Small estate checker for Pennsylvania
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Settlement of small estates on petition (20 Pa.C.S. 3102)
| Date of death | Limit |
|---|---|
On or after August 31, 2013 | $50,000 |
On or before August 30, 2013 | $25,000 |
Also in Pennsylvania (not tested here)
These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.
- Payment of a deposit account to family (20 Pa.C.S. 3101(b))
- Payment of wages, salary or employee benefits to family (20 Pa.C.S. 3101(a))
- Life insurance payable to the estate, paid to family (20 Pa.C.S. 3101(d))
- Unclaimed property held by the State Treasurer, paid to family (20 Pa.C.S. 3101(e))
What counts toward the limit in Pennsylvania
For the small estate petition: add up the gross value of the person's property. Leave out real estate and anything paid directly to family under section 3101 (bank accounts up to $20,000 per bank, wages up to $10,000, insurance owed to the estate up to $11,000). Include personal property claimed as the $3,500 family exemption.
Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3101, 3102
In this state the total is counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
| 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) |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Vehicles are personal property and count; family can also retitle a vehicle with PennDOT form MV-39. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102; PennDOT MV-39 |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | Boats and other personal property count. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Real estate in Pennsylvania | Left out | Real estate is not counted and is not distributed by this petition. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Main home (primary residence) | Left out | The home is real estate and is not counted. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Real estate in another state | Left out | Real estate is not counted. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Left out up to $10,000 | Unpaid wages, salary or employee benefits are left out if the employer pays them to family under section 3101(a) (up to $10,000). Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3101(a), 3102 |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | The law does not address military pay separately; ask the court. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Not clear | The small estate law does not address benefits paid to a named beneficiary; ask the court. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Left out up to $11,000 | Insurance owed to the estate is left out if the company pays it to family under section 3101(d) (up to $11,000 per company). Other amounts count. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3101(d), 3102 |
Property in a living trust | Not clear | The law does not address trust property; ask the court. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Not clear | The law does not address property held jointly with survivorship; ask the court. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | Personal property going to the spouse counts, including property claimed as the family exemption. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102, 3121 |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name count. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Belongings count, including items claimed as the family exemption. Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 |
Source: Official page
Settlement of small estates on petition (20 Pa.C.S. 3102)
A petition to the Orphans' Court asking the judge to order the person's personal property distributed to the people entitled to it, without a full estate administration.
- Limit
Up to $50,000 (deaths on or after August 31, 2013) Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
Date of death Limit On or after August 31, 2013$50,000On or before August 30, 2013$25,000For a death on or after August 31, 2013, the person's property, not counting real estate and amounts paid directly to family under section 3101, cannot have a gross value of more than $50,000 (it was $25,000 for earlier deaths). Owning real estate of any value does not stop the court from distributing the personal property this way.
- What counts
The gross value of the person's property, not counting real estate and property paid under 20 Pa.C.S. 3101, but including personal property claimed as the family exemption.
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period. The court decides what notice must be given.
- Who can use it
Any party in interest may file the petition (for example an heir, a will beneficiary, or a creditor such as the funeral director). The person must have been domiciled in Pennsylvania.
- Court or where to file
Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the person was domiciled at death.
- Papers to attach
- Petition listing the property and its value
- Notice to interested parties as the court directs
- Appraisal only if the court requires it
- Steps
- Check local Orphans' Court rules and forms for a small estate petition in the county where the person lived.
- File the petition with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court.
- Give the notice the court directs.
- If the court grants it, the decree of distribution lets banks, transfer agents and others transfer the property to the people named.
- Fee
Filing fees are set by each county; ask the Clerk of the Orphans' Court or Register of Wills.
- Debts and responsibility
Within one year after the decree, any party in interest may ask the court to revoke it because of an improper distribution, and the court can order the property returned.
- What the bank or holder must do
The decree of distribution is sufficient authority for transfer agents, registrars and others to recognize the people named as entitled to the property, with the same effect as a decree after a full accounting.
Law: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102 (amended by Act 35 of 2013, for deaths on or after its effective date)
Source: Official page
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
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.
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.