Dying Without a Will in Pennsylvania: How Intestate Succession Works

When a Pennsylvania resident dies without a valid will, the Commonwealth writes the will for them. Pennsylvania's intestate succession statute, 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2101-2103, sets out a rigid formula for who inherits and how much — and it takes no notice of the deceased's actual wishes, the closeness of a relationship, or a family's particular circumstances. Understanding how that formula works is the first step toward deciding whether you want the Commonwealth's default plan or one of your own.

This article walks through exactly how Pennsylvania distributes an estate when there is no will, who is appointed to administer it, and why the results surprise so many families.

The starting point: only probate assets are affected

Intestate succession only governs assets that pass through probate — property titled solely in the decedent's name with no beneficiary designation. Jointly held property, life insurance with a named beneficiary, and retirement accounts with a designated beneficiary pass outside of intestacy entirely, regardless of what the statute says. For many families, a large share of the estate is actually controlled by beneficiary forms rather than by the intestacy rules below — which is exactly why those forms need to be reviewed periodically. See our learning center for more on how beneficiary designations interact with an estate plan.

How a surviving spouse shares with other heirs

Pennsylvania's intestate scheme treats a surviving spouse differently depending on who else survives the decedent:

The distinction between "all children of the marriage" and "at least one child from a prior relationship" trips up a lot of blended families. If even one surviving child is not also the surviving spouse's child, the spouse loses the $30,000 upfront allowance and only receives half of the estate outright — the other half goes directly to the children, bypassing the spouse completely. That can mean a spouse who lived in the family home for decades suddenly co-owns it with a stepchild.

When there is no surviving spouse

If there is no surviving spouse, Pennsylvania moves down a strict hierarchy:

• Children (and the descendants of any deceased child, taking "per stirpes" — by representation of their branch of the family) take the entire estate, to the exclusion of everyone else.
• If there are no descendants, the estate passes to surviving parents.
• If no parents survive, it passes to siblings and the descendants of any deceased sibling.
• If no siblings or their descendants survive, it passes to grandparents or their descendants.
• If none of the above survive, it passes to aunts, uncles, and their children (first cousins) under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103.
• If no heirs can be found in any of these categories, the estate escheats to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — it becomes state property, after a diligent search for heirs.

Escheat is rare in practice, but it does happen, particularly for people who die with no close family and no will directing where their assets should go.

Who administers an intestate estate

Because there is no will, there is no named executor. Instead, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3155 sets out a priority list of people entitled to petition for letters of administration — typically the surviving spouse first, then the children, then other heirs in order of their intestate share. Whoever is appointed becomes the estate's "administrator" and has largely the same duties as an executor named in a will: gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains according to the intestacy formula.

One important practical difference: an administrator is almost always required to post a fiduciary bond — an insurance policy protecting the estate against the administrator's mismanagement — unless all of the heirs agree in writing to waive it. A will can waive bond for a named executor; intestacy cannot, unless the heirs cooperate. For a family already dealing with the death of a loved one, arranging a bond adds another layer of cost and delay. Our probate administration team regularly helps administrators through this process.

Guardianship of minor children is left to a judge

Perhaps the starkest gap in intestate succession is that it says nothing about who raises a decedent's minor children. A will is the only place a parent can nominate a guardian. Without one, if both parents are gone, the local Orphans' Court decides who raises the children based on the court's own view of the child's best interests — which may or may not match what either parent would have chosen. Relatives can and do end up in court disputes over guardianship precisely because no one wrote down a preference.

Why the default plan rarely matches what people actually want

Intestate succession is a one-size-fits-all formula built for the "average" nuclear family, and most families are not average. It cannot account for a second marriage, a child with special needs who needs an inheritance held in trust rather than paid outright, a business that should go to the child who works in it rather than split evenly among siblings, an estranged family member the decedent would never have chosen as an heir, or a desire to benefit a friend, unmarried partner, or charity — none of whom have any claim under intestacy at all.

A validly executed will lets you decide all of these things instead of leaving them to a statutory formula and, ultimately, to a judge. It also lets you name your own executor, waive the bond requirement, and nominate a guardian for minor children.

Talk with a Pennsylvania estate planning attorney

If you do not have a will, the Commonwealth already has one written for you — you may not like what it says. Our office helps Pennsylvania families put a plan in place that reflects their actual wishes, from a straightforward will to more complex blended-family and business succession planning. Learn more about our wills and probate administration services, or schedule a free consultation to talk through your family's situation.

Half-siblings, adopted children, and children born outside marriage

Pennsylvania's intestacy statute treats an adopted child exactly the same as a biological child for inheritance purposes — an adopted child inherits from and through their adoptive parents, and, with limited exceptions, no longer inherits from their biological parents. Children born outside of marriage inherit from their mother automatically and from their father if paternity has been established under Pennsylvania law, whether by acknowledgment, court order, or clear and convincing evidence after death. Half-siblings inherit the same as full siblings under the statute; the law draws no distinction between the two once you reach the sibling tier of the hierarchy. These rules matter most when an estate ends up several tiers down the list, where questions of who actually qualifies as an "heir" can become contested and expensive to sort out.