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How Much Does a Will Cost in PA? A Berks County Guide

There's no set price for a will in Pennsylvania. Here is what Berks County firms print, what makes a will legal, what happens if you die without one, and when you need a power of attorney, a living will or a trust too.

Berks Connect Blog|Published October 18, 2026
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There's no set price for a will in Pennsylvania. A lawyer estimates your fee after a first meeting, based on how complicated your situation is, and two Berks firms post prices on their websites. The state doesn't require a lawyer, so what you're paying for is a paper that meets Pennsylvania's rules, plus the other papers the firms bundle with it.

This is general information; a question about your own will goes to a lawyer or the Berks County Bar Association's lawyer referral line, 610-375-4591. The firms are on the county lawyers page, and if you're still deciding whether you need a lawyer at all, that post covers wills too.

What Berks law firms charge for a will.

Lawyers charge either a flat fee for the whole set of papers or an hourly rate, and a lawyer who hasn't regularly represented you has to tell you in writing how you'll be charged; how lawyers charge in Berks County covers that. Ask at the first call whether the first meeting costs anything, and at the meeting what the whole set will cost.

Miller Law Group in West Lawn posts a Basic Will package at $800 to $1,800, as of 2026. That covers the will itself, which names your executor (the person who carries it out) and, if you have minor children, who would raise them, plus the financial and health care powers of attorney, papers that let someone you choose act for you while you're alive. The firm's first fifteen minutes are free, and whether a married couple pays that price once or twice is a question for that call.

Miller's comprehensive package runs $1,800 to $4,000 and adds a living will, your own written instructions about life-sustaining treatment, along with basic trust provisions.

Resolution Law Group in Reading prints one price, $1,000, for a couple or an individual: two wills, two powers of attorney and two living wills, plus a binder.

Three other firms also say the first meeting is free: Bentley, Kopecki, Smith in Reading; Lau & Associates; and O'Connor Law.

Anyone 18 or older and of sound mind may make a will. The law asks for two things: the will is in writing, and you sign it at the end. Witnesses at the signing are required only if you sign with a mark or someone signs for you.

So why have two witnesses sign anyway? Because at probate (proving the will at the Register of Wills after a death), two competent witnesses must swear to it. The law prefers the people who signed as witnesses, "to the extent that they are readily available," and prefers proof of your signature over proof of a witness's signature.

Witnesses move away or die, so the law lets you settle it up front with a self-proved will: you and your two witnesses each sign a sworn statement in front of a notary, or another official who can give oaths, and the statement is attached to the will. The Register's office accepts those statements in place of live witnesses unless the will is contested; a notary stamp on the will by itself doesn't make it self-proved.

Can you write your own will in Pennsylvania?

Yes. A handwritten will that meets the two rules above is a will, lawyer or not. The state bar warns that kit and software wills may not comply with Pennsylvania law and can send your estate where you didn't intend.

The Register of Wills doesn't keep living people's wills; the original usually stays with the lawyer, in a bank vault or in your own safe deposit box, and probate needs that original; we cover where to keep the original separately.

What happens if you die without a will in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's rules decide who inherits, and it isn't automatically your spouse: your spouse takes everything only if you leave no children or their descendants and no living parent. If all your children are also your spouse's children, your spouse gets the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance, and the children get the rest. The same split applies if you leave no children or their descendants but a living parent, with your parents taking the rest. If any child is from another relationship, your spouse gets one-half of the estate and the $30,000 doesn't apply.

With no spouse, it goes to children, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles and their children and grandchildren. Since early 2026, when none of those exist, it goes to an endowed community fund, a charitable fund held by a community foundation. The law looks first in your municipality, then your school district, then the county, and only then does the money go to the state.

Which other documents do you need with a will?

A will works only after death; the other papers cover the years when you're alive and can't speak or sign for yourself. This is what each one does and what Pennsylvania requires to sign it.

Document What it does What Pennsylvania law requires to sign it
Will Says who gets what you own when you die and names your executor In writing and signed by you at the end. Two witnesses sign only if you sign by mark or someone signs for you, but two witnesses must swear to the will at probate unless it's self-proved.
Financial power of attorney Lets the person you appoint handle money and property while you're alive Dated and signed, two witnesses 18 or older, a notary who isn't your agent, a signed notice page at the front, and your agent's signed acknowledgment.
Health care power of attorney Names who makes medical decisions when you can't Dated and signed, two witnesses 18 or older. No notary required.
Living will Your written instructions on life-sustaining treatment Dated and signed, two witnesses 18 or older. No notary required.

These are Pennsylvania's signing rules as of 2026; a revocable living trust is a separate signed document, covered in the text below.

The financial power of attorney carries the most rules. The law requires a warning at the front, in capital letters, that you sign, and the warning itself tells you to see a lawyer before signing; for one signed on or after January 1, 2015, it must also be acknowledged before a notary and witnessed by two adults. The person you appoint adds a signed page of their own before they can act. Pennsylvania's statutes print no fill-in form for the financial power of attorney, only the wording of the warning and the acknowledgment.

A health care power of attorney names who makes medical decisions when you can't, and the living will holds your instructions on life-sustaining treatment. Each needs two witnesses and no notary. Pennsylvania's own statutes print an example form combining the two, free to copy and linked in the sources at the end.

A revocable living trust is a different, bigger job: a separate signed paper that puts property in someone's hands with instructions, which you can change or cancel while you live. It doesn't replace a will or skip Pennsylvania's inheritance tax. Trusts cost more to set up and keep, and one built to plan for long-term care costs is a more complex job again. Miller Law Group prints a revocable living trust plan at $2,500 to $6,000.

Where to get a will free or at a reduced cost in Berks County.

The Berks County Bar Association's lawyer referral service, 610-375-4591, matches you with a Berks lawyer for a $50 referral fee, $10 if you're 65 or older. The Bar's Modest Means Program lists estate planning among the cases a Berks lawyer will take at a discounted rate; in the Bar's words, it's for people "whose total income exceeds legal aid standards by 75%." MidPenn Legal Services, 1-800-326-9177, does the income screening, so that call tells you whether you qualify.

If you're 60 or older, the SeniorLAW HelpLine, 1-877-727-7529, gives free legal advice Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. First responders and military veterans can get free wills, living wills and powers of attorney from Wills for Heroes, a Pennsylvania Bar Association program. More programs are listed in free and low-cost legal help in Berks County.

Frequently asked questions about wills in Pennsylvania.

Does a will have to be notarized in Pennsylvania?

No. A will needs to be in writing and signed by you at the end. A notary comes in only if you make the will self-proved, described above.

Do I need to change my will after a divorce or a new baby?

If you divorce after making a will, every provision in favor of your former spouse becomes ineffective unless the will says it was meant to survive a divorce. A spouse you marry afterward gets the share they'd get with no will, unless the will gives them more or was made with the marriage in mind. A child born or adopted afterward gets the share they'd get with no will, out of the property not passing to your spouse, unless the will shows you left them out on purpose.

Does a will avoid Pennsylvania inheritance tax?

No, and neither does a revocable living trust. Pennsylvania sets the rate by who receives the property. A spouse pays nothing, and nothing is taxed between a parent and a child who is 21 or younger. Children, grandchildren and parents pay 4.5 percent, brothers and sisters pay 12 percent, and everyone else pays 15 percent, except charities and governments. Life insurance and property owned jointly between spouses are exempt. The tax is due at death, becomes delinquent nine months later, and anything paid within three months of the death gets a 5 percent discount.

What does it cost to probate a will in Berks County?

Your executor probates the original will at the Register of Wills, 633 Court Street, Reading, 610-478-6600, by appointment. The county's fee for letters depends on the estate's value: $30 under $2,500, $250 at $75,001 to $100,000, and $125 more for each additional $100,000 or part of one. Add small filing charges and $10 for each short certificate, the Register's proof that the executor was appointed. More in the Register of Wills section of our guide to finding a lawyer.

Do one of two things this week: call a firm from the county lawyers page or the Bar's referral line, or sit down with the signing rules above if you'd rather write it yourself. Then put the original where your executor can find it.

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