Pittsburgh Living Trust: Allegheny County Wills Division and Deed Recording

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 Allegheny County. Under 20 Pa.C.S. 3151, letters on a Pennsylvania decedent's estate are granted "only by the register of the county where the decedent had his last family or principal residence", and a deed is recorded where the land lies. The county's deed requirements refer to the "ward if in the City of Pittsburgh", which is how the county's own pages place Pittsburgh property within its recording system; a Pittsburgh mailing address outside Allegheny County is served by that county's offices instead.

The Wills and Orphans Division of the Department of Court Records

The division's About page says it "probates wills, grants letters to representatives of estates and receives and maintains Orphans' Court case documents", and lists "Probating Wills", "Receiving Orphans' Court Filings", marriage licenses, passports and genealogical research among its services. In statute these are the register's jobs: under 20 Pa.C.S. 901 the register "shall have jurisdiction of the probate of wills, the grant of letters to a personal representative, and any other matter as provided by law". Under 20 Pa.C.S. 711 the court of common pleas exercises its jurisdiction over "the administration and distribution of the real and personal property of decedents' estates", and over inter vivos trusts, "through its orphans' court division", while "the register shall continue to grant letters testamentary and of administration to personal representatives as heretofore".

What the county says about probate

The Probating Wills page defines a will as "a document signed at the end by a person at least 18 years of age and of sound mind wherein that person directs the distribution of property (the Estate) at death", and says the probate process decides whether the document offered "should be received as the last will of the deceased". Where there is no will, letters of administration are granted, usually to the next of kin, and "Pennsylvania law applies to the appointment of personal representative and the distribution of property by designating the heirs and their share of the decedent's Estate". On witnesses: "The law does not require eyewitnesses (subscribing witnesses) to the signature of the testator in order for the Will to be valid", but at probate two witnesses must identify the decedent's signature under oath unless the will is self-proving. And on what probate reaches: "Property owned solely in the name of the decedent passes by Will. Property owned by the entireties (husband and wife), jointly or in the trust does not pass by Will."

Probate fees

The Probate Fees page also says a records retention fee rises from $3.50 to $7.00 for new filings "Effective June 1, 2026", that "No personal checks will be accepted", and that a $35.00 charge applies to a returned check. The Wills/Orphans Court Fees page prices a "Small Estate Petition" at $134.75 and a new "Trust" case filing at $164.75. The small estate petition is the one in 20 Pa.C.S. 3102: for a decedent whose property, "exclusive of real estate", has "a gross value not exceeding $50,000", the orphans' court division "may direct distribution of the property ... to the parties entitled thereto" on petition, "whether or not letters have been issued or a will probated". That section was last amended by Act 35 of 2013, and the General Assembly's 2026 act list shows nothing amending Title 20. See the Pennsylvania small estates guide.

Recording a deed with the county's Real Estate office

The fee schedule, headed "Recording Fees, Allegheny County Division of Real Estate, Effective January 1, 2026", says for deed and deed related documents the "Standard recording fee is $200.00", with $10.00 for each certified parcel beyond 30 and $5.00 for each indexed name beyond 30. It lists a "Declaration of Trust" among deed related documents at the same fee, and a power of attorney at $50.00. Money orders and business checks are payable to the Division of Real Estate.

A trust deed must be delivered on paper. The county's E-Recording page names four vendors (CSC, eRecording Partners Network, a Xerox service and Simplifile) and then lists documents that may not be e-recorded, including "Corrective deeds", "Sheriff deeds", "Deeds transferring property into a trust" and "Deeds that are taxable in multiple jurisdictions".

What the deed must contain, from the county's Deeds and related pages: a legal description that is "complete and include municipality, ward if in the City of Pittsburgh, county and state", plus either a lot number with the plan book volume and page of the recorded subdivision or "A complete lot description in metes and bounds"; "parcel identification numbers (Block and Lot numbers) on all deeds"; "Matching worded dollar consideration and numerical amounts"; a Certificate of Residence, typed, giving the tax mailing address and the owner mailing address (deeds without valid mailing addresses are rejected); and, for property in more than one municipality, a Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value (form REV-183) in duplicate. Formatting: 8-1/2 by 11 or 8-1/2 by 14 inch single sheets, "Fully typed in black ink" at 10 point or larger, a minimum 1 inch top margin for the certification stamp, and no "tape, glue, staples, correctional fluid or tape, or highlighted areas". The acknowledgment must show county, state, date, the persons appearing, the notary's signature and rubber stamp; "If any of these requirements are missing, the acknowledgment is considered defective, and the document will be rejected for recording." Ask the county for the realty transfer tax rate; its pages do not state it.

What a living trust changes for a Pittsburgh homeowner

The county's own line is the useful one: property "in the trust does not pass by Will". A Pittsburgh home deeded to the trustee of a revocable living trust during the owner's life is administered after death by the successor trustee under the trust's terms, not through the petition for letters, the probate fee table and the Orphans' Court filings described above. Under 20 Pa.C.S. 711(3) the orphans' court division still has jurisdiction over an inter vivos trust if someone brings a dispute to it, but nothing has to be filed there to carry out an undisputed trust. The cost of that arrangement is one paper deed recorded at Room 101 for $200.00. Whatever is left outside the trust follows the Pennsylvania probate process.