Estate Planning for New Parents in Pennsylvania

A new child is the most common reason new parents finally sit down to do an estate plan — and it is the right reason. The decisions that matter aren't about money; they're about who raises your child if you can't.

The guardian decision

This is the only decision in estate planning that a court cannot reverse easily. In your will you nominate:

• A guardian of the person — who raises the child
• A guardian of the estate — who manages any money left for the child (often a different person)

Without a nominated guardian, Pennsylvania's Orphans' Court chooses — usually from among willing relatives, sometimes after contested hearings.

Don't leave money directly to a minor

Pennsylvania will not allow a minor to receive a meaningful inheritance outright. Without planning, the court will appoint a guardian of the estate, and the minor will receive everything in a lump sum at age 18 — almost never the right outcome.

The two clean options:

1. Testamentary trust in your will. Money goes into a trust, with a trustee you name, distributed over the child's life on terms you set (e.g., support and education through age 25, balance at 30 and 35).
2. Revocable living trust. The same structure, integrated into a broader revocable trust plan that also avoids probate.

The documents that come with a new baby

• Will with guardian nomination and a children's trust
• [Power of attorney](/learn/pennsylvania-power-of-attorney-2025) — incapacity planning is now twice as urgent
• Healthcare directive — same reason
• Life insurance sized to actually fund the children's trust (most young families are dramatically underinsured)
• Updated beneficiary designations — see beneficiary vs. will

On adopted and blended children

Pennsylvania treats legally adopted children identically to biological children for inheritance purposes. Stepchildren are not treated as children unless adopted. For blended-family planning, see estate planning for blended families.

On the second baby

Most plans drafted around the first child do not need to be rewritten for subsequent children — but they should be reviewed. A trust that says "for my child Olivia" instead of "for any child of mine" needs an amendment.