Who inherits if someone dies without a will in Pennsylvania?

Last updated October 4, 2026.

When someone dies without a will in Pennsylvania, the intestacy statute decides who inherits. A surviving spouse takes everything only if there are no surviving children or other descendants and no surviving parent. Otherwise the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the rest, or one-half of the estate if one or more of the surviving descendants are not also the spouse's, such as a child from an earlier relationship (20 Pa.C.S. 2102). Whatever the spouse does not take goes to the children, then parents, then brothers and sisters, then more distant relatives in a fixed order (20 Pa.C.S. 2103).

A will replaces most of these rules with the person's own choices. The wills we prepare, and the estate disputes we handle, are described on our wills and estates page.

How does Pennsylvania decide who inherits, step by step?

1. Identify what passes under intestacy. The statute covers property "not effectively disposed of by will or otherwise" (2101(a)). Accounts with named beneficiaries or property titled to pass to a co-owner may not be part of the intestate estate, so each asset's title matters.
2. Apply the five-day survival rule. A person who does not survive the decedent by five days is treated as having died first for intestate succession (2104(10)).
3. Take out the spouse's share. The spouse's share depends on who else survives (2102), unless the spouse has forfeited it (2106).
4. Pass the rest down the line. The remainder, or the whole estate if there is no spouse, goes to the first group in the 2103 order that has a living member: children and their descendants; then parents; then brothers and sisters and their descendants; then grandparents and their descendants; then aunts, uncles and their children and grandchildren.
5. Divide within the group. The share is split equally among the living members of the nearest generation, with the children of a deceased member taking that member's share by representation (2104(1)). Half-blood relatives inherit the same as whole-blood relatives (2104(3)).
6. If no relative qualifies. Since an amendment that took effect in early 2026 (Act 50 of 2025), the estate goes to an endowed community fund in the decedent's municipality, school district or county, and only then to the Commonwealth (2103(6)).

What does each family member receive?

What happens to a house or other real estate?

The intestacy rules apply to real estate and personal property alike (2104). A few rules in section 2104 decide how heirs hold what they receive:

• Heirs take what the decedent had. Each heir receives the same interest the decedent held, no more (2104(6)). If the decedent owned a half interest, the heirs share that half.
• Several heirs own together. When real or personal property passes to two or more heirs, they hold it as tenants in common, unless it passes to a husband and wife, who hold it as tenants by the entireties (2104(7)).
• Family history does not matter. Real estate passes without regard to which ancestor or relative it originally came from (2104(5)).
• Citizenship does not matter. Property passes whether or not the decedent or an heir is or has been a noncitizen (2104(8)).

Because several children often end up co-owning a parent's house, decisions about selling, renting or keeping it need agreement, or a court process. Planning ahead with a will, or a clear plan for the house, avoids much of that.

Who can lose the right to inherit?

Pennsylvania's forfeiture statute takes away intestate shares in specific situations (20 Pa.C.S. 2106):

• A spouse who abandoned the marriage. A spouse who, for a year or more before the death, willfully neglected or refused to support the other spouse, or willfully and maliciously deserted the other spouse, takes nothing under intestacy (2106(a)(1)).
• A spouse in a pending divorce. If the decedent dies during divorce proceedings, before a decree but after grounds have been established under the Divorce Code, the surviving spouse has no intestate share (2106(a)(2)). How grounds are established is explained in how long a divorce takes in Pennsylvania.
• A parent who failed a child. A parent who, for a year or more before a minor or dependent child's death, failed to support or deserted the child, or was convicted of listed offenses against the child, has no right to the child's estate (2106(b)).
• A killer or an elder abuser. A person who participates in the willful and unlawful killing of the decedent, or is convicted of offenses constituting elder abuse, receives nothing; the property is distributed under Chapter 88 (2106(c) and (c.1)).

What changes the answer?

• A will. A will controls whatever it effectively disposes of, and it can expressly exclude or limit an heir, whose share then passes as if that heir had disclaimed it (2101(b)). What a will needs to be valid is covered in what makes a will valid in Pennsylvania.
• A partial will. If a will covers only some property, the rest passes by intestacy, and anything the spouse receives under the will counts toward the $30,000 (2102(5)).
• Children born after death. A child conceived before the death but born after it inherits as if born during the decedent's lifetime (2104(4)).
• Relatives through two lines. A person related through two family lines takes only one share, the larger one (2104(9)).
• Small amounts. Some assets can be paid to family without an estate: an employer may pay up to $10,000 in wages or benefits, and a bank up to $20,000 on deposit when a funeral bill or funeral director's affidavit is presented, to the spouse, a child, a parent or a sibling in that order of preference (20 Pa.C.S. 3101(a) and (b)).
• The family exemption. A spouse, or if none, a child or parent living in the household, may claim $3,500 of property from the estate (20 Pa.C.S. 3121).

Will or no will: what is the difference?

Inheritance tax applies either way: 0 percent to a spouse, 4.5 percent to lineal heirs such as children and grandchildren, 12 percent to siblings and 15 percent to other heirs, with a 5 percent discount if paid within three months and delinquency after nine months, according to the Department of Revenue.

For example: the same estate, two families

Here is a hypothetical. A man from Media dies without a will. After his debts and expenses, $230,000 of his property passes under the intestacy statute.

In the first version, he leaves a wife and two children, both of whom are also hers. His wife takes $30,000 plus half of the remaining $200,000, which is $130,000 in total, and each child takes $50,000 (2102(3) and 2104(2)).

In the second version, one of the two children is from an earlier relationship. Now his wife takes half, $115,000, and the two children share the other half, $57,500 each (2102(4)). If one child had died before him leaving two grandchildren, those grandchildren would split their parent's share (2104(1)). And if he and his wife had been in a divorce with grounds established, she would take nothing under intestacy (2106(a)(2)).

In either version, his wife or another heir would first need letters of administration from the Register of Wills in Media; the steps are in how probate works in Delaware County. This example only illustrates the statute; real estates involve debts, taxes, titles and claims that change the numbers.

What mistakes do families make?

• Assuming the spouse gets everything. That is true only when there are no children or other descendants and no parent.
• Forgetting children from another relationship. They change the spouse's share from the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance to one-half of the estate.
• Distributing before letters are granted. Until someone receives letters, there is generally no one with authority to sell or distribute estate property, beyond the small payments section 3101 allows.
• Ignoring how assets are titled. Some property passes by beneficiary designation or co-ownership instead.
• Missing the inheritance tax dates. Paying within three months earns a 5 percent discount; after nine months the tax is delinquent.
• Waiting to make a will. Blended families, unmarried partners and young children are common situations where intestacy can differ from what people want.

What should I do this week?

1. Search carefully for a will, including a safe deposit box, files and the person's lawyer.
2. Order certified copies of the death certificate.
3. List the spouse, children, grandchildren, parents and siblings, with addresses.
4. List the assets and how each is titled, and any named beneficiaries.
5. Do not move or distribute property until someone is appointed.
6. Note the three-month and nine-month inheritance tax dates.
7. Book a consultation if the family includes a pending divorce, children from different relationships or a disputed heir.

Frequently asked questions

Do stepchildren inherit without a will?

The intestacy order is based on issue, meaning descendants, and other blood relatives (2103). A stepchild who was not adopted is not listed, so a will is the way to include one. A separate section, 2108, covers adopted persons.

Does an unmarried partner inherit?

No. The statute gives shares only to a surviving spouse and to relatives in the 2103 order. A will is needed to leave property to a partner.

Who decides who runs the estate when there is no will?

The Register of Wills grants letters of administration, generally preferring the surviving spouse and then the heirs, with preference by size of share (3155(b)). In our county that office is in the Government Center in Media, as our Delaware County overview notes.

How is a wrongful death recovery divided?

Wrongful death damages go to the spouse, children or parents in the proportions they would take under intestacy, free of the estate's creditors (42 Pa.C.S. 8301(b)). See wrongful death and survival actions.

Is a small estate handled differently?

If the personal property, not counting real estate and section 3101 payments, is worth $50,000 or less, the orphans' court may order distribution on petition without full administration (20 Pa.C.S. 3102). Our probate page describes full estate administration.

Do relatives who live in another country inherit?

Yes. Pennsylvania's intestacy rules apply without regard to whether an heir is a noncitizen (2104(8)). Finding and notifying relatives abroad can add time to the estate.

Does a living will affect who inherits?

No. A living will deals with medical care at the end of life, not property. It is explained on our living wills page.

Call Giribaldi Law at (610) 891-8303 or contact us online for a free consultation about an estate or a new will. Evening and weekend appointments are available.