Family & Estate · Intestate Succession
Intestate Succession in Pennsylvania
Who inherits, and how much, when a person dies without a will in Pennsylvania, broken down by family situation, cited to the statute.
Who inherits in Pennsylvania, by scenario
The share for the surviving spouse and everyone else, for each common family situation.
| Who survives | Surviving spouse gets | Everyone else gets |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse and children, all of the marriage | The first $30,000, plus one-half of the balance | The children take the rest. |
| Spouse and a child not of the marriage | One-half of the estate, with no $30,000 preference | The children take the other half. |
| Spouse, no children, but a parent living | The first $30,000, plus one-half of the balance | The decedent’s parents take the remainder. |
| Spouse only (no children, no parents) | The entire estate | No one else inherits. |
| Children only (no spouse) | Nothing (no spouse) | The children and their descendants take the entire estate. |
| No spouse or descendants | Nothing | With no spouse or descendant, the estate passes in order to parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles. If no heir can be found, the estate escheats to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. |
| How it is administered | Probate | The estate is administered through the county Register of Wills under these rules unless a small-estate procedure applies. A valid will overrides all of it. |
| Statute | 20 Pa. C.S. §2102, §2103 | The controlling statute. Read the full text through the source link below. |
Next steps
Concrete, neutral steps if you are dealing with an estate that has no will in Pennsylvania. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Check whether every child is the spouse’s
This decides whether the spouse gets the $30,000 preference. If all children are of the marriage, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus half. If any child is from another relationship, the spouse drops to a flat one-half with no preference.
- Remember the parent scenario
If there are no children but a parent survives, the spouse still gets the first $30,000 plus half, and the parents take the remainder. The $30,000 preference is not only for the children scenario.
- Write a will if this is not your plan
These shares are only a default. A valid Pennsylvania will replaces them, which matters most in a blended family, where the spouse loses the $30,000 preference and splits the estate in half with the decedent’s children.
- Get Pennsylvania estate help
The county Register of Wills handles probate, and PALawHelp explains what happens without a will. For a larger or blended-family estate, a probate attorney can confirm the shares.
To settle an estate with no will, or to plan your own, start with the probate court or a legal-aid resource. This link explains the process.
→ PALawHelp (Wills & Estates)This is general legal information, not legal advice. Adoptions, half-relatives, and a prior will can change who inherits, so confirm your situation before relying on the default shares.
What people get wrong in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania gives a surviving spouse a $30,000 head start, but only in the right family situation. Under 20 Pa. C.S. §2102, when the decedent leaves a spouse and children who are all of the marriage, the spouse takes the first $30,000 of the estate plus one-half of the balance, and the children take the rest. The preference vanishes for blended families: if even one child is not the surviving spouse’s, the spouse takes a flat one-half of the estate with no $30,000, and the children take the other half. The $30,000 preference also applies in a different scenario, where the decedent leaves a spouse and no children but a surviving parent; there the spouse again takes the first $30,000 plus half, and the parents take the remainder. A spouse with no children and no parents takes everything. Because that $30,000 preference turns entirely on who the children are, blended families in particular benefit from a will, which replaces these default shares completely.
Common questions
Who inherits if you die without a will in Pennsylvania?
If a spouse and children of the marriage survive, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus half the balance, and the children take the rest. If a child is not the spouse’s, the spouse takes a flat one-half. With a spouse and a surviving parent but no children, the spouse again takes the first $30,000 plus half.
Does a spouse get everything in Pennsylvania with no will?
Only when there are no children and no parents. Otherwise the spouse shares the estate: with children of the marriage, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus half; with a child from another relationship, a flat half; with a parent but no children, the first $30,000 plus half.
What is the $30,000 rule in Pennsylvania intestacy?
When a spouse survives with children of the marriage, or with a parent but no children, the spouse takes $30,000 off the top of the estate and then one-half of the balance. The $30,000 preference does not apply if the decedent has a child who is not the surviving spouse’s.
How does a blended family change Pennsylvania intestacy?
It removes the spouse’s $30,000 preference. If the decedent has a child who is not the surviving spouse’s, the spouse takes only one-half of the estate with no $30,000, and the children take the other half, instead of the spouse taking $30,000 plus half.
What if there are no relatives in Pennsylvania?
The estate passes in order to parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles. If no heir can be located, the estate escheats to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A will avoids that outcome.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.