Intestacy Hypotheticals: The Cases People Actually Search

The seven scenarios above cover the basic formula. But real families are more complicated. Here are the situations that generate the most questions — and the most disputes.

Stepchildren — "I Raised Them, Don't They Inherit?"

No. Unless legally adopted, a stepchild receives nothing under Pennsylvania intestacy law. It does not matter that the stepparent raised the child from age two, paid for college, or considered them family in every way. The intestacy statute recognizes only biological children and legally adopted children. The only way to provide for stepchildren is a will, trust, or beneficiary designation.

Adopted Children — Full and Equal Rights

Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2108, an adopted child has the same inheritance rights as a biological child — completely and without distinction. An adopted child inherits from the adoptive parents (and their families) and the adoptive parents inherit from the adopted child. Upon adoption, the child's legal relationship with the biological parent is terminated for inheritance purposes — meaning the adopted child no longer inherits from the biological parent under intestacy (though the biological parent can always name the child in a will).

Children Born Outside of Marriage

A child born outside of marriage inherits from the mother automatically. Inheritance from the father requires that paternity has been established by one of these methods: voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, the father holding the child out as his own (openly and notoriously), or clear and convincing evidence in a court proceeding. Once paternity is established, the child inherits equally with all other children — including children born during a marriage.

Half-Siblings — Equal Treatment

Pennsylvania does not distinguish between half-siblings and full siblings. Under the intestacy statute, a half-sibling inherits exactly the same share as a full sibling. If a decedent has no spouse, no children, and no parents, and the estate passes to siblings — all siblings share equally, regardless of whether they share one parent or two.

Simultaneous Death — "We Died Together"

Under Pennsylvania's Uniform Simultaneous Death Act (20 Pa.C.S. § 8502), when two people die simultaneously (or within such a short time that there's no sufficient evidence of the order of death), each person's property is distributed as if they survived the other. The practical effect: the estate of each spouse passes to their own family, not to the other spouse's family. Many wills include a 30-day survivorship clause to handle near-simultaneous deaths — requiring the beneficiary to survive the testator by at least 30 days to inherit.

The Unmarried Partner — The Hardest Case

This is the scenario we see most often — and it is always heartbreaking. A couple lives together for years or decades without marrying. One partner dies without a will. The surviving partner inherits nothing. The estate passes to the decedent's children, parents, siblings, or more remote relatives. Pennsylvania abolished common law marriage effective January 1, 2005. No exceptions. The surviving partner may even be asked to vacate the home they shared.

The "Surprise" Parent Inheritance

A married couple in their 60s, no children, one spouse dies without a will. The surviving spouse assumes they inherit everything. But the deceased spouse's mother is still alive at age 89. Under § 2102(2), the surviving spouse gets only the first $30,000 + 50% — the mother-in-law inherits the rest. On a $400,000 estate, that's $185,000 going to a mother-in-law the spouse may barely know. A simple will would have left everything to the spouse.