A person holding the original last Will of a
decedent may lodge (i.e., deposit) the Will with the Register for
safekeeping pending further proceedings. This procedure ensures
that the Will is available for probate and prevents delivery of
the Will to the wrong party. The person lodging the Will should
obtain a receipt from the Register.
Upon the petition of a party in interest, the
Register has the power to order any person within Pennsylvania having
possession or control of a decedent's Will to deposit it with the
Register. A citation will first issue directed to the person alleged
to have possession or control to show cause why the Will should
not be lodged with the Register and, absent a showing of good cause,
the Register will order such person to deliver the Will to the Register
(Appendix
B, Form No. 4).
The procedure for filing the petition, serving
the petition and citation, and scheduling a hearing is described
in Chapter 11.
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