Estate Planning · Wills & Trusts
What New Parents in Pennsylvania Need: A Will, a Guardian, and a Trust
A Pennsylvania parent who dies without a trust does not leave their children protected. They leave them a lump sum at 18 with no conditions, no trustee, and no plan. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2519 only a will creates a valid guardian designation. Without one a court picks who raises your children. A will with a guardian designation and a trust provision changes both of those outcomes. One document. Three protections.
You spent weeks researching car seats. You have not written a will. If something happens tonight Pennsylvania decides who raises your child and hands them everything at 18. A will with a guardian designation and a trust provision is the document that changes both of those outcomes.
Without a guardian designation a court decides who raises your children. Without a trust they receive everything at 18 with no conditions and no guidance.
Call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation to put a will, trust, and guardian designation in place before something happens.
Which situation applies to you?
We just had a baby and have no documents at all.
You need all three: a will, a guardian designation, and a trust provision. This is the starting point for every new family.
We have a will but no trust provision.
Your children receive everything outright at 18. A trust amendment to the existing will fixes this without starting over.
We named a guardian at the hospital.
That form has no legal effect. Only a will creates a valid guardian designation in Pennsylvania. The hospital form is not a legal document.
Our children are approaching 18.
The trust window is closing. Distribution planning and updating beneficiary designations matter now before they receive assets outright.
We have a will from before the kids were born.
It almost certainly does not name a guardian or include trust provisions for minor children. Review it now before the situation changes.
One parent died and the other has no documents.
A single parent with minor children is the most urgent situation. One accident leaves children with no plan in place and no legal protection.
What Happens Without a Trust When a Parent Dies
Pennsylvania law does not allow minor children to receive significant assets directly. When a parent dies without a trust, a court appoints a guardian of the property under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5401 et seq. who manages the assets until the child reaches 18. At 18 Pennsylvania requires full distribution with no exceptions and no conditions. The guardian of the property and the guardian of the person are not required to be the same individual, and frequently are not. An 18-year-old who inherits $400,000 with no restrictions is not a protected beneficiary. They are a target for every bad decision, bad relationship, and bad investment that finds them in the years immediately after the money arrives.
A trust changes this. The trustee holds and manages the assets under the terms the parent wrote. The child receives distributions for health, education, maintenance, and support until the trust terminates at the age specified. The money does not arrive in a lump sum at 18. It arrives according to a plan the parent made while they were alive to make it.
The Guardian Designation: Who Raises Your Children
A will is the only legal document that lets you name who raises your children if both parents die. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2519, the court gives substantial weight to the testamentary guardian designation in the will. Without it a judge applies the best interest standard to whoever comes forward claiming the right to raise your children. The hospital guardian form has no legal effect. The form you signed at the hospital is not a legal document recognized by Pennsylvania courts.
The guardian designation should name a primary guardian and at least one alternate in case the first choice cannot serve. The person who raises your children and the person who controls their money are not required to be the same person. In most cases they should not be the same person. A guardian who also controls the money has a structural conflict that an independent trustee eliminates.
The Testamentary Trust: Built Into the Will
A testamentary trust is created inside the will and takes effect at death under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7733. It does not avoid probate — the will still goes through the Register of Wills — but it controls what happens to the assets after probate closes. The trustee holds and manages the assets according to the terms the parent wrote. The child receives distributions for health, education, and support until the trust terminates at whatever age was specified.
Most parents choose a termination age of 25 or 30 with staged distributions along the way. The testamentary trust costs nothing to maintain during the parent’s lifetime because it does not exist until death. It is created in the will and funded from the estate at death. For most young families this is the right structure. It is simpler, less expensive, and appropriate for the size of most estates.
Who Should Be Trustee
The trustee manages the money. The guardian raises the child. These roles carry different obligations and should almost never be held by the same person. A guardian who is also the trustee has a direct financial interest in distribution decisions because the money goes to support the child in the guardian’s household. An independent trustee — a sibling, a trusted family friend, or a corporate trustee for larger estates — eliminates that conflict and provides accountability that a combined role cannot.
The trustee is accountable to the beneficiaries under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7772, which requires the trustee to administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries. Name a primary trustee and at least one successor trustee. If the primary trustee cannot serve, the trust needs a backup who steps in without court involvement.
Age-Based Distribution Schedules
The most common mistake in trust drafting for young families is distributing everything at one age. A better structure staggers the distributions. One third at 25. One third at 30. The balance at 35. This allows the beneficiary to make a mistake with one portion while the rest remains protected. By the time they receive the final distribution they have demonstrated what they do with money.
The trust can also allow the trustee to make distributions before the scheduled ages for specific purposes — education, a down payment on a home, starting a business — without accelerating the full distribution schedule. These discretionary powers give the trustee flexibility while preserving the structural protection of delayed distribution for the rest of the principal.
What the Trust Can Spend Before Distribution Age
The trust document defines what the trustee can spend while the child is under the distribution age. The most common standard is health, education, maintenance, and support — the HEMS standard. This allows the trustee to pay for college, medical expenses, a car for school, or help with a first apartment while preserving the principal for the scheduled distributions. The trustee exercises judgment within those terms.
A broader discretionary standard gives the trustee more flexibility but also more responsibility. A narrower standard protects the principal more strictly but may leave the trustee unable to respond to circumstances the parent did not anticipate. The right standard depends on the age of the children, the size of the estate, and how much flexibility the parent wants to give the trustee.
The Revocable Living Trust: When to Go Further
A testamentary trust requires probate. A revocable living trust is funded during your lifetime and holds assets outside the probate estate. At death the trust continues without court involvement under the terms you set while you were alive. For parents with real estate in multiple states, significant assets, or privacy concerns the revocable living trust adds probate avoidance on top of the protective structure the testamentary trust provides.
The revocable living trust costs more to establish and requires funding — assets must actually be transferred into the trust during your lifetime or the protection does not apply at death. For most young families with straightforward assets, a testamentary trust in the will is the right starting point. The revocable living trust becomes more compelling as the estate grows and as multi-state real estate or privacy concerns enter the picture.
A Pittsburgh couple executed wills with no trust provisions when their children were 3 and 6. Both parents died in a car accident twelve years later. The estate was approximately $380,000 after the house sold. The older child turned 18 fourteen months after the accident. Pennsylvania required full distribution of his share — $190,000 — directly to him. He had dropped out of college and had no financial experience. The money was gone in four years. His sister had her share held by a court-appointed guardian until she turned 18. Same result two years later. A trust drafted when the children were young would have held both shares until 25 or 30 with distributions for education and support in the interim. The grandparents had no legal standing to challenge either distribution.
Pennsylvania wills are governed by the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code at Title 20 of the Pennsylvania statutes. Guardian designations for minor children are made under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2519. Testamentary trusts created in a will are governed by 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 77. Estate administration proceedings are handled through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System Orphans Court division.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wills, Trusts, and Guardianship for New Parents in Pennsylvania
Do I need a trust if I already have a will?
A will alone distributes assets to whoever you name with no conditions on timing or use. If your beneficiaries include minor children, a trust provision controls when and how they receive those assets. Without it, everything distributes under court supervision until 18, then outright with no restrictions. A trust amendment adds the protective structure without starting the will from scratch.
Who should I name as guardian for my children in Pennsylvania?
Name someone who shares your values for raising children, has the capacity and willingness to take on the role, and has a stable living situation. Name an alternate in case your first choice cannot serve. Discuss the designation with the person before naming them — a guardian who does not know they have been named creates problems if both parents die suddenly. Do not assume a family member will automatically take on the role without the conversation.
Can the guardian also be the trustee?
They can be the same person but it creates a conflict of interest. The guardian benefits directly from trust distributions because the money is used for the child in their household. An independent trustee provides a check on distribution decisions that a combined guardian-trustee role does not. For smaller estates the conflict may be manageable. For larger estates or situations with potential family disagreement, an independent trustee is the better structure.
What age should the trust terminate in Pennsylvania?
There is no universal answer. Age 25 or 30 for full distribution with staged distributions before that is the most common structure. A one-third distribution at 25, one-third at 30, and the balance at 35 gives the beneficiary multiple opportunities to demonstrate financial judgment before receiving the full inheritance. The right age depends on the maturity of the beneficiaries, the size of the estate, and how much protection the parent wants to build in.
What is the hospital guardian form and does it count?
Hospitals sometimes ask parents to complete a form designating who should care for the child in an emergency. That form has no legal effect as a guardian designation under Pennsylvania law. Only a properly executed will under 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 21 creates a valid testamentary guardian designation. The hospital form may be useful for immediate emergency situations but it does not substitute for the will.
What happens if I die without a will in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania intestacy law distributes your estate to your heirs in a fixed statutory order. If you have a surviving spouse and children, the spouse receives the first $30,000 plus half the remaining estate. The children receive the other half. Minor children receive their share under court-supervised guardianship of the property until 18, then outright distribution with no conditions. There is no guardian designation and no trust protection. The court applies the best interest standard to choose who raises your children among whoever comes forward.
For related estate planning topics see our pages on wills and trusts in Pennsylvania, whether you need a trust, powers of attorney, and estate administration in Pennsylvania.