Pennsylvania Wills: Requirements, Mistakes & How to Get It Right

A Pennsylvania will is the most basic estate planning document — and the one most people get wrong. This guide walks through what a PA will controls, what it does not, and how to make one that actually works.

What a Pennsylvania will does

• Names your executor (the person who will administer your estate)
• Names the guardian for any minor children
• Directs who inherits your probate assets — assets in your sole name without a beneficiary designation
• Can create testamentary trusts for minors, beneficiaries with disabilities, or asset protection

What a Pennsylvania will does not do

• It does not avoid probate — it *causes* probate (if avoiding probate is the goal, see our revocable living trust guide)
• It does not control assets with beneficiary designations (retirement accounts, life insurance, TOD/POD accounts)
• It does not control jointly held assets with right of survivorship
• It does not take effect during incapacity — for that you need a POA and healthcare directive

Pennsylvania will requirements

Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502:

• Must be in writing
• Must be signed at the end by the testator (or by another person at the testator's direction in the testator's presence)
• The testator must be at least 18 and of sound mind

Pennsylvania does not strictly require witnesses for a signed will — but to be admitted to probate, two witnesses must later prove the signature, which is impractical years after execution. Every will should be executed with two disinterested witnesses and a notary on a self-proving affidavit. This is the single most important practical requirement.

Do you need a lawyer to make a will in Pennsylvania?

Legally, no. Practically, yes — for any will with minor children, real estate, blended-family dynamics, a business interest, a beneficiary with special needs, or a meaningful Pennsylvania inheritance tax exposure. Online will forms are not drafted for Pennsylvania's specific requirements (especially around self-proving affidavits and inheritance tax planning), and they create exactly the kinds of problems probate courts handle most often.

What happens if you die without a will in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's intestate succession statute (20 Pa.C.S. § 2102 et seq.) controls. A common misconception: the surviving spouse does not always inherit everything.

• Spouse + no descendants + no parents: spouse inherits everything
• Spouse + descendants, all of whom are also the spouse's descendants: spouse gets the first $30,000 plus half, descendants split the rest
• Spouse + descendants, at least one of whom is not the spouse's descendant: spouse gets half, descendants split half (no $30,000 preference)
• Spouse + no descendants + surviving parent(s): spouse gets the first $30,000 plus half, parents get the rest
• No spouse: descendants per stirpes, then parents, then siblings, then more remote relatives

If no relatives can be located, the estate escheats to the Commonwealth.

When to update

• Marriage, divorce, or remarriage
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Significant change in assets (sale of a business, inheritance, large gift)
• Move to or from Pennsylvania
• Death of an executor, guardian, or beneficiary
• Every 5 years even if nothing has changed