§ 2507. Modification by circumstances.
Wills shall be modified upon the occurrence of any of the following circumstances,
among others:
(1) Death within 30 days; religious and charitable gifts.--(Repealed).
(2) Divorce or pending divorce.--Any provision in a testator's will in favor of or relating to the testator's spouse
shall become ineffective for all purposes unless it appears from the will that the
provision was intended to survive a divorce, if the testator:
(i) is divorced from such spouse after making the will; or
(ii) dies domiciled in this Commonwealth during the course of divorce proceedings, no decree
of divorce has been entered pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 3323 (relating to decree of court)
and grounds have been established as provided in 23 Pa.C.S. § 3323(g).
(3) Marriage.--If the testator marries after making a will, the surviving spouse shall receive the
share of the estate to which he would have been entitled had the testator died intestate,
unless the will shall give him a greater share or unless it appears from the will
that the will was made in contemplation of marriage to the surviving spouse.
(4) Birth or adoption.--If the testator fails to provide in his will for his child born or adopted after making
his will, unless it appears from the will that the failure was intentional, such child
shall receive out of the testator's property not passing to a surviving spouse, such
share as he would have received if the testator had died unmarried and intestate owning
only that portion of his estate not passing to a surviving spouse.
(5) Slaying.--Any person who participates either as a principal or as an accessory before the fact
in the willful and unlawful killing of any person shall not in any way acquire property
or receive any benefits as the result of the willful and unlawful killing but such
property or benefits shall be distributed as provided by Chapter 88 (relating to slayers
and elder abusers).
(6) Elder abuse.--Any person who is convicted of offenses constituting elder abuse may not acquire property
or receive any benefits upon the death of the victim, but such property or benefits
shall be distributed as provided by Chapter 88.
(July 9, 1976, P.L.551, No.135, eff. imd.; Dec. 16, 1992, P.L.1163, No.152, eff. imd.;
Oct. 27, 2010, P.L.837, No.85, eff. 60 days; July 1, 2024, P.L.444, No.40, eff. 180
days)
2024 Amendment. Act 40 amended par. (5) and added par. (6).
2010 Amendment. Act 85 amended par. (2).
1992 Amendment. Act 152 amended pars. (2) and (3).
1976 Repeal. Act 135 repealed par. (1).
Cross References. Section 2507 is referred to in section 3153 of this title.
Notes of Decisions
Re: Trust Under Deed of D. Kulig Apl of Budke, C., 175 A.3d 222 (Pa. 2017).
· cites it 11× “2 asserts that it “imports 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2507, 2514, and 2517 and other statutory and judicial rules of interpretation that apply to trusts under wills,” i.”
In Re Est. of Fleigle, 664 A.2d 612 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995).
· cites it 6× “Further, we affirm the Orphans' Court determination that decedent's daughter was entitled to the entire estate as a pretermitted child, pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(4). In 1975, decedent executed a will leaving everything to his parents, if they survived him, and, if not, to…”
Est. of: Trust Under Deed of Kulig, D., 131 A.3d 494 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
· cites it 2× “2 “imports 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2507, 2514 and 2517 and other statutory and judicial rules of interpretation that apply to trusts under wills.”
Friedman v. Schoolman, 398 A.2d 615 (Pa. 1979).
· cites it 2× “" [4] Section 2507(3) of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(3) (1975) provides in pertinent part: "If the testator marries after making a will, the surviving spouse shall receive the share of the estate to which he would have been entitled had the…”
Bloom v. Selfon, 555 A.2d 75 (Pa. 1989).
· cites it 3× “Lee Orstein were rendered inoperative through 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(2), which provides: (2) Divorce.”
In Re Est. of Corso, 431 A.2d 253 (Pa. 1981).
· cites it 4× “164, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(2), provides for modification of a will by operation of law upon the divorce of a testator: "(2) Divorce If the testator is divorced from the bonds of matrimony after making a will, all provisions in the will in favor of or relating to his spouse so…”
Est. of: Richard Chennisi, Appeal of: Newman, L., 272 A.3d 67 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022).
· cites it 2× “Newman, as a pretermitted spouse, was entitled to take from the Estate as if Decedent had died intestate pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(3) (“If the testator marries after making a will, the surviving spouse shall receive the share of the estate to which he would have been…”
Bloom v. Selfon, 531 A.2d 12 (Pa. 1988).
“See 20 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 2507(2) (Purdon 1975) (discussed infra ).”
Long Est., 7 Pa. D. & C.4th 275 (1990).
· cites it 6× “20 Pa.C.S. §2507(1) (repealed). The Mortmain statute mandated the invalidation of any bequests or devises to religious or charitable organizations if the decedent’s will was executed within 30 days of his death and someone who would benefit by the invalidation of the will…”
Est. of Fridenberg v. Trs. of Univ., 474 A.2d 411 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1984).
“A similar provision is now found in 20 Pa. C. S. §2507. At the time of the 1943 audit, the principal balance of the trust fund was approximately $559,000.”
In re Est. of Cheney, 33 Pa. D. & C.4th 103 (1996).
· cites it 4× “By that decree we held that the decedent’s last will and testament, which had been admitted to probate by the Register of Wills of Bucks County, was modified pursuant to *105 20 Pa.C.S. §2507(3) by the decedent’s later marriage.”
Riley Est., 40 Pa. D. & C.3d 317 (1984).
· cites it 3× “508, 20 Pa.C.S. §2507. The legal question before us is whether the failure of the gift to the divorced spouse renders the will null and void resulting in an intestacy or whether the failure of the gift merely negates the provision of the will in favor of the divorced spouse and…”
— 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2507(1) — 2 cases
Long Est., 7 Pa. D. & C.4th 275 (1990).
“20 Pa.C.S. §2507(1) (repealed). The Mortmain statute mandated the invalidation of any bequests or devises to religious or charitable organizations if the decedent’s will was executed within 30 days of his death and someone who would benefit by the invalidation of the will…”
— 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2507(2) — 4 cases
Bloom v. Selfon, 555 A.2d 75 (Pa. 1989).
“Lee Orstein were rendered inoperative through 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(2), which provides: (2) Divorce.”
In Re Est. of Corso, 431 A.2d 253 (Pa. 1981).
“164, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(2), provides for modification of a will by operation of law upon the divorce of a testator: "(2) Divorce If the testator is divorced from the bonds of matrimony after making a will, all provisions in the will in favor of or relating to his spouse so…”
Bloom v. Selfon, 531 A.2d 12 (Pa. 1988).
“See 20 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 2507(2) (Purdon 1975) (discussed infra ).”
Riley Est., 40 Pa. D. & C.3d 317 (1984).
“508, 20 Pa.C.S. §2507. The legal question before us is whether the failure of the gift to the divorced spouse renders the will null and void resulting in an intestacy or whether the failure of the gift merely negates the provision of the will in favor of the divorced spouse and…”
— 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2507(3) — 10 cases
Friedman v. Schoolman, 398 A.2d 615 (Pa. 1979).
“" [4] Section 2507(3) of the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(3) (1975) provides in pertinent part: "If the testator marries after making a will, the surviving spouse shall receive the share of the estate to which he would have been entitled had the…”
Est. of: Trust Under Deed of Kulig, D., 131 A.3d 494 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“2 “imports 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2507, 2514 and 2517 and other statutory and judicial rules of interpretation that apply to trusts under wills.”
In Re Est. of Corso, 431 A.2d 253 (Pa. 1981).
“164, 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(2), provides for modification of a will by operation of law upon the divorce of a testator: "(2) Divorce If the testator is divorced from the bonds of matrimony after making a will, all provisions in the will in favor of or relating to his spouse so…”
Est. of: Richard Chennisi, Appeal of: Newman, L., 272 A.3d 67 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022).
“Newman, as a pretermitted spouse, was entitled to take from the Estate as if Decedent had died intestate pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(3) (“If the testator marries after making a will, the surviving spouse shall receive the share of the estate to which he would have been…”
— 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2507(4) — 1 case
In Re Est. of Fleigle, 664 A.2d 612 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995).
“Further, we affirm the Orphans' Court determination that decedent's daughter was entitled to the entire estate as a pretermitted child, pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 2507(4). In 1975, decedent executed a will leaving everything to his parents, if they survived him, and, if not, to…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.