Helpful articles on wills and succession law.
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What a revocable living trust does in Pennsylvania, how funding and a pour-over will work together, and when a Pennsylvanian actually needs a trust instead of a simple will. Important: a living trust does NOT avoid Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
09.07.2026Pennsylvania is one of the few states with a state inheritance tax. The rate depends on who inherits: 0% for a surviving spouse, 4.5% for children and other lineal heirs, 12% for siblings, and 15% for everyone else. Here is how it works, who is exempt, and how the federal estate tax fits in.
09.07.2026How to create a valid durable power of attorney in Pennsylvania under 20 Pa.C.S. 5601: the strict execution rules after the 2014 reforms (signed, dated, notarized, and witnessed by two people, plus the required notice and agent acknowledgment), the difference between a financial and a health care POA, and how to revoke one.
09.07.2026Pennsylvania advance health care directives under 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 54: what a living will covers, what a health care power of attorney covers, how to combine them, the witness and signing rules, and when each one takes effect.
09.07.2026Pennsylvania does not authorize transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deeds for real estate, unlike most states. Here is why, what happens if you try to record one, and the alternatives Pennsylvanians actually use: joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a revocable living trust, and life estate deeds, plus their inheritance-tax implications.
09.07.2026When a Pennsylvania estate is worth $50,000 or less in personal property, an interested party can petition the Orphans Court for a simplified distribution under 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 instead of full probate. Here is the dollar threshold, what counts, what is excluded, and how the petition works.
09.07.2026A plain-English walkthrough of probate in Pennsylvania: opening the estate at the county Register of Wills, the grant of letters, what the personal representative does, advertising the estate, the inheritance tax filing, and how long it all takes.
09.07.2026The practical ways Pennsylvanians keep assets out of probate: a revocable living trust, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and the small-estate petition. Note: Pennsylvania has no transfer-on-death deed for real estate, so we cover the real-estate workarounds too.
09.07.2026Yes, a handwritten (holographic) will is legally valid in Pennsylvania under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 2502, but only if you sign it at the very end. Here are the exact requirements, how it differs from a witnessed will, and the mistakes that quietly void one.
03.07.2026A free Pennsylvania will template you copy out entirely in your own handwriting to create a valid holographic will. Includes clean sample texts for a single person and for a married parent, plus the key Pennsylvania rule that your signature must go at the very end of the document.
03.07.2026Pennsylvania has no forced heirship, so you can disinherit an adult child, but you cannot fully cut out a spouse: the elective share under 20 Pa.C.S. 2203 guarantees them one third. Here is who you can and cannot exclude, plus the omitted-child and after-marriage rules and how to word it right.
03.07.2026If you die without a will in Pennsylvania, state intestacy law decides who inherits. A surviving spouse rarely takes everything: children and parents share the estate under fixed statutory formulas. Here is exactly who gets what, plus how a valid Pennsylvania will lets you decide instead.
03.07.2026A practical, step-by-step guide to making a valid will in Pennsylvania, focused on the handwritten (holographic) route: write it by hand, sign at the end (the key PA rule), and skip witnesses. Includes a numbered steps list, a checklist, and the witnessed self-proved alternative.
03.07.2026No, Pennsylvania does not require a lawyer to make a valid will. A wholly handwritten (holographic) will needs no attorney and no witnesses to be legal, as long as you sign at the end. Here is when do-it-yourself works and when an estate attorney is worth it.
03.07.2026How many Pennsylvanians have a will, annual deaths, estate sizes, home values, net worth, and the $84 trillion wealth transfer, in 25+ cited 2026 facts.
03.07.2026The typical American inheritance is far smaller than the "average" suggests. Here are 16 cited facts on how much people really inherit, plus Pennsylvania's inheritance tax and home-value context.
03.07.2026A cited 2026 breakdown of what a funeral really costs in Pennsylvania: median burial vs cremation, the price of a casket, plot, and vault, and the state cremation trend.
03.07.2026Median and mean household net worth by age for Pennsylvania, from the Federal Reserve SCF plus Census and Zillow state figures. See how PA compares to the US in 14 cited facts.
03.07.2026Only about a third of US adults have a will, and Pennsylvania largely tracks that gap. See 16 cited statistics on will ownership by age, income, race and state.
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