Kurt R. Nilson : Pennsylvania intestacy

How a Pennsylvania estate is divided without a will:

Many married Pennsylvanians mistakenly believe that the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate if the husband or wife dies without a will.

Unfortunately, this is only true when the deceased spouse does not leave any surviving issue or a parent. If just one person within either of these relationship classes is living, the intestate estate is divided between the surviving spouse and all of the qualified living heirs.

The program below can be used to see how your intestate estate or that or a relative will be divided when there isn't a legally valid Pennsylvania will at the time death.

Your Pennsylvania Will

Contact Kurt R. Nilson to discuss your Pennsylvania estate planning needs or the settlement of a Pennsylvania estate.

Summary of Pennsylvania's Intestate Distribution:

The surviving spouse can only receive the entire intestate estate when the deceased spouse does not have any living issue (child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc.) or does not have a living parent.

If the surviving spouse is not the natural or adopted parent of all the deceased spouse's living issue, the surviving spouse's share of the intestate estate is $30,000 less.

Without a spouse, the estate is divided among the living issue. The share of any deceased child is divided among that deceased child's living children.

Without a spouse or living issue the estate is divided equally among the parents. If just one parent is living, he or she takes the entire estate.

Without a living spouse, issue, or parents, the estate is divided among the living siblings. The share of any deceased sibling is divided among that deceased sibling's living children. Pennsylvania does not differentiate between full and half-blood relations; if either parent had a child by

In the absence of any of the above, the estate is divided in half, one-half is designated for the maternal side of the family and the remaining one-half is designated for the paternal side of the family.

Each one-half is respectively divided among the maternal or paternal grandparents or all to the sole survivor: If both maternal grandparents are living, each will receive one-quarter of the estate. If just one is living, he or she receives the full one-half share.

If there is at least one living grandparent on either side of the family (maternal or paternal), the one-half share of the opposite side of the family is divided among the living aunts and uncles or among the living children of any deceased aunts and uncles.

Without at least one living grandparent, the two one-half shares are recombined and divided equally among all living aunts and uncles, and the children of any deceased aunts and uncles. No distinction is made between maternal and paternal in these circumstances.

It is important to note that the distribution by representation among the issue of deceased aunts and uncles only extends to the child level where there is 1.) a living aunt or uncle; or 2.) a living first cousin. A first cousin once-removed may receive a portion of the intestate estate, but only in the absence of all these more

In other words, a first cousin once-removed may be entitled to a share of the intestate estate in Pennsylvania, but only when there aren't any living aunts, uncles, or first cousins. If just one of these people are living, the first cousin once-removed does not receive any of the estate.

Finally, in the absence of any living relations closer than a first cousin once-removed, the entire intestate estate will escheat to the state of Pennsylvania. Even if any other relations are living, first cousins once-removed are the last level of relation that can take a share of the estate in Pennsylvania.