Chapter 14 - Appeals from Decrees of the Register of Wills
Any party in interest who is aggrieved by a Decree of the Register may appeal to the Orphans' Court within one year from the date of the Decree. The appeal period may be reduced to three months by the Orphans' Court on the petition of a party.
To initiate an appeal, an appellant must file a Notice of Appeal with the Register on the form supplied by the Register (Appendix A, Form No. 9) and must, contemporaneously, file a Petition for Citation with the Orphans' Court setting forth the basis for the appeal, together with copies of all Wills known to be in existence. The appellant must comply with Supreme Court Orphans' Court Rules 10.1 and 10.2 and Philadelphia O.C. Rules 10.2.A-E. The appeal from probate will be placed by the Clerk of the Orphans' Court on the audit list of an Orphans' Court judge, who will then set the matter down for a hearing. The appellant must notify of the parties in interest of the date, time and place that the matter will be called on the audit list.
After the Notice of Appeal has been filed with the Register, the appellant must request the Register to transmit the estate file to the Clerk of the Orphans' Court for use by the Court during the appeal hearing.