Pennsylvania’s Form RW-06, Renunciation, is the one-page document you file with the Register of Wills to give up your right to serve as executor or administrator of a deceased person’s estate so that someone else can be appointed in your place. If you were named in a will, or you sit at the top of the intestacy priority list, the Register cannot skip over you to appoint anyone lower down. Filing RW-06 clears that block, and it lets you nominate the person you want to step in.
When You’d File It
Pennsylvania sets a strict order for who gets to run an estate. A named executor comes first. When there is no will, or the will names no executor, Letters of Administration go in order to those entitled to the residuary estate, the surviving spouse, heirs under the intestate laws (with preference by the size of their shares), principal creditors, and finally other fit persons.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 20 – Persons Entitled
If you hold priority and do nothing, the case stalls. RW-06 is what unblocks it. A named executor who lives out of state, a surviving spouse who is unwell, adult children who agree that one sibling should handle everything — any of them use this form to step aside on paper.
The form does more than remove you. When you renounce, the Register has discretion to appoint the person you nominate ahead of everyone below you in the priority list.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 20 – Persons Entitled That gives you real influence over who ends up running the estate.
Renouncing the Role Is Not Disclaiming Your Inheritance
RW-06 affects only the administrative job — who manages the estate, pays debts, and distributes assets. It does not touch what you inherit. You can renounce as executor and still take everything the will leaves you.
Refusing property is a separate act called a disclaimer, governed by Chapter 62 of Title 20. A disclaimer must be in writing, describe the interest being refused, state the extent of the refusal, and be signed by the person disclaiming; the property then passes as though the disclaimant died before the decedent.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 20 Chapter 62 – Disclaimers RW-06 is not that document. If you want to refuse an inheritance, you need a separate written disclaimer that meets the Chapter 62 requirements.
Filling Out the Form
RW-06 is a single page, available as a PDF from the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System.3Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Form RW-06 – Renunciation Your county Register of Wills office will also have copies. Before you start, have these on hand:
- The decedent’s full legal name, exactly as it appears on the death certificate.
- The county where the decedent lived at the time of death.
- The date of death from the death certificate.
- Your relationship to the decedent (named executor, surviving spouse, child, and so on).
The top of the form is the estate caption: decedent’s name, county, and a file number if one has been assigned. If no probate case is open yet, leave the file number blank. The Register’s office will fill it in when the petition is filed.
The body of the form is a single operative sentence. You enter your name, your capacity or relationship to the decedent, and the name of the person you want Letters issued to. That last blank is the nominee field. You can leave it empty if you have no preference or another family member is already petitioning, but filling it in is what gives the Register authority to appoint your choice ahead of lower-priority candidates.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 20 – Persons Entitled
Below that, the form asks for your address, phone number, email, and signature.
Signing: In the Register’s Office or Before a Notary
The form prints two execution tracks side by side. You use one or the other depending on whether you can appear at the county courthouse.3Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Form RW-06 – Renunciation
- Signing in the Register’s office. You sign in front of the Deputy Register, who witnesses and certifies the signature on the spot. No notary needed.
- Signing outside the Register’s office. You sign before a notary public or another official qualified to administer oaths. The notary completes the sworn-to-or-affirmed block, applies a seal, and notes the commission expiration date.
Pennsylvania caps the notary fee for administering an oath or affirmation at $5 per person.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Notary Public Fees Notaries can also charge reasonable clerical fees for things like travel or copies, so the total is usually somewhere between $5 and $15. Signing at the Register’s office avoids that cost.
Where to File and What It Costs
File the completed form with the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived at the time of death. In nearly every case, you submit it alongside the Petition for Grant of Letters that the proposed administrator or executor is filing. The renunciation is the supporting document that shows the Register why someone other than the highest-priority person is asking for authority.
Most counties accept the form in person at a scheduled probate appointment. Some counties will also take it by mail as part of a complete petition packet. Call the Register’s office ahead of time, because practices vary. If you mail it, use certified mail so you have proof of delivery, and keep a copy of the signed form for yourself either way.
Some counties charge a small standalone fee for recording a renunciation. Chester County charges $10 per name.5Chester County, PA. Fee Schedule Westmoreland County charges $15.6Westmoreland County, PA. Fee Schedule Not every county charges a separate renunciation fee, so check your county’s Register of Wills fee schedule before filing. Fees are typically paid by check or money order made out to the Register of Wills.
After You Renounce
Once the Register records the renunciation, you are out of the administration. The Register moves to the next eligible person, or to your nominee if you named one, and proceeds with issuing Letters. You will not receive further notices, and you carry no personal liability for the estate’s debts or management decisions going forward.
One practical note if you are nominating someone. The person who accepts the role may need to post a surety bond before Letters are granted. Pennsylvania generally requires individual personal representatives to file a bond in an amount the Register considers appropriate based on the estate’s personal property value. No bond is required when the will expressly waives it, when the representative is a Pennsylvania resident named in the will, or when a corporate fiduciary such as a bank serves as representative.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 20 Chapter 31 – Bond If you are handing the job to someone who was not named in the will, flagging the bond requirement for them is a kindness. It is an expense and a logistical step they may not anticipate.
And to say it once more, because it is the question people ask after they sign: renouncing has no effect on your inheritance. If the will names you as a beneficiary, or you are entitled to a share under intestacy, that share still comes to you when the personal representative distributes the estate.