What Is an Elective Share of an Estate?

When your spouse sadly passes away, you may feel a little comfort knowing that they considered you greatly in their estate plan. However, at their Last Will and Testament reading, you may be blindsided in learning that they left little to nothing behind for you to inherit. While you may not be trying to be selfish, these orders may completely turn your life upside down, more than it already has, since losing your partner. What’s more, you may now be stressed over how you are going to support yourself independently for the first time in a long time. This is way you may look into Pennsylvania’s elective share statutes. Please continue reading to learn more about the elective share and how one of the experienced Butler County estate planning attorneys at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can help you file for yours before the given deadline.

What is an elective share of an estate in Pennsylvania?

Simply put, an elective share is a surviving spouse’s legal right to claim a minimum guaranteed portion of their deceased spouse’s property, regardless of whether their Last Will and Testament document instructs otherwise. This is for the sake of spousal protection and fairness, as the law assumes that a surviving spouse has a certain level of financial privileges unless otherwise waived in another legal agreement (i.e., a prenuptial agreement).

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a surviving spouse generally has the right to one-third of certain property. By “certain property,” this means anything that is expected to pass through the probate process. As far as non-probate assets go, they may even attempt to claim jointly-owned property, assets in a revocable trust, life insurance, retirement accounts, and death benefits. This is thanks to the augmented estate calculation, which prevents a surviving spouse from being completely disinherited through non-probate transfers.

How do I file for an elective share in Pennsylvania?

Now that you better understand your legal rights as a surviving spouse, you must take action to retrieve your elective share. For this, you must make the election in writing, sign it, and file it with the clerk of the Orphans’ Court Division in the county where your deceased spouse resided. Importantly, at this time, you must also give proper notice of your action to the appointed executor of your deceased spouse’s estate.

As a general rule of thumb, you should file your election within six months of your spouse’s death or within six months of the probate process for their estate being initiated. A failure to meet this procedural deadline may mean that you effectively waive your legal rights to your deceased spouse’s property and assets. Even if you qualify for an extension under rare circumstances, you typically must petition for it within this six-month timeframe, as well.

So, if you are ready to step foot into this legal path, do not do so until you have retained one of the skilled Butler County estate planning attorneys from Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC. We look forward to your phone call and to taking on your case.