PA Executor Guide
Pennsylvania Intestacy Laws: Who Inherits When There Is No Will
The rule almost everyone assumes — that a surviving spouse simply inherits everything — is not what Pennsylvania’s statute says.
In Pennsylvania the spouse does not inherit everything, even when all the children are theirs
This is the single most common misunderstanding about Pennsylvania intestacy, and the statute is explicit. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2102(3) provides that where “there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also,” the spouse takes “the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.” The children take the rest — including minor children, whose shares then need to be handled for a minor. A spouse takes the whole estate only where there is no surviving issue and no surviving parent.
The spouse’s share, situation by situation
| If this describes the family | What the surviving spouse takes |
|---|---|
| No surviving issue and no surviving parent | The spouse takes the entire intestate estate. |
| No surviving issue, but a parent or parents survive | The spouse takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance. The parents take the rest. |
| Surviving issue, all of whom are also the spouse’s | The spouse takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance. The issue take the rest. |
| Surviving issue, one or more of whom are not the spouse’s | The spouse takes one-half of the intestate estate, with no $30,000 allowance. The issue take the other half. |
These are the statutory defaults for the intestate estate — the assets that pass under the will-substitute rules, not assets with a named beneficiary or a right of survivorship, which pass outside it entirely.
Who inherits if there is no spouse (or beyond the spouse’s share)
The share the spouse is not entitled to — or the entire estate where there is no spouse — passes under § 2103 in this order: to the issue of the decedent; then, if no issue survives, to the parents or parent; then to the issue of each of the decedent’s parents (brothers, sisters and their issue); then, if at least one grandparent survives, half to the paternal grandparents or their children and half to the maternal side.
Pennsylvania intestacy calculator
Describe the family and this applies the statutory formula. It is arithmetic, not advice — and it assumes an ordinary case:
Estimate only. It applies the headline formula to an ordinary case and ignores disqualification rules, adopted and posthumous children, survivorship requirements, the elective share, advancements, and debts and expenses that come off before any of this. A Pennsylvania attorney can tell you what a specific estate actually does.
The point of the exercise: intestacy is a statutory default, not a reading of what the person would have wanted. Where the result above is not what the family expects, that gap is the reason to have a will — and, for the estate already in front of you, the reason to get the distribution confirmed before you pay anyone.
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Frequently asked questions
Who inherits if there is no will in Pennsylvania?
The estate passes under 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2102 and 2103. The surviving spouse takes a share fixed by statute, and the rest goes to the decedent’s issue, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their issue, then the grandparents’ side. The split is not a matter of family agreement.
Does a surviving spouse get everything in Pennsylvania?
Only where there is no surviving issue and no surviving parent. This is the most common misunderstanding in Pennsylvania intestacy. Even where every child is also the spouse’s, § 2102(3) gives the spouse the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance, and the children take the rest.
What if some of the children are from an earlier relationship?
The $30,000 allowance disappears. Under § 2102(4), where one or more surviving issue are not the spouse’s, the spouse takes one-half of the intestate estate and the issue take the other half.
What happens to a minor child’s share in Pennsylvania?
It still belongs to the child, and that is the practical complication of intestacy with young children: money passing to a minor generally cannot simply be handed to the surviving parent. How it is held is a question for the Register of Wills or an attorney before any distribution is made.
Does intestacy apply to everything the person owned?
No, and this is the distinction that decides most estates. Intestacy governs the probate estate. Assets with a named beneficiary — life insurance, retirement accounts, transfer-on-death and payable-on-death registrations — and assets held with a right of survivorship pass outside the estate entirely, to the named person, regardless of what the intestacy statute says. It is common for the intestate estate to be a small fraction of what the person actually owned.
Can the family agree to divide it differently?
The statute sets what each heir is entitled to receive, and a personal representative who distributes against it is exposed. Adult beneficiaries can, separately, choose what to do with their own shares once received, and there are formal mechanisms such as a disclaimer with their own strict requirements and deadlines. That is a conversation to have with an attorney before anything is paid out, not after.