Decedent is in U.S. state of Pennsylvania, as is executor. Several questions: when must executor notify all beneficiaries of an estate that they are named in will? (Is it proper for it to be >1 month after death, executor has been paying bills of the estate and emptying the house and selling the house but has not yet notified the beneficiaries that the deceased is dead or that they are named in the will? (it is a given the executor has complete contact information for the benficiaries)

Also, is it proper for the executor (who is one of the 5 beneficiaries) to be taking many and various items of household goods from the home for keeps, with no discussion, no notification, no tallying or liquidation of the items to go to the estate?

And if cash $ is found on person of deceased is it OK that executor took the $ to pay for pizza, etc. while she cleaned out house and never tallied at as part of the estate or expense of the estate? (about $250)

At this point, I do not know if a part of the will said executor was supposed to exclusively receive these items, but I think it's likely that nothing at all was said about any specific items, from prior knowledge of the wishes of the deceased, I think it's most likely that the will simply left everything in equal shares to the 5 named in the will. But only 2, so far, have been 'notified' (in fact no 'notification' by executor was needed as both of the 2 were present at death of deceased and were previously aware of what was in will, the 2 being the deceased power of attorney and this executor--Those 2 also live closest to the home/have free access, etc.


And finally, who do you turn to/what do you do if you suspect wrongdoing by an executor in a loved one's estate? And how do you know what's wrong or right? What PA laws govern it?

Has the estate been admitted to probate? If not, why?

That's step number one.

Sorry, I don't know what probate is, please explain. This is a very small estate of a widow w/ no children

probate

1) n. the process of proving a will is valid and thereafter administering the estate of a dead person according to the terms of the will. The first step is to file the purported will with the clerk of the appropriate court in the county where the deceased person lived, along with a petition to have the court approve the will and appoint the executor named in the will (or if none is available, an administrator) with a declaration of a person who had signed the will as a witness. If the court determines the will is valid, the court then "admits" the will to probate.

2) n. a general term for the entire process of administration of estates of dead persons, including those without wills, with court supervision. The means of "avoiding" probate exist, including creating trusts in which all possessions are handled by a trustee, making lifetime gifts or putting all substantial property in joint tenancy with an automatic right of survivorship in the joint owner. Even if there is a will, probate may not be necessary if the estate is small with no real estate title to be transferred or all of the estate is either jointly owned or community property. Reasons for avoiding probate are the fees set by statute and/or the court (depending on state laws) for attorneys, executors and administrators, the need to publish notices, court hearings, paperwork, the public nature of the proceedings and delays while waiting for creditors to file claims even when the deceased owed no one. 3) v. to prove a will in court and proceed with administration of a deceased's estate under court supervision. 4) adj. reference to the appropriate court for handling estate matters, as in "probate court."
Pa code:
§ 3503. Notice to parties in interest.
The personal representative shall give written notice of the
Filing of his account and of its call for audit or confirmation
To every person known to the personal representative to have or
Assert an interest in the estate as beneficiary, heir, next of
Kin or claimant, unless the interest of such person has been
Satisfied or unless such person fails to respond to a demand
Under section 3532(b.1) (relating to at risk of personal
Representative).

An executor is required to provide an accounting of the estate to all beneficiaries. The problem here is, with a small estate, the executor may try to avoid the expense of probate. But for the executor to sell the property and to gain access to bank accounts or other assets, then have to prove they are the executor and the only way to do that is by submitting the will for probate.

If the will was submitted, then it should be a matter of public record at the local probate court.