If you die without a will in Pennsylvania, the state's intestate succession law under Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes decides who inherits, using a formula built around a fixed dollar amount plus a percentage split between your spouse and other relatives. Your own wishes carry no legal weight once you die intestate.
Key Takeaways
- Pennsylvania's intestacy formula gives the surviving spouse a first 30,000 dollars plus a share of the balance, not a flat percentage.
- The spouse's exact share depends on whether your children are also the spouse's children and whether parents survive you.
- Unmarried partners and unadopted stepchildren inherit nothing automatically under Pennsylvania intestacy.
- An intestate estate still requires probate through the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court, the same as an estate with a will.
Who inherits if you die without a will in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania's spousal share is set out in 20 Pa.C.S. section 2102, and the share passing to other heirs is set out in section 2103.
Spouse only, no children or parents
Your spouse inherits the entire intestate estate if you leave no surviving children or parents.
Spouse and shared children
If all of your surviving children are also children of your surviving spouse, the spouse receives the first 30,000 dollars of the estate plus one-half of whatever remains, with the children dividing the rest under section 2103.
Spouse and children from another relationship
If one or more of your surviving children are not also children of your surviving spouse, the spouse's share drops to one-half of the intestate estate with no 30,000 dollar allowance, and the children divide the remaining half.
Spouse and parents, no children
If you have no surviving children but a parent or parents survive you, the spouse still receives the first 30,000 dollars plus one-half of the balance, with the remainder passing to the parents.
Children only, or no spouse and no children
If there is no surviving spouse, your children inherit the entire estate under section 2103. If there is no spouse and no children, the estate passes to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives in the order that section 2103 sets out.
What if the decedent left a partial will?
Pennsylvania's intestacy rules do not only apply when there is no will at all. If a will exists but fails to dispose of the entire estate, perhaps because it names beneficiaries for some assets but is silent on others, the leftover portion passes under the same intestate succession rules described above. Any property the surviving spouse receives through the partial will is generally credited toward the 30,000 dollar allowance, so the spouse does not simply stack the will's gifts on top of a full intestate share.
Does intestacy avoid Pennsylvania probate?
No. An intestate estate still has to go through Pennsylvania's Register of Wills and, if disputes arise, the Orphans' Court, the same process used for estates with a will. The court applies the statutory formula above instead of following any instructions from you, and the process commonly takes many months to resolve.
What is excluded from Pennsylvania intestacy?
An unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit under Pennsylvania law, regardless of how long the relationship lasted or how intertwined your finances were. Stepchildren who were never legally adopted, foster children, and close friends are excluded the same way.
Why does the 30,000 dollar allowance matter so much?
The 30,000 dollar figure functions as a floor that protects a surviving spouse in smaller estates. In an estate worth 60,000 dollars with one shared child, the spouse's 30,000 dollar allowance plus half of the remaining 30,000 dollars means the spouse actually ends up with 45,000 dollars, three-quarters of the total, while the child receives the remaining 15,000 dollars. As the estate grows larger, the fixed 30,000 dollar piece becomes a smaller share of the total, so the practical effect of the formula shifts considerably depending on the size of the estate, not just the family structure.
This is also why a blended family with children from another relationship sees a meaningfully different result than a family where every child is shared, since the 30,000 dollar allowance disappears entirely once any surviving child is not also the spouse's child.
How long does it take heirs to receive anything?
Even an uncontested intestate estate in Pennsylvania takes time. The Register of Wills must appoint an administrator, the administrator must complete an inventory and notify creditors, and only after that groundwork is done can any distribution happen. Families should expect a period of several months at minimum, and considerably longer if the estate includes real property or if any heir disputes how the statutory shares are being applied.
What about property held jointly with right of survivorship?
Property titled jointly with a right of survivorship, along with retirement accounts and life insurance with a named beneficiary, passes directly to the survivor or beneficiary outside the intestacy formula entirely. This means the statutory shares above only apply to what is actually part of the probate estate, which for many families is a smaller portion of their total assets than they expect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to a house if you die without a will in Pennsylvania?
The house is distributed according to the same spousal share formula as other estate assets, but title cannot transfer to heirs until the estate clears probate.
Do unmarried partners inherit anything in Pennsylvania?
No, only a legal spouse and blood or adopted relatives have inheritance rights under Pennsylvania intestate succession.
Who administers a Pennsylvania estate with no will?
The Register of Wills appoints an administrator, generally giving priority to the surviving spouse, then children, then other close relatives.
Does a will avoid probate in Pennsylvania?
No, a will still goes through probate. Only assets in a properly funded living trust, or with valid beneficiary designations, bypass the process.
What if no relatives can be found in Pennsylvania?
If a thorough search turns up no eligible heirs, the estate escheats to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
If you want to decide who actually gets your home and savings instead of relying on the 30,000 dollar formula, a valid Pennsylvania will naming your own beneficiaries and executor is the fix. See the broader consequences of dying without a will, review the Pennsylvania estate planning overview, check how long Pennsylvania probate takes, and see the common will mistakes and Pennsylvania estate planning checklist so you understand what your family would face. FastWill's will package lets you set your own terms instead of the statutory default.
