Estate planning in Pennsylvania is the process of deciding, in advance and in writing, who receives your property and who makes decisions for you if you cannot. This reference explains how the main pieces fit together under Pennsylvania law: wills, powers of attorney, health care directives, trusts, probate, and the state inheritance tax. It describes the rules that apply statewide; county practices at the Register of Wills and the Orphans’ Court can add local detail. It does not cover federal estate tax planning for large estates, which runs on separate rules.
What Pennsylvania estate planning covers
Estate planning answers two separate questions: what happens to your property when you die, and who acts for you while you are alive but unable to act for yourself. Pennsylvania law treats these as distinct problems with distinct documents.
The property question is answered by a will, by trusts, and by beneficiary designations on accounts that pass outside a will. The incapacity question is answered by a financial power of attorney and by health care documents. A complete plan usually addresses both. Most of the governing law sits in Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, titled Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries.
Not every asset passes under a will. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass to whoever is named as beneficiary on the account. Property held by spouses as tenants by the entireties, or by any owners as joint tenants with right of survivorship, passes to the surviving owner automatically. These transfers happen regardless of what a will says, which is why beneficiary designations and how property is titled belong in a plan rather than as an afterthought.
Parents of young children use a will for a second purpose: naming a guardian to raise the children if both parents die. The will can also name who manages any money left to a minor, since a child cannot inherit outright. Choosing these people is often the reason a plan gets written in the first place.
The core documents and who they name
Four documents form the base of most Pennsylvania plans, and each names a person to fill a defined role.
A will directs where property goes and names an executor, the person who gathers the estate, pays debts and taxes, and distributes what remains. A financial power of attorney names an agent to handle money and property if the maker becomes incapacitated. A health care power of attorney names a health care agent to make medical decisions, and a living will (also called an advance directive) records wishes about life-sustaining treatment. A revocable living trust is an optional structure that holds assets during life and distributes them at death without probate.
The vocabulary matters because these roles carry legal duties. An executor and an agent under a power of attorney are both fiduciaries, meaning they must act for the benefit of the estate or the principal rather than for themselves. The Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas reviews the accounts of executors, administrators, trustees, and agents under powers of attorney when a dispute arises, as described by the Philadelphia courts.
A revocable living trust is worth understanding because it is often oversold. A trust can keep assets out of probate and provide for management if the maker becomes incapacitated, but it does nothing a will and a power of attorney cannot also do for many Pennsylvania families. Assets have to be retitled into the trust for it to work, and a trust does not reduce Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
## Making a valid will in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania keeps the formal requirements for a will short. Under No. Assets that pass by beneficiary designation, such as life insurance and retirement accounts, and property held jointly with right of survivorship pass outside probate. Probate is needed to transfer assets titled in the decedent’s name alone, and Pennsylvania offers a simplified process for small estates. Pennsylvania has no separate state estate tax, but it does charge an inheritance tax to beneficiaries at a rate that depends on the heir’s relationship to the person who died. Disputes over that tax are handled through the Orphans’ Court, alongside estate administration. A separate federal estate tax applies only to estates above a high federal exemption. Yes. Under State intestacy law decides. Under No. The rate turns on the heir’s relationship to the person who died. A surviving spouse is exempt, direct descendants and lineal heirs pay a lower rate than siblings, and unrelated heirs pay the highest rate. Property owned jointly by spouses passes free of the tax.20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2502, every will must be in writing and signed by the testator at the end of the document. Pennsylvania recognizes entirely handwritten wills and does not require witnesses to be present at signing, which sets it apart from many states.
The signature at the end is not a mere formality. Any writing placed after the signature does not invalidate what comes before it, but it also does not take effect as part of the will. A person who cannot sign may make a mark, or direct another person to sign, provided two witnesses are present as the same section requires.
Although witnesses are not required to sign the will, the signature must be proved when the will is later filed for probate. For that reason most Pennsylvania wills are still signed in front of witnesses and a notary. A self-proving acknowledgment, signed before a notary, lets the will be admitted without tracking down witnesses years later.
Changing a will is done by a new will or by a codicil, a short document that amends the original and is executed with the same signature rule. Tearing up or otherwise destroying a will with the intent to revoke it also revokes it. Marriage, divorce, and the birth of a child can each change how a will operates, which is why plans are reviewed after major life events.
## What happens without a will
When a Pennsylvania resident dies without a valid will, the estate passes by intestate succession, and the statute fixes each heir’s share. The surviving spouse’s share depends on who else survives. Under 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2102, a spouse with no surviving children or parents of the decedent takes the entire estate; a spouse who survives alongside a parent but no children takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance; and where all of the decedent’s children are also the spouse’s children, the spouse again takes the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance. When one or more children are not the spouse’s children, the spouse takes one-half of the estate.
Children and other relatives divide whatever the spouse does not take, and if there is no spouse, the estate passes to children, then parents, then more distant relatives in the order the statute sets. A surviving spouse also has a separate protection even when there is a will: under 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2203, a spouse can claim an elective share of one-third of certain property, which keeps a spouse from being cut out entirely.
Intestacy rarely matches what people would have chosen. It gives nothing to unmarried partners, stepchildren who were never adopted, friends, or charities, because it distributes only to legal relatives. It also puts the choice of who administers the estate in the hands of a statute rather than the person who died. A will replaces those default rules with instructions of the maker’s own choosing.
## Powers of attorney and health care directives
Planning for incapacity relies on documents signed while a person still has capacity to sign them. A financial power of attorney under 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5601 must be dated and signed by the principal. For a power of attorney signed today, the principal’s signature must be acknowledged before a notary and witnessed by two adults, neither of whom is the agent or the notary. Pennsylvania law also requires a statutory notice at the top of the document, and the agent must sign an acknowledgment of the agent’s duties before acting.
Because a power of attorney can grant broad authority over property, that statutory notice warns the principal in plain terms that the agent may sell or give away property. The scope of the agent’s authority comes from the language of the document, and certain powers, such as making gifts of the principal’s property, must be granted expressly rather than assumed. A Pennsylvania power of attorney is presumed to be durable, meaning it stays effective after the principal loses capacity, which is the whole point of signing one.
Health care planning uses two documents that often sit in a single form. A living will records instructions about life-sustaining treatment, and a health care power of attorney names an agent to make medical decisions when the patient cannot. Under 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5442, a living will must be dated, signed by the principal, and witnessed by two people who are at least 18 years old. A person who signs the living will on the principal’s behalf cannot serve as one of the witnesses. When no health care agent has been named, Pennsylvania law allows a default health care representative, usually a close family member, to make decisions instead.
## Probate and settling an estate
Probate is the court-supervised process of proving a will and appointing someone to administer the estate. In Pennsylvania, probate begins at the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived. The Register admits the will, if there is one, and issues letters testamentary to the executor named in the will, or letters of administration to an administrator when there is no will.
The Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas holds jurisdiction over the administration and distribution of decedents’ estates, disputes over inheritance, and appeals from the Register of Wills, per the Philadelphia courts. Most estates never see a courtroom; the Orphans’ Court steps in when someone contests the will, questions an accounting, or disputes who should inherit.
The executor’s job follows a predictable sequence: locate and value the assets, notify heirs and creditors, pay valid debts and taxes, file the inheritance tax return, and distribute what remains according to the will or the intestacy statute. Not every estate needs full probate. Assets that pass by beneficiary designation or by survivorship transfer without it, and Pennsylvania offers a simplified path for small estates. An executor who serves without a lawyer is still held to the same standards as an attorney, as the Unified Judicial System explains, and an executor who distributes an estate before debts and taxes are settled can be held personally responsible for the shortfall.
## Pennsylvania inheritance tax
Pennsylvania is one of the few states that taxes inheritances directly, rather than taxing the estate as a whole. The tax falls on property passing to each beneficiary, and the rate depends on that beneficiary’s relationship to the person who died. A surviving spouse pays nothing, direct descendants and other lineal heirs pay a lower rate than siblings, and unrelated heirs pay the most. Property that spouses own jointly passes free of the tax. Disputes over inheritance and estate tax are among the matters the Orphans’ Court Division resolves, alongside the administration of estates.
The tax is reported on a Pennsylvania inheritance tax return, which the executor or administrator files while settling the estate, and payment comes due within months of the death rather than at the end of administration. Pennsylvania does not impose a separate state estate tax. Large estates may owe federal estate tax, but that is a federal matter with an exemption high enough to exclude most estates from its reach. Because the inheritance tax turns on who inherits, the choice of beneficiaries in a will or trust affects the tax the estate ultimately pays.
## Specific procedures and topics
The articles below cover individual Pennsylvania estate-planning procedures in step-by-step detail, from writing a will to settling an estate and reducing inheritance tax.
Specific procedures and topics
Frequently asked questions
Does every estate in Pennsylvania have to go through probate?
Is there an estate tax in Pennsylvania?
Can a will be handwritten or made without a lawyer in Pennsylvania?
20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2502, a Pennsylvania will only needs to be in writing and signed at the end by the person making it. Pennsylvania recognizes handwritten wills and does not require an attorney or witnesses at signing, though the signature must be verified before the Register of Wills when the will is probated.Who inherits if a Pennsylvania resident dies without a will?
20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2102, a surviving spouse’s share ranges from the entire estate to the first $30,000 plus half the balance, depending on whether the decedent also left children or parents. Remaining property passes to children and then to more distant relatives.Do all heirs pay the same Pennsylvania inheritance tax rate?
Sources
- 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2502 (Form and execution of a will)
- 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2102 (Share of surviving spouse)
- 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5601 (Powers of attorney; general provisions)
- 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5442 (Living wills; execution)
- Philadelphia Courts: Orphans’ Court Division
- Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System: Representing Yourself