10.5 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Orphans' Court Procedure ( 2022 )

Rule 10.5 Notice to Beneficiaries and Intestate Heirs (a) Within three [(3)] months after [the] a grant of letters or whenever there is a change in personal representative, [the] a personal representative [to whom original letters have been granted] or the personal representative's counsel shall send a written notice of estate administration in the form approved by the Supreme Court to: … (e) Upon the failure of the personal representative or the personal representative’s counsel to file the certification on a timely basis, the Register shall, after ten [(10)] days subsequent to providing written notice to [the delinquent] each personal representative and [his] their counsel, notify the court of such delinquency. … Note: Rule 10.5 is [substantively identical to] derived from former Rule 5.6[,]. Subdivision (a) applies to an initial grant of letters and to all changes in personal representative, including a grant of letters to a successor personal representative or due to the death or resignation of a personal representative when there are other personal representatives who continue to serve. [except that subparagraph] Subdivision (d) of this Rule [no longer] does not prohibit[s] the Register from charging a fee for filing this certification. The form of notice and certification of notice required by Rule 10.5 is set forth in the Appendix. [Subparagraph] Subdivision (e) of this Rule is not intended to limit the inherent power of the court to impose sanctions upon a delinquent personal representative or counsel. Explanatory Comment: It is not the intention of this Rule to require notice beyond the degree of consanguinity entitling a person to inherit under Chapter 21 of Title 20.