Scranton Estate Lawyer

Serving clients in Scranton estate planning and administration matters with over 35 years of combined legal experience.

If you have been putting off your estate plan, you are not alone. Most people know they need a will. They know they should probably have a power of attorney. But the process feels complicated, and it is easy to push it to next month. Then next month becomes next year.

The problem is that life does not wait. If something happens to you without a plan in place, Pennsylvania intestacy law decides who gets your assets. The court picks who manages your affairs. And if you have minor children, a judge decides who raises them. None of those default outcomes may be what you would have chosen. Hoegen & Associates, P.C. has been helping individuals and families in Scranton and throughout Lackawanna County put together estate plans since 1989. Our Scranton estate lawyer can sit down with you, go over your situation, and help you build a plan that actually reflects what you want. The initial consultation is free.

Estate Lawyer Scranton, PA

An estate lawyer helps you make legally binding decisions about what happens to your property, your finances, and your family when you die or become incapacitated. That work includes drafting the documents, but it also means thinking through scenarios you might not have considered on your own.

Who manages your money if you have a stroke? What happens to the house if your spouse remarries? Can your daughter from your first marriage be excluded from your estate by accident? These are the kinds of questions an estate attorney in Scranton, PA helps you answer. And when someone passes away, an estate lawyer also guides the family through probate and administration, which has its own procedures and timelines.

Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Scranton

We work with individuals and families across Scranton and Lackawanna County. Some clients come to us with nothing in writing. Others have documents from twenty years ago that no longer fit their lives. Here is what we handle.

• Wills. This is where most plans start. A will names who gets your property, who serves as executor, and who becomes guardian of your minor children. We draft wills that account for your specific family structure, whether that means a straightforward distribution to a spouse and two adult children or a more complicated arrangement involving blended families, estranged relatives, or charitable gifts.
• Trusts. A trust lets you transfer property to a trustee who manages it on behalf of your beneficiaries. Revocable trusts are common because they let you keep control of the assets during your lifetime while avoiding probate after death. Irrevocable trusts serve different purposes, including protecting assets from creditors and reducing exposure to Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
• Powers of attorney. A power of attorney names someone to handle your financial and legal affairs if you become unable to do it yourself. Without one, your family has to go to court and petition for a guardianship. That takes time, costs money, and may not result in the person you would have chosen being appointed.
• Living wills. A living will puts your healthcare preferences on paper. It tells your doctors and your family whether you want to be kept on life support, whether you want aggressive treatment, and what your wishes are if you cannot communicate them yourself.
• Estate administration. After someone dies, the estate has to be settled. Assets identified. Debts paid. Tax returns filed. Property distributed. We walk executors and administrators through every step, from opening the estate at the Register of Wills to filing the final account. The process differs from probate in important ways that affect how long it takes and what the executor’s obligations are.
• Probate. Probate is the court process that validates a will and gives the executor legal authority to act. In Lackawanna County, probate goes through the Register of Wills and the Orphans’ Court. We handle the filings, creditor notifications, and any court appearances that arise during the process.
• Guardianships. When a family member becomes incapacitated, and there is no power of attorney in place, someone needs to petition the Orphans’ Court for guardianship. We handle those petitions and represent families in the proceedings.
• Estate planning for business owners. Owning a business complicates estate planning considerably. Who takes over operations? How are business assets valued? What happens to employees? We work with business owners to create succession plans that protect both the company and the family.

Why Choose Hoegen & Associates, P.C. as My Estate Lawyer in Scranton, PA?

Attorneys Who Understand Lackawanna County

Francis J. Hoegen has practiced law in Pennsylvania since 1989. His estate planning work focuses on clients whose personal and business assets are intertwined, a situation that requires careful coordination between the estate plan and the business succession plan. He earned his J.D. from Capital University Law School and is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

William L. Byrne handles contested estate matters, Orphans’ Court proceedings, and administration disputes. He is a member of the Lackawanna Bar Association, which gives him direct familiarity with the local courts and practitioners who handle estate matters in this part of the state. He earned his J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law.

Mara Terrana assists with civil litigation connected to estate disputes. She earned her J.D. from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law.

Our firm has handled estate matters in Lackawanna County for over three decades, from straightforward wills to contested administrations that required litigation. We offer free consultations for all estate planning and administration matters.

What Is Important to Understand About Estate Planning Cases?

Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do

A solid estate plan in Pennsylvania is usually built around five documents. Not every person needs all five, but most families benefit from at least three or four.

• Will. Controls who inherits your assets and who manages the process. Without one, state law makes those decisions.
• Revocable living trust. Lets you transfer assets during your lifetime, avoid probate, and name a successor trustee who takes over if you become incapacitated or die.
• Financial power of attorney. Gives someone the authority to pay your bills, manage your investments, and handle your legal affairs if you cannot.
• Living will. Documents your end-of-life medical preferences.
• Healthcare proxy. Names a specific person to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to communicate.

What Are Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case?

The right plan depends on what you own and who depends on you.

If you have minor children, your will needs to name a guardian. Skip that step and the court picks someone. Blended families need special attention because Pennsylvania’s intestacy laws do not always produce the result a stepparent or stepchild would expect. A surviving spouse who assumed they would inherit everything may find out that children from a prior marriage are entitled to a significant share.

Business owners face additional complexity. A business that has no succession plan dies with its owner in a practical sense. Operations stall, key employees leave, and the value of the business drops while the estate goes through administration.

Tax is also a factor. Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax is not based on the total size of the estate. It is based on who receives the assets. Spouse to spouse transfers are tax-free. Transfers to children carry a 4.5 percent rate. Siblings pay 12 percent. Everyone else pays 15 percent. Knowing those rates ahead of time shapes how you structure your plan.

What Is the Estate Planning and Probate Timeline?

Getting an estate plan drafted is not a long process. Most clients go from first meeting to signed documents in two to four weeks.

• Consultation. We sit down, go over your assets, your family, and your goals. Free of charge.
• Drafting. We prepare the documents. Usually one to two weeks.
• Review and execution. You review everything, we make revisions, and you sign in front of witnesses and a notary. Typically this takes one appointment.

Administration and probate take longer. In Pennsylvania, settling an estate typically takes six months to a year. The executor files the will with the Lackawanna County Register of Wills, notifies creditors, files the inheritance tax return within nine months, and distributes assets only after all debts and taxes are satisfied. Contested estates or estates with complicated asset structures can take considerably longer.

What Should You Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation?

Bring what you can. The more we know about your situation at that first meeting, the better.

• A list of what you own: real estate, bank accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance policies
• Information about your debts
• Names of the people you want involved: executor, trustee, guardian, power of attorney agent
• Any existing documents like an old will or a trust from a prior marriage

We will go through everything, talk about what makes sense for your situation, and give you a clear picture of what your plan should look like. No fee for this meeting.

What Are Important Pennsylvania Legal Resources for Estate Cases?

A few public resources are worth knowing if you are planning your estate or settling someone else’s affairs in Scranton.

• The PA Department of Revenue publishes inheritance tax rates, forms, and filing deadlines for Pennsylvania estates.
• The Register of Wills office in the Lackawanna County Government Center handles probate filings, letters of administration, and inheritance tax collection.
• The Orphans’ Court Division manages guardianship petitions, formal estate accountings, and adoption proceedings.
• The Pennsylvania court system provides filing procedures for the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
• The PA Department of Aging offers resources for older adults and caregivers navigating long-term care and related planning decisions.

Reach Out to Hoegen & Associates, P.C. to Schedule a Consultation

If you need an estate plan or you are settling a loved one’s affairs in Scranton or Lackawanna County, we are here to help. Free consultations are available for all estate matters. Contact us to schedule a meeting with Hoegen & Associates, P.C.