Spouses Don’t Get It All – In Pennsylvania, If You Die Without a Will, Your Spouse Doesn’t Get Everything

Published on: April 18, 2023

One of the great mistakes people make is not having a Will, because they assume their spouse will get everything anyway. If you don’t have a Will and live in Pennsylvania, you are wrong. If you don’t have a Will, and you have kids, your spouse doesn’t get everything, and your kids may end up inheriting a lot of your estate. But if you draft a Will, then you don’t have to worry because you can leave everything to your spouse and be comfortable that your wishes will be honored.

On the other hand, if you draft a Will and live in Pennsylvania, you can’t leave nothing to your spouse. That’s right – you can’t disinherit your spouse, even if you have been separated for decades. A spouse in Pennsylvania, when there is no divorce, can inherit part of the other spouse’s estate, no matter how you don’t want that to happen.

In this podcast, Estate Planning Attorney Daniel J. Siegel of the Pennsylvania Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC explains that proper estate planning is crucial to being sure that when you die, the people whom you want to receive your assets actually do.  Attorney Siegel and his firm have been drafting WillsPowers of AttorneyLiving WillsHealthcare Directives and other estate planning documents for individuals, couples, non-traditional couples and others for decades. Listen to Dan’s advice on this short, but informative podcast.