Last Will & Testament

Wills — Pennsylvania FAQs

Do I still need a will if I have a living trust?

Yes. Every Pennsylvania trust plan includes a 'pour-over will' that catches any asset you never retitled into the trust and directs it there at death. The will is also the only document that can nominate a guardian for your minor children — a trust cannot do that. If you die with a funded trust and no will, anything sitting outside the trust passes under Pennsylvania's intestacy statute, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2102 et seq., not under your trust terms.

What makes a will invalid in Pennsylvania?

The most common failures are technical. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502 a will must be in writing and signed at the end by a testator who is at least 18 and of sound mind; words written after the signature are disregarded. Wills also fail for lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence by a caregiver or new spouse, forgery, or because a later will or codicil revoked them. Pennsylvania does not recognize oral wills, and a will that was validly signed but cannot be proven — because no self-proving affidavit was executed and the witnesses cannot be located — can be functionally useless to your executor.

Can I write my own will in Pennsylvania?

Legally, yes. Pennsylvania is unusual in not requiring witnesses at signing, so a handwritten or typed will you sign yourself can be valid. Practically, it creates work for your family: without two witnesses and a notarized self-proving affidavit under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132.1, your executor must produce two people who can swear to your signature before the Register of Wills will accept the will. Homemade wills also routinely omit a residuary clause, name an executor who has died, or contradict beneficiary designations — problems that surface only when nobody can fix them.

What happens if I die without a will in Pennsylvania?

The intestacy statute writes your plan. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2102, a surviving spouse does not automatically take everything: if you leave children who are not also your spouse's children, the spouse takes half; if all children are shared, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus half the balance. With no spouse or descendants, the estate passes to parents, then siblings, then more remote kin, and finally escheats to the Commonwealth under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103. The Orphans' Court also selects your children's guardian and the administrator of your estate.

How often should I update my will?

Review it every three to five years and immediately after any of these: marriage, divorce, a birth or adoption, a death among your beneficiaries or executor, a move into or out of Pennsylvania, the sale or purchase of a business or real estate, or a significant change in net worth. Divorce in Pennsylvania revokes provisions in favor of a former spouse under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507, but it does not update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance — those have to be changed separately.