Estate and Trust Administration Paralegal

Join Crane Law, PC and play an important role in guiding families through estate and trust administration. We are seeking an experienced, detail-oriented paralegal who can manage Pennsylvania estate matters from probate through closing while providing accurate, organized, and compassionate client service.

Manages Pennsylvania estate and trust matters from initial intake and probate through asset collection, inheritance-tax preparation, accountings, distributions, and final closing. Coordinates with fiduciaries, beneficiaries, financial institutions, accountants, appraisers, courts, and other professionals while maintaining organized electronic files and monitoring critical deadlines. This position works under attorney supervision and requires a thorough understanding of probate and non-probate assets.

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Open and manage estate and trust matters in Clio from initial intake through final closing.

Maintain current tasks, deadlines, contacts, communications, matter notes, and status information.

Maintain complete and consistently organized electronic files using the firm’s document-naming and file-management procedures.

Support the firm’s primarily paperless environment while safeguarding and tracking original documents and necessary physical records.

Identify missing information, approaching deadlines, and unresolved issues and bring them to the supervising attorney’s attention.

Probate and Asset Administration

Prepare petitions for probate or grant of letters and related Register of Wills filings under attorney supervision.

Obtain death certificates, original testamentary documents, short certificates, fiduciary appointments, and other initial estate documents.

Prepare and send required notices to beneficiaries, interested parties, and government agencies and maintain proof of service or filing.

Prepare notices for legal advertisement, coordinate publication with approved newspapers or legal journals, and retain proof of publication.

Apply for the estate’s Employer Identification Number and assist the fiduciary with opening an estate bank account.

Coordinate and document safe-deposit box access and inventories when applicable.

Identify and document probate and non-probate assets by reviewing wills, trusts, deeds, beneficiary designations, account statements, and ownership records.

Work with fiduciaries, financial institutions, insurance companies, retirement-plan administrators, and other custodians to identify, collect, value, safeguard, transfer, and distribute assets.

Obtain date-of-death balances and coordinate appraisals and valuations for real estate, business interests, personal property, and other assets.

Organize information concerning debts, administration expenses, liens, and creditor claims and assist with their review, documentation, and payment.

Coordinate estate real estate sales with fiduciaries, real estate agents, appraisers, buyers, lenders, title companies, and settlement professionals.

Track agreements, contingencies, closing requirements, settlement dates, expenses, and sale proceeds.

Coordinate the collection, monitoring, documentation, and authorized release of escrowed funds relating to estate real estate transactions.

Tax Returns and Financial Records

Prepare Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Returns, including Forms REV-1500 and REV-1502, supporting schedules, supplemental filings, and related documentation under attorney supervision.

Enter and maintain estate and trust information in Lackner 6-in-1 and Inheri Tax.

Gather Forms 1099, income records,…