Pennsylvania living trusts & estate documents

Living trust law in Pennsylvania

A revocable living trust holds your home, accounts, and other property during your life — you stay in full control as trustee and can change or revoke it any time — then passes it to your beneficiaries without probate when you're gone. In Pennsylvania, trusts are governed by the Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act, 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 77.

Avoiding probate in Pennsylvania

Probate in Pennsylvania is governed by the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, Title 20, Pa.C.S. and handled by the Orphans' Court, after the Register of Wills admits the will. Estates are administered through the Register of Wills and the Orphans' Court division.

Small-estate settlement by petition is available for personal property of $50,000 or less (20 Pa.C.S. §3102). That simplified procedure is set out in Settlement of small estates, 20 Pa.C.S. §3102. A funded living trust passes outside probate entirely, whatever the size of the estate — which is why Pennsylvania homeowners in particular set one up.

Estate and inheritance tax in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax — a tax on what each beneficiary receives, usually scaled to how closely related they were to you: Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax (rate depends on the heir's relationship); no separate state estate tax. The separate federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person (2026, adjusted yearly), so most families never owe it.

Protecting a surviving spouse in Pennsylvania

A surviving spouse in Pennsylvania who is left out of the will can instead claim an elective share of one-third of the decedent's property under 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2203 — a protection the will itself cannot override.

Pennsylvania also sets aside a family exemption of up to $3,500 for a surviving spouse and minor children (20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3121), protected ahead of most creditors.

Signing your Pennsylvania documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary (RULONA certificate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania).
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses; notarized self-proving affidavit included (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Health Care Directive in the presence of two adult witnesses, who then sign the witness statements (each part of the form that shows witness lines is signed the same way). The eligibility rules printed on the form govern who may serve.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Pennsylvania — follow those as the authoritative guide.

Serving all of Pennsylvania

Answer the questionnaire from anywhere in Pennsylvania and download your completed documents in minutes: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Scranton, Bethlehem, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Altoona, York, Wilkes-Barre, and every community in between.