New Pennsylvania Law Ensures That Final Gifts Stay Local
Centre Foundation will now steward certain estate gifts under Pennsylvania’s new Act 50 of 2025 for residents of Centre, Clinton, Juniata, and Mifflin counties, ensuring that when individuals die without heirs or a will, their assets remain in the communities where they lived, supporting local nonprofits and public good in perpetuity.
For more than half a century, Pennsylvania law quietly imposed a harsh outcome on a small but important group of people. When a Pennsylvanian died without a will and without a surviving family, their entire estate was claimed by the Commonwealth and absorbed into the state budget.
That changed on January 23, 2026.
Thanks to Act 50 of 2025, Pennsylvania has ended what many have described as a “100% tax” on dying without family or a will. Instead of assets going to Harrisburg, estates will now remain in the counties where individuals lived. For residents of Centre, Clinton, Juniata, and Mifflin counties, this means assets that once would have left their communities will now stay local—supporting charities and strengthening the places where people lived, worked, and contributed throughout their lives.
“This new law respects the lives people built here,” said David Lieb, President and CEO of Centre Foundation. “For individuals who spent their years working, giving, and contributing to their communities, Act 50 ensures their final gift continues to support the place they called home.”
Under Act 50, when no heirs can be found, the estate will now be placed into an endowed community fund at the community foundation serving the decedent’s county of residence. These endowed funds are designed to exist permanently, providing grants and support to local nonprofits year after year.
In Centre County, estates received under Act 50 will be directed to the Fund for Centre County, an endowed community fund that provides lasting support for local nonprofits and emerging community needs.
“The Fund for Centre County is overseen by a volunteer Board comprised of community leaders with deep local knowledge and trusted relationships with our nonprofit partners throughout Centre County,” Lieb said. “That local oversight helps ensure these dollars remain here and are used where they matter most.”
Because not every Pennsylvania county is served by its own community foundation, Centre Foundation has also been designated to steward these gifts for residents of Clinton, Juniata, and Mifflin counties. Estates from those counties will be placed into permanently endowed funds named for each respective county, with annual grant funding used exclusively to support nonprofit organizations and community needs within that county. Like the Fund for Centre County, these endowed funds are designed to exist in perpetuity, ensuring each individual’s legacy continues to benefit the community they called home.
This change ensures that a person’s legacy continues to serve others. By endowing these estates locally, their life savings will support nonprofit organizations, strengthen essential services, and benefit the communities where they lived.
The reform was developed through collaboration between the Registers of Wills & Clerks of Orphans’ Court Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, and was approved with bipartisan support before being signed by Governor Josh Shapiro.
Pennsylvania is now the only state in the nation to guarantee that estates without heirs are permanently dedicated to charitable purposes within the decedent’s home community.
Importantly, this law does not replace the need for personal estate planning. Writing a will remains the best way to ensure personal wishes are carried out, including leaving a legacy to the causes one cares about most.
A recent demographic study predicts $418 billion will transfer between generations across Pennsylvania over the next decade. In Centre County alone, an estimated $4.5 billion will transfer by 2033, presenting a significant opportunity to strengthen local nonprofits and community services through charitable giving.
But when life doesn’t follow a plan, Act 50 ensures that dignity, fairness, and community values guide the outcome.
For those who leave no family behind, Pennsylvania has chosen not to take, but to give back. And that legacy will endure, county by county, for generations to come.
To learn more about legacy giving through Centre Foundation, contact Kerry Tolton, Development and Stewardship Director, at kerry@centrefoundation.org or 814.237.6226.