Reading Living Trust: Berks County Register of Wills 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 Berks County. 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 deeds are recorded in the county where the land lies. The Recorder of Deeds' fee schedule sets a transfer tax rate "in the City of Reading" apart from "all other Berks Municipalities", which is how the county's own page places Reading property within its recording. A Reading mailing address outside Berks County is served by that county's register and recorder instead.

The Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court

The county describes the office this way: "The Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphan's Court is an elected official who serves as a dual officeholder and whose primary function is to determine whether the document offered for probate should be received as the last will of the decedent. When disputes arise at the time of probate, the Register, as a quasi-judicial officer, is empowered to hold hearings, take testimony, review evidence and render decisions on how the administration of the estate shall proceed." The Register "serves as an agent for the Commonwealth in the collection of state inheritance taxes", and "Estate matters that require judicial disposition are handled in the Orphan's Court". Clerks are not "permitted to give legal advice or complete estate documents on behalf of a personal representative", and "only Pennsylvania licensed attorneys are permitted to represent persons before the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court".

That matches the statute: the register has "jurisdiction of 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 court of common pleas exercises its jurisdiction over "the administration and distribution of the real and personal property of decedents' estates" through its orphans' court division (20 Pa.C.S. 711), with the register continuing "to grant letters testamentary and of administration to personal representatives as heretofore".

Virtual probate

"All Probate proceedings are being held virtually with a scheduled appointment. We do not have electronic filing, meaning wet signatures are required for all documents." Before an appointment can be scheduled the office needs the "Decedent's Original Will and Codicil (if applicable)", a completed Petition for Grant of Letters stating the value of the estate and the number of short certificates needed (unsigned; signing happens at the appointment), witness oaths "if Will is not a self-proved Will", the original death certificate, photo identification of the executor or administrator, notarized renunciations if any, and the Estate Information Sheet. "Payment of Fees are due at time of Probate." Documents go by email to rwills@berkspa.gov, by mail or by drop-off at the 2nd floor office; "Once received, the documentation will be reviewed, assigned a File number and fees set", the appointment runs on Microsoft Teams, and after the executor is sworn in and the originals and payment arrive, "Grant of Letters, Short Certificates and associated documents will be issued". The page also answers a common question: living persons do not have wills "'registered' and stored by the county Register of Wills".

Bill of Costs effective December 1, 2025

The Orphans' Court Division's order under 42 P.S. Section 21022.1 sets these charges for letters testamentary and letters of administration ("Table A"), to which the order adds the Pennsylvania Judicial Computer Project fee of $41.25 and a Record Improvement Fund fee of $17.50:

Other lines: probate only, no letters granted, $30.00; short certificates $10.00; filing a renunciation $10.00; filing the original inheritance tax return $15.00; filing the original inventory $15.00; an appeal to the Orphans' Court $50.00; a petition and proposed order of the Register $45.00.

Small estates

Among the Register's forms is a small estates affidavit. The statute behind a small estate is 20 Pa.C.S. 3102: for a decedent domiciled in Pennsylvania whose property "exclusive of real estate" has "a gross value not exceeding $50,000", the orphans' court division "upon petition of any party in interest, in its discretion, with or without appraisement ... may direct distribution of the property ... to the parties entitled thereto", and "Within one year after such a decree of distribution has been made, any party in interest may file a petition to revoke it because an improper distribution has been ordered." Its history ends with Act 35 of 2013, and the 2026 act list shows nothing amending Title 20. The Pennsylvania small estates guide has the details.

Recording a deed with the Recorder of Deeds

The office is the "Official County Recorder of all County deeds, mortgages, and real estate transactions" and it collects "local and state Real Estate Transfer taxes, affordable housing fees, judicial fees and redeterminations". Its page notes: "The Pennsylvania Judicial Fee was increased by $1.00. All documents that convey any interest in real estate have a base fee of $88.00." The fee schedule effective 11/14/2025 breaks that down:

Document rules from the schedule: the acknowledgment must include the state and county, the date, the persons or officers appearing, the notary's signature and a clear, legible stamp with its expiration date, and writing or typing on the notary stamp violates chapter 12 of the Pennsylvania notary law; every document must give the property location "including street address, municipality (Borough, City or Township), County, State"; a "Grantee Mailing Address: Exact, current and legible"; the uniform parcel identifier "required on all documents that reference real estate"; and a "Metes and bounds legal description not required if reference is made to a description in prior recorded deed or plan". Light copies will not be recorded. When mailing, "please provide a self-addressed stamped envelope" for the return of the document; without one "we will hold the documents until you send an envelope".

Payment and tax: "Checks should be made payable to: 'Berks County Recorder of Deeds'"; "Personal checks are not accepted for transfer tax", and the office's page adds "We no longer accept cash or personal checks for transfer tax." "Overpayments not exceeding $10 will be forfeited", and "Checks 180 days or older will not be accepted." The schedule states "Transfer Tax rate is 5% in the City of Reading" and "Transfer Tax rate in all other Berks Municipalities is 2%." The county page states the common level ratio factor as 3.12 from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Whether a deed to the trustee of the owner's own revocable trust owes that tax is not addressed on these pages; the Department of Revenue's Statement of Value is where an exemption is claimed.

What a living trust changes for a Reading homeowner

The Register raises an estate over property the decedent held in his or her own name and prices letters on its value. A home conveyed during life to the trustee of a revocable living trust is outside that estate: the successor trustee administers it under the trust instrument, and the Orphans' Court's jurisdiction over inter vivos trusts under 20 Pa.C.S. 711(3) is available if a dispute needs a judge, not a required proceeding. The price of that arrangement is one deed recorded on the 3rd floor for the $88.00 base fee, with a Statement of Value or transfer tax as the Department of Revenue's rules require. What stays outside the trust follows the Pennsylvania probate process guide.