How to make a will in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not require witnesses to sign a will. What it does require, why the self-proving affidavit matters anyway, and the clauses that keep an estate out of trouble.
Pennsylvania estate planning guides
Estate planning content online is mostly written for California and quietly assumed to apply everywhere. These guides are written against the Pennsylvania statutes - with the section numbers, the actual rates, and the deadlines that carry penalties.
Pennsylvania inheritance tax
No exemption threshold, and the rate depends on who inherits: 0% spouse, 4.5% children, 12% siblings, 15% everyone else. Deadlines and the 5% early-payment discount.
Dying without a will in Pennsylvania
Your spouse rarely inherits everything. The first $30,000 rule, what changes with children from a prior relationship, and the full order of succession.
Pennsylvania power of attorney
Financial POAs need two witnesses, a notary, the statutory notice, and a signed agent acknowledgment. Healthcare POAs follow different rules. Why banks reject them.
Will vs. living trust in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania probate is cheaper than California's, which changes the calculation. A trust avoids probate - it does not avoid inheritance tax. When it is genuinely worth it.
Executor duties in Pennsylvania
A sequenced checklist: the Register of Wills, advertising the grant of letters, the Rule 10.5 certification, the nine-month tax deadline, and the mistakes that create personal liability.
Do you need a lawyer to write a will?
No - but some situations genuinely warrant one, and we say which. Plus the omissions that actually sink do-it-yourself wills.
Build your plan in plain English
Answer a few gentle questions and watch your estate plan take shape. Built deep for Pennsylvania. Nothing is final until you sign.