February 25, 2026
A change to Pennsylvania law that took effect January 23rd will end a decades-old practice that directed the estates of Pennsylvanians who died without family or a will entirely to the state.
Act 50 of 2025 updates Pennsylvania’s Intestate Succession Law to ensure that when no heirs can be identified, a decedent’s estate is placed into an endowed community fund at the community foundation serving the county where the individual lived. These endowed funds provide permanent, charitable support to local nonprofits to meet community needs.
The law is the result of a collaborative initiative led by the Registers of Wills & Clerks of Orphans’ Court Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, and passed with unanimous, bipartisan support in the General Assembly. Governor Josh Shapiro signed Act 50 into law on November 24, 2025.
“For too long, Pennsylvania effectively imposed a 100% tax on residents who died without family or a will,” said Bryan Tate, President of the Registers of Wills & Clerks of Orphans’ Court Association of Pennsylvania. “Act 50 ensures that a person’s life savings can now be remembered and celebrated by benefiting the community they called home—forever.”
Prior to Act 50, Title 20, Section 2103 of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code required that when no family survived a decedent, the estate passed directly to the Commonwealth to be used in the state’s annual budget. Act 50 amends the law to add endowed community funds as the final successor before assets would pass to the Commonwealth.
“This is a historic moment for Pennsylvania communities. Through this reform, intestate assets will now honor the lives of individuals by strengthening the communities they called home through the charitable work of the community foundation,” said Kara Seesholtz, President and CEO of Community Giving Foundation. “By supporting local nonprofits to meet community needs, this will transform unclaimed estates into lasting local legacies.”
Under the updated law, if a Pennsylvanian dies without a will or their will cannot be located, assets pass in the following order:
- Decedent’s children
- Decedent’s parents
- Decedent’s siblings and their children
- Decedent’s grandparents
- Decedent’s aunts, uncles, and their children
- An endowed community fund at the community foundation serving the decedent’s county
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, if no endowed community fund exists
According to the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, every county in Pennsylvania is served by a community foundation with an endowed community or county-specific fund. Community Giving Foundation will manage intestate gifts for Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Snyder Counties.
Act 50 was enacted as part of House Bill 1176, which combined three legislative proposals related to the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code. For more information about Act 50 of 2025, visit the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s official website.
Community Giving Foundation identifies regional and local needs and opportunities through a data-driven lens, serving as a resource for donors, nonprofits, and all those who want to make a difference in their community. The Foundation manages over 400 charitable funds, helping donors maximize their community impact in the Central Susquehanna region both now and for future generations.