Who inherits if I die without a will in Pennsylvania?

Your spouse takes a share that depends on who else survives (20 Pa.C.S. §2102); the rest passes to your issue, then parents, then your parents' issue, then grandparents and their issue, then aunts and uncles and their children and grandchildren (§2103).

Dying Without a Will in Pennsylvania

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What “intestate” means

Dying “intestate” means dying without a valid will. Pennsylvania's intestacy statutes (20 Pa.C.S. §2102, 20 Pa.C.S. §2103) then set a fixed order of who inherits your probate assets — regardless of what you would have wanted — dividing a share among relatives per capita with representation (20 Pa.C.S. §2104). Assets that pass outside probate (a funded Trust, beneficiary designations, jointly held property) follow their own rules, not intestacy.

Who inherits under Pennsylvania law

Spouse, no descendants — the surviving spouse inherits everything if no parent of the decedent survives; if a parent survives, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the rest (20 Pa.C.S. §2102).
Spouse and shared descendants only — if every surviving descendant of the decedent is also the surviving spouse's, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the rest, and the descendants share the balance (20 Pa.C.S. §2102).
Blended family — if any surviving descendant of the decedent is not also the surviving spouse's, the spouse takes one-half of the estate, and the decedent's descendants share the other half (20 Pa.C.S. §2102).
No surviving spouse — assets pass to descendants, then to parents, then to siblings, and outward along the family tree (20 Pa.C.S. §2103).

The spouse's share and the family exemption

In Pennsylvania, when there is no will, a surviving spouse takes the whole estate if no issue or parent of the decedent survives; the first $30,000 plus half of the rest where a parent survives but no issue, or where every surviving descendant is also the spouse's; and half where a surviving descendant is not the spouse's (20 Pa.C.S. §2102). And intestacy never lets you name a guardian for minor children or set conditions on what they receive. These are exactly the gaps a plan closes.

Does the state take everything?

Almost never. When no relative the statute names survives, Pennsylvania law passes the estate to an endowed community fund in the decedent's municipality, school district or county, and to the Commonwealth only if none exists (20 Pa.C.S. §2103) — which is rare. The real cost of dying intestate isn't the state taking your assets; it's losing control over who receives them, who raises your minor children, and how much delay and conflict your family faces.

Take back the decision

Intestacy is the plan the state writes when you don't write your own — and it rarely matches what people actually want. This page is general information, not legal advice. A free role check can show you where you stand, and a Pennsylvania attorney can help you put a plan in place.

General information about Pennsylvania law, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Who inherits if I die without a will in Pennsylvania?: Your spouse takes a share that depends on who else survives (20 Pa.C.S. §2102); the rest passes to your issue, then parents, then your parents' issue, then grandparents and their issue, then aunts and uncles and their children and grandchildren (§2103).
Does the state take everything if there are no relatives?: Only as a last resort. Where no relative the statute names survives, the estate passes to an endowed community fund in the decedent's municipality, school district or county, and to the Commonwealth only if none exists (20 Pa.C.S. §2103(a)(6)).