Letter asking for the balance on the date of death in Pennsylvania
A short letter that asks a bank or other holder for the value of the person's accounts on the date of death. Banks usually want this before the estate is settled.
What to expect
A bank may ask for a certified death certificate and proof that you are allowed to ask. The bank decides what it will release and when.
Bank accounts after a death in Pennsylvania
A bank or credit union must pay up to $20,000 (the total in that institution) to the spouse, a child, a parent or a sibling, in that order of preference, when shown a paid funeral bill or a funeral director's affidavit (for payments on or after January 23, 2026; $10,000 before). Money left in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and money in a trust or payable-on-death account belongs to the named beneficiary (20 Pa.C.S. 6304).
Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3101(b); 20 Pa.C.S. 6304
Source: Official page
Do bank accounts count toward the small estate limit?
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Left out up to $20,000 | A bank account in the person's name alone is left out if it is paid to family under section 3101(b) (up to $20,000 in each bank). Amounts not paid that way count. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3101(b), 3102 |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Money left in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and money in a trust (payable-on-death) account belongs to the named beneficiary, not to the estate, so it is not counted. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 6304(a), (b) |
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Pennsylvania
- Bank account (POD)
Yes
Law: 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (Multiple-Party Accounts)
Source: Official page
Death certificates in Pennsylvania
Requests need an application form signed by the requester and a copy of a valid government photo ID. A certified copy costs $20. Forms and eligibility rules are on the Department of Health Vital Records website; phone (724) 656-3100.
- Where to get it
- Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
- Official page
- Official page
Surviving spouse in Pennsylvania
The spouse (or, if none, children in the same household, or if none, parents in the same household) may claim a family exemption of $3,500 in real or personal property. The spouse has first preference for the direct payments of wages (up to $10,000), bank deposits (up to $20,000 per institution) and estate life insurance (up to $11,000). A spouse can transfer the person's vehicle with PennDOT form MV-39, with no title fee for a transfer to the spouse.
Payment of a deposit account to family (20 Pa.C.S. 3101(b))
A bank, credit union or savings association pays the person's account to a close family member, without a court case, if the total in that institution is not more than the limit and a paid funeral bill or a funeral director's affidavit is shown.
- Limit
Up to $20,000 Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
The total in that one institution cannot be more than $20,000 for payments made on or after January 23, 2026 (it was $10,000 before). The limit applies to each institution separately.
- What counts
The total standing to the person's credit in that one institution.
- Waiting period
The bank may pay at any time after the death.
- Who can use it
The spouse, then any child, then the father or mother, then any sister or brother (preference in that order).
- Court or where to file
Given to the bank or credit union.
- Papers to attach
- A receipted (paid) funeral bill, or an affidavit from a licensed funeral director that satisfactory arrangements for payment of the funeral have been made
- Proof of death and of your relationship, as the bank asks
- Steps
- Ask the bank for the total in the person's accounts there.
- Get a paid funeral bill or the funeral director's affidavit.
- Ask the bank to pay under 20 Pa.C.S. 3101(b).
- Fee
No court fee.
- Debts and responsibility
The person who receives the payment must answer to anyone harmed by an improper distribution.
- What the bank or holder must do
The institution 'shall pay' when the conditions are met, and is released as if it had paid a court-appointed personal representative; it does not have to see how the money is used.
Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3101(b) (amended by Act 50 of 2025)
Source: Official page
Who inherits with no will in Pennsylvania
If there is no will: the spouse gets everything if there are no children (or other descendants) and no parents. If there are children who are all also the spouse's, or no children but a parent, the spouse gets the first $30,000 plus half of the rest. If any child is not the spouse's, the spouse gets half. The rest goes to the descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents and their families, then aunts, uncles and their children and grandchildren. For deaths since January 23, 2026, if there are no such relatives the estate goes to an endowed community fund where the person lived, and only then to the Commonwealth.
Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 2102, 2103 (2103 amended by Act 50 of 2025)
Source: Official page
Good to know in Pennsylvania
- Since January 23, 2026, a bank must pay up to $20,000 per institution directly to the spouse or nearest relative when shown a paid funeral bill or funeral director's affidavit; the limit was $10,000.
- The Orphans' Court can distribute up to $50,000 of personal property on a small estate petition, even if the person also owned real estate of any value (20 Pa.C.S. 3102).
- Pennsylvania has no transfer-on-death deed for real estate in Title 20; real estate passes by deed, joint ownership, trust, or probate.
Changes in 2024–2026
Act 65 of 2024 (July 17, 2024) rewrote 3101(e) (unclaimed property paid to family). Act 50 of 2025: 3101(b) bank deposit limit raised from $10,000 to $20,000, effective in 60 days (January 23, 2026); 3101(e)(1)(i) unclaimed property limit raised from $11,000 to $20,000, effective in 180 days (May 23, 2026); 2103 escheat changed so an endowed community fund takes before the Commonwealth, effective in 60 days.
Law: HB 1176, approved Nov. 24, 2025
Related pages
Free help in Pennsylvania
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.