Erie Living Trust: Erie County Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published October 1, 2026. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.

Which county this page covers

This page covers Erie County, Pennsylvania (not Erie County, New York). Under 20 Pa.C.S. 3151, letters are granted "only by the register of the county where the decedent had his last family or principal residence", and the Recorder of Deeds records "documents relating to real estate in Erie County". The offices below are in the Erie County Courthouse in the city of Erie. An Erie mailing address that lies in another county is served by that county's register of wills and recorder of deeds.

The Clerk of Records: Register of Wills and Orphans' Court

The Clerk of Records page says: "The Erie County Clerk of Records performs the duties of the Clerk of Courts, Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds, Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court divisions, according to all legal authorities governing those bureaus", under the county's Home Rule Charter. The statutory job of a register is "the probate of wills, the grant of letters to a personal representative, and any other matter as provided by law" (20 Pa.C.S. 901), and the orphans' court division is where the court of common pleas exercises jurisdiction over "the administration and distribution of the real and personal property of decedents' estates" and over inter vivos trusts (20 Pa.C.S. 711), while "the register shall continue to grant letters testamentary and of administration to personal representatives as heretofore".

The Register of Wills page says: "In addition to probating wills and processing estates, the Register of Wills serves as an agent for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for filing and payment of Inheritance Taxes." Opening an estate works like this: "Opening estates are by appointment only. Please forward the completed required documents and the applicable filing fee to open an estate to the Register of Wills, Room 122, prior to opening the estate." The required documents are the "Petition for Probate and Grant of Letters, Estate Information Sheet, certified copy of the death certificate for decedent, and original Last Will and Testament of decedent, if applicable". A representative then contacts you "to make an appointment for the Executor/ Administrator to sign the Petition and be sworn in before a Clerk from this office", in person in Room 122 "or via videoconference". Staff "is not permitted to offer opinions, directions or instructions on any matter that may be construed as legal advice". The Clerk of Orphans' Court page adds that it accepts "filings for Adoptions, Guardian of Incapacitated Persons, Court-related Estate proceedings, as well as miscellaneous petitions", matters that "usually require a hearing before the Judge of the Orphans' Court".

Fees effective December 1, 2025

The schedule explains the "additional probate fee": the fee for letters rests on the estimated gross probate value, and "If the actual gross probate value of the estate is greater than the estimated gross probate value of the estate, an additional probate fee is charged. No refund is issued if the actual gross probate value is less". Usual charges at probate include the Judicial Computer Project fee of $41.25 and an automation fee of $5.00. Also listed: short certificates $5.00 each, probate of a will or codicil without letters $25.00, an inventory $15.00, an inheritance tax return $15.00, a renunciation $5.00, a "Small Estate Affidavit" $25.00 and a petition for a Register's hearing $50.00.

Small estates

The county's "Small Estate Affidavit" fee line sits beside the statutory petition in 20 Pa.C.S. 3102: when a person dies domiciled in Pennsylvania "owning property (exclusive of real estate ...) of a gross value not exceeding $50,000", the orphans' court division of the county of domicile may, on petition of any party in interest, "direct distribution of the property ... to the parties entitled thereto", and "The authority of the court to award distribution of personal property under this section shall not be restricted because of the decedent's ownership of real estate, regardless of its value." The section was last amended by Act 35 of 2013; the General Assembly's 2026 act list shows no act amending Title 20. More in the Pennsylvania small estates guide.

Recording a deed with the Recorder of Deeds

The Recorder of Deeds page says "The primary duties of the office are to review, record and index documents relating to real estate in Erie County and to provide the public and real estate professionals access to those records", and that it "handles an array of documents, including deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, powers of attorney, leases, Uniform Commercial Code filings and many other types of records". On tax: "The office collects Pennsylvania and local realty transfer tax on all realty transfers. The tax is remitted to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to the local municipality and/or school district. Some realty transfers are exempt from the transfer tax", for example "transactions between husband and wife, parent and child, and between siblings", citing 72 P.S. Section 8101-C and 61 Pa. Code 91.101. Besides the tax it "collects Erie County recording fees, Pennsylvania writ tax, low-income housing fees and record management fees. All taxes and fees are set by Pennsylvania law or local ordinance." The page links the Pennsylvania Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value, the Department of Revenue form on which an exemption is claimed.

What the page does not say: it prints no recording fee for a deed, no transfer tax rate, no formatting rules, no e-recording option and no list of accepted payments. Those were searched for on the Recorder's page and the county directory and not found, so this page does not state them; call 814-451-6246 before preparing a deed. The staff "are not allowed to provide legal advice regarding your real estate", and the office urges you "to consult a lawyer or other real estate professional before signing any documents involving your property".

What a living trust changes for an Erie homeowner

The appointment, the sworn petition and the fee by gross value above apply to property the decedent owned in his or her own name. A home deeded during life to the trustee of a revocable living trust is already out of that estate; after death the successor trustee acts under the trust document, and the orphans' court division's jurisdiction over inter vivos trusts under 20 Pa.C.S. 711(3) is there if a dispute arises, not as a required stop. The one-time step is the deed recorded in Room 121, with transfer tax or a Statement of Value as the Department of Revenue's rules require. Property left outside the trust is handled as the Pennsylvania probate process guide describes.