Do I Need a Will After Buying a House in Pennsylvania?

No law requires it. But the day you close, the largest thing you own starts following a set of default rules you did not write. A will is how you replace those defaults with your own, and for most new homeowners it is the cheapest fix on the list.

Last reviewed 11 September 2026 · Pennsylvania · ~8 min read

What the statutes say, in one table

Every claim in this guide traces to a section of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes or to a Department of Revenue publication. Each row was checked against the primary source on the review date above.

Does the deed override the will?

Often, yes. How the deed names the owners decides whether the house is even part of your estate. A will only controls property that passes through the estate, so the deed is read first and the will second.

Pennsylvania deeds come in three common shapes. Sole ownership means the house is yours alone, and it passes under your will or, without one, under the intestacy statute. Joint ownership with right of survivorship means the surviving co-owner takes the whole house automatically, whatever the will says.

Tenancy in common means each owner holds a separate share with no survivorship. When one owner dies, that share passes under their will or by intestacy, and the surviving owner now shares the house with whoever inherited it. Unmarried buyers often end up here without meaning to.

Married couples who take title together in Pennsylvania usually hold as tenants by the entireties, a form of survivorship reserved for spouses. That is why a spouse on the deed rarely needs the will to get the house. Everything else you own is a different story.

What happens to the house with no will?

If the house is in your sole name, or you hold a tenancy-in-common share, and you die without a will, the intestacy statute divides your estate among relatives in a fixed order. The house is not treated specially. It is one asset in the pot the statute divides.

Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2102, a surviving spouse takes the entire estate only when there are no children and no living parent. With children you share, the spouse takes the first $30,000 plus one half of the rest. With a child from another relationship, the spouse takes one half.

The other half passes under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103: to your children first, then parents, then siblings and their children, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles. A house cannot be split into halves, so the practical result is co-ownership, a forced sale, or a buyout the survivor may not be able to afford.

That is the scenario a will prevents. Nothing dramatic happens to the house at the moment of death; it simply passes to a group of people the statute picked, in shares the statute set, which may leave your spouse sharing title with your children or your parents.

What if we bought together but are not married?

This is the single most important reason to make a will after a purchase. An unmarried partner does not appear anywhere in 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103. If you die without a will, your share of the house passes to your children, or your parents, or your siblings, not to the person paying the other half of the mortgage.

If the deed created a right of survivorship, the survivor keeps the house and the intestacy statute never reaches it. If the deed is silent or names you as tenants in common, your partner becomes a co-owner with your relatives, and the relatives can ask a court to divide or sell.

The fix is two documents, not one. A will that leaves your share of the house to your partner, and a check of the deed so the will and the deed say the same thing. If you want survivorship, that is a new deed, not a will clause.

What should a homeowner's will actually say?

A will that just names who gets the house is incomplete. The clauses that keep a house out of trouble are about authority and money, not sentiment:

• Who gets the house, and what happens if they die first. A named alternate stops the house falling into the residue by accident.
• Executor power to sell, hold, or rent real estate without a court order. Without express authority, routine steps can need Orphans' Court approval.
• Who carries the mortgage. Say whether the house passes subject to the loan or whether the estate pays it off first. Silence causes arguments.
• Who pays the inheritance tax. The tax is charged on the beneficiary's share. Decide whether the person taking the house pays it or the residue does.
• A trust for minor children. A house left outright to a child is handed over at 18, and a minor cannot sign a deed or a listing agreement.
• A residuary clause for everything not specifically mentioned, so nothing passes by intestacy.

See how to make a will in Pennsylvania for the signing steps, and the last will and testament page for what the document includes.

Is the house taxed when it passes?

Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax with no exemption threshold. The rate depends on who inherits: 0% to a spouse, 4.5% to children and other lineal heirs, 12% to siblings, and 15% to everyone else. A 5% discount applies if the tax is paid within three months of death, and it becomes delinquent at nine months.

Two rules matter for a house. Property owned jointly between spouses is exempt. Property owned jointly with anyone else, with right of survivorship, is taxed on the decedent's share, even though the will never touches it. The Department of Revenue's REV-584 states both rules plainly.

A will does not change the tax bill. It changes who pays it. Our Pennsylvania inheritance tax guide covers the rates, the return, and the discount in detail.

Do I need a trust instead of a will?

Usually not because of the house alone. A revocable living trust avoids probate for assets retitled into it, and Pennsylvania probate is moderate in cost and driven mainly by the nine-month tax deadline rather than court delay. The trust does not avoid inheritance tax, and it requires a new deed to work at all.

A trust earns its keep when you own property in more than one state, want privacy, or want a successor to manage the house if you lose capacity. If that describes you, read how to put your house in a living trust in Pennsylvania and the will vs. living trust comparison first.

When should I update the will?

Pennsylvania modifies a will by statute after certain events, which is not the same as fixing it. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507, a marriage after the will gives the new spouse an intestate share, a later child takes an intestate share, and a divorce cancels gifts to the former spouse.

Those defaults are blunt. Revisit the will when you marry, divorce, have or adopt a child, refinance in a way that changes who is on the deed, buy a second property, or move out of Pennsylvania. Execute a new will rather than a codicil for anything beyond a trivial change.

Common questions

Is a will required to buy a house in Pennsylvania?

No. Neither the purchase nor the mortgage requires one. The question is what happens to the house if you die owning it, and without a will that is decided by the deed and by 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2102 and 2103.

Does my spouse automatically get the house if I die without a will?

If you both hold title together, usually yes, by survivorship. If the house is in your name alone and you have children together, your spouse takes the first $30,000 plus half of the rest, and the children take the other half.

We are not married. Does my partner get my share?

Not without a will or a survivorship deed. Partners are not heirs under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103. Your share would pass to your children, parents, or siblings.

Does the will need to be notarized or witnessed?

Not for validity under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502. Use two witnesses and a notary anyway, so the self-proving affidavit under § 3132.1 spares your executor from tracking down witnesses.

Is the house subject to inheritance tax?

The decedent's share is, at 0% to a spouse, 4.5% to children, 12% to siblings, and 15% to others. A house owned jointly by spouses is exempt.