What are probate assets?
Probate
assets are assets owned at the time of death by
the deceased in his or her name only; and for which
he or she did not add anyone else’s name onto the
asset or account along with theirs.
What are “non-probate assets?”
Non-probate assets are assets on which the person
who died added someone else’s name onto the asset
or account along with theirs. Non-probate assets pass
outside the Will and probate Estate, because of these
other written arrangements. Some examples of non-probate
assets are joint bank accounts; real estate held by
husband and wife or other joint owners; and life insurance
policies, IRAs or annuities that name a living person
as a pay-on-death beneficiary.
Who inherits if there is no Will?
When there is no Will specifying the beneficiaries,
the law of Pennsylvania determines the people who
will inherit, called “heirs” or “heirs at law.” The
heirs are specified family members beginning with
those most closely related to the decedent - spouse
and children, parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, then
other relatives more distantly related. Only if there
are no qualifying heirs will the estate go to the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
