How Do I Avoid Probate in Pennsylvania?

In Pennsylvania, a payable on death account and life insurance with a named beneficiary pass outside probate, as does property in a revocable trust; what is left is the probate estate.

Mark what the owner holds

Pennsylvania law says how each asset passes at death. Mark what the owner holds and how each piece is titled to see which pass outside probate and what remains for the probate estate.

Examples:

General information about how each asset passes at death under state law, and what remains for probate, not legal or tax advice. The probate cost figures are the probate cost estimator’s, run at the size of the probate estate. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

At a death in Pennsylvania, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwise. On the pay on death designation: a trust account passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's death.

Pennsylvania's nonprobate-transfer statute names an insurance policy: the death benefit is paid to the beneficiary the owner designated, outside probate. A policy with no beneficiary, or one payable to the estate, is part of the probate estate.

An employer plan is governed by federal law: An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary unless the spouse consented in writing to another. An IRA is the state's: Pennsylvania's statute does not name an individual retirement account, so whether it passes to its beneficiary outside probate rests on other law. A retirement account with no beneficiary named is part of the probate estate.

Survivorship title in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania law recognizes tenancy by the entireties between spouses and joint tenancy with a right of survivorship. Where no letters are needed to administer the estate, a certificate of death may also be filed with the county register of wills, who records it. A deed that only asserts a transfer of title by survivorship is not subject to realty transfer tax. In Pennsylvania, no statute authorizes a transfer on death deed. A home in the owner's name alone, with no survivor, deed beneficiary or trust, is part of the probate estate.

In Pennsylvania, no transfer on death designation is titled on a vehicle. A vehicle in the owner's name alone is part of the probate estate; one titled in a revocable trust passes under the trust's terms.

Avoiding Probate in Pennsylvania

Probate reaches what a person owned in their own name alone at death, with no survivor, beneficiary or trust named to take it. That is the probate estate, and the will, or the intestacy statute where there is none, governs only that.

Survivorship title in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania law recognizes tenancy by the entireties between spouses and joint tenancy with a right of survivorship. Where no letters are needed to administer the estate, a certificate of death may also be filed with the county register of wills, who records it. A deed that only asserts a transfer of title by survivorship is not subject to realty transfer tax. A home that passes to the surviving owner is outside probate.

In Pennsylvania, no statute authorizes a transfer on death deed; a home in the owner's name alone is part of the probate estate. A home retitled to a revocable trust passes under the trust's terms; the deed used is Special Warranty Deed or Quitclaim Deed.

At a death, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwise. On the pay on death designation: a trust account passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's death. Sums in a Pennsylvania joint account belong to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent when the account was created. A trust account passes to the surviving beneficiary. In other cases the decedent's rights become part of the estate.

In Pennsylvania the beneficiary designation in a life insurance, annuity or endowment contract, or in a pension, bonus, profit-sharing or other employee-benefit plan, is not testamentary and is not subject to the law governing transfers by will. The statute names an insurance policy, so the death benefit is paid to the named beneficiary outside probate. It does not name an individual retirement account. An employer plan is federal: An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary unless the spouse consented in writing to another.

In Pennsylvania, no transfer on death designation is titled on a vehicle; a vehicle in the owner's name alone is part of the probate estate, and one titled in a revocable trust passes under the trust's terms.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated November 1, 2026

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Data sourced from Pennsylvania statutes and official state code. How we research.

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How Do I Avoid Probate in Pennsylvania?

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