A will lets you make deliberate choices about who receives your property. Without one, Pennsylvania law supplies the answers. This is called intestate succession. The rules may produce a result very different from what you expected—particularly in a blended family or when you want to provide for someone who is not a legal relative.

 

Intestacy does not necessarily control every asset. It governs property not effectively disposed of by a will or otherwise; assets passing by a valid beneficiary designation or other transfer mechanism require a separate review. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2101.

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What Does a Surviving Spouse Receive?

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Pennsylvania's answer depends on which relatives also survive:

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• No surviving descendants or parents: The spouse receives the entire intestate estate.

• Surviving parent, but no descendants: The spouse receives the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance. The remaining share passes to the decedent's parent or parents.

• Descendants who are all also descendants of the surviving spouse: The spouse receives the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance. The descendants receive the remainder.

• At least one descendant who is not also a descendant of the surviving spouse: The spouse receives one-half of the intestate estate, and the descendants receive the other half.

 

These are shares of the intestate estate, not necessarily of everything the person owned. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2102; 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103(a).

 

Who Inherits the Rest—or the Entire Estate if There Is No Spouse?

 

Pennsylvania generally follows this order: descendants, then parents, then siblings and other descendants of the decedent's parents. If none of those relatives qualifies, the statute looks to grandparents and specified descendants on the paternal and maternal sides, followed by aunts, uncles, and certain descendants of deceased aunts and uncles. Shares within a family branch are determined under Pennsylvania's representation rules; they do not always divide equally among every surviving relative. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103(a)(1)–(5); 20 Pa.C.S. § 2104(1)–(2).

 

If no eligible relatives remain, the estate does not necessarily pass directly to the Commonwealth. Under a change effective January 23, 2026, the statute directs the estate first to a qualifying endowed community fund in the decedent's municipality, school district, or county, in that order; only if none exists in those locations does it pass to the Commonwealth. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103(a)(6).

 

Details That Can Change the Outcome

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• Adoption: An adopted person is generally treated as a descendant of the adopting parent or parents for inheritance purposes. The rules concerning inheritance through biological family members include important exceptions, so adoption history matters. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2108.

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• Half-siblings and other half-blood relatives: Pennsylvania does not distinguish between whole and half blood when an otherwise eligible relative inherits. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2104(3).

• Children born after death: A person conceived before the decedent's death and born afterward is treated as though born during the decedent's lifetime. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2104(4).

• Survival period: Generally, an heir must survive the decedent by five days to inherit through intestacy, subject to the statute's stated exception. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2104(10).

• Lifetime gifts: A gift to an heir is not automatically deducted from that heir's intestate share. It counts as an advancement only if the decedent declared it one in writing or the heir acknowledged it as one in writing. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2109.1.

 

Make the Choice Yourself

 

Pennsylvania's default rules provide a distribution plan, but they cannot reflect every family's relationships or priorities. A carefully considered estate plan gives you an opportunity to decide who receives your property and to review how a will, beneficiary designations, and other ownership arrangements work together. If you are administering an estate without a will—or planning to avoid that result—speak with an estate-planning attorney about the facts that matter to your situation.

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This article provides general information about Pennsylvania law and is not legal advice.