Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Pennsylvania, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Pennsylvania’s intestacy statute (20 Pa. Cons. Stat. §2102) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from Pennsylvania residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. §2102 and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse takes the ENTIRE intestate estate only if there is NO surviving issue AND NO surviving parent of the decedent; §2102(1): ‘If there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the entire intestate estate.’
When it is less than everything: No surviving issue, but a surviving parent or parents (§2102(2)): spouse takes ‘the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.’ Surviving issue, ALL of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse (§2102(3)): same formula; ‘the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.’ BLENDED-FAMILY RULE (§2102(4)): ‘If there are surviving issue of the decedent one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate estate’; the spouse loses the flat $30,000 allowance entirely and drops straight to a bare one-half whenever even one surviving descendant is not also the spouse’s own child.
20 Pa. Cons. Stat. §2102(2)-(4): ‘(2) If there is no surviving issue of the decedent but he is survived by a parent or parents, the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate. … (3) If there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate. (4) If there are surviving issue of the decedent one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate estate.’
Source: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. §2102
If a DIY will fits your situation in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link; it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Who inherits if there is no spouse
§2103(a): (1) issue of the decedent; (2) if none, parents or parent; (3) if no parent, issue of each parent (siblings and their issue); (4) if none, grandparents; half to paternal grandparent(s) or their descendants, half to maternal grandparent(s) or their descendants, with a full crossover if one side is empty; (5) if no grandparent, to uncles/aunts and the children/grandchildren of deceased uncles/aunts; (6) STATE-SPECIFIC QUIRK; in default of all human kindred, the estate passes to an ‘endowed community fund’ located in the decedent’s municipality, then school district, then county, and only then escheats to the Commonwealth.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: FULL share, no distinction from whole-blood. §2104(3): ‘Persons taking under this chapter shall take without distinction between those of the whole and those of the half blood.’
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Pennsylvania property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.