PA Law Gives Estates of Decedents With No Will and No Family to Community Foundations-RRP

First in the nation statute gives assets to endowment funds of local community foundations instead of to the state

A new Pennsylvania law touted as the first of its kind in the nation provides that the estates of people who die without a will and without family will be awarded to an endowed fund at a local community foundation rather than to the state treasury.

The bill was promoted by the state Registers of Wills and Clerks of Orphans’ Courts Association and the Pennsylvania Community Foundations Association. It was passed unanimously by the Legislature in November 2025 and went into effect in January 2026. (Pennsylvania has had one of the most evenly divided Legislatures in the nation. In 2025, the Republicans held a three-seat advantage in the 50-member Senate, while Democrats held a one-seat advantage in the 203-member House.)

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PA Law Gives Estates of Decedents With No Will and No Family to Community Foundations-RRP