A question I often hear is “what happens if I die without a will?” One common assumption is that the state steps in to receive your assets. Not true, unless you die without a spouse or relatives. Generally, if you die without a will (called “intestacy”), your assets will be distributed to individuals based on a schedule created by Pennsylvania law.
Another common assumption is that if you are married your spouse will automatically receive your assets. While this may be true for property held in both names (titled “tenants by the entireties” or “jointly-owned with rights of survivorship”), it may not be true for assets titled in your name alone. Your spouse may end up sharing your individually owned assets with your children or your parents.
If you die without surviving children or parents, those assets will pass to your surviving spouse. If there are no surviving children but you have a surviving parent, your spouse will receive the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of your estate; your parent would receive the rest. This calculation is the same if there are no surviving parents but you and your spouse have children. If you have children that are not the children of your spouse, your spouse will receive one-half of your intestate estate while your children share the remaining half equally.
Pennsylvania law mandates intestate distribution first to your spouse and children, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and lastly to cousins. If you die without any of these relatives surviving you, only then will Pennsylvania step in as the beneficiary of your estate.
The intestacy laws apply only to your assets that do not have a beneficiary designation. Property such as life insurance, IRAs, and 401(k)s pass to the designated beneficiaries and generally are not subject to the intestacy laws.
Having a will gives you control of your assets at death. More specifically, a will allows you to determine the beneficiaries, create trusts, and name executors and trustees. However, if you do not decide these important issues yourself, Pennsylvania will identify your heirs and the size of their inheritance for you.
– Leslie Heffernen