Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

What did the deceased own at the time of death and how was it titled? How is the sole heir related to the decedent? Where did the deceased live just prior to his death? Did the deceased have a will? When did the deceased die? Was an estate probated? Was the deceased married and had a surviving spouse? What about biological or adopted children?

Assuming that the deceased lived in PA and died with no will, then the intestacy laws would kick in. They only govern the transfer of probate assets. Examples of non-probate assets are joint checking accounts with the survivor still alive, a beneficiary designated asset like a POD account, life insurance, retirement benefit or jointly owned real estate with a right of survivorship. Anything owned solely by the deceased or anything without a named beneficiary who survived the deceased is a probate asset.

Once you make the determination of what probate assets there are, you need to determine what debts there are if any. Do the debts outweigh the probate assets? Valid debts have to be paid before heirs get anything.

Assuming that there are few or small debts, then the order would be:

(1) spouse and children (if any);

(2) parents if decedent was unmarried and had no children;

(3) if deceased's parents are not alive, then any siblings or their children if they are deceased.

For anything beyond that you would need to consult a probate attorney who practices in the county/state where the deceased lived at the time of his/her death.

What any heirs will receive depends on what the deceased owned. If land, how was it titled? If you don't know, then check with the recorder/register of deeds in the county where the land is located and look at the deed. Is the land encumbered by a mortgage or lien? Inheritance is subject to any mortgages/liens unless there is a will providing otherwise.

If the deceased had a joint bank account, who was the survivor? Did the deceased have a life insurance policy? Or any other type of policy? Some cars or other loans have credit life insurance. Retirement? A car? A car and other personal possessions would go to the heirs under the intestacy law.

I would suggest that if you are the sole heir that you see a probate attorney who practices in the county/state where the deceased lived at the time of his death to help you.