The Act 95 Power of Attorney
Pennsylvania substantially revised its POA statute through Act 95 of 2014, effective January 1, 2015. The reforms were a response to the Vine v. Commonwealth decision and widespread financial-institution caution about accepting POAs.1
Key Act 95 features:
- Notice and acknowledgmentby the agent required; the agent must sign an Agent’s Acknowledgment understanding their fiduciary duty
- Hot powers— making gifts, creating a trust, changing beneficiary designations, exercising fiduciary powers — must be specifically authorized in the POA. Generic grants don’t cover them.
- Third-party safe harbor: institutions that reasonably rely on an apparently valid POA are protected; institutions that unreasonably refuse may face liability
- POAs executed before January 1, 2015 are still generally valid if they complied with the prior law, but modern bank-friendly POAs are recommended
Health Care POA (Act 169 of 2006)
PA’s health-care decision-making framework is at 20 Pa. C.S. §§5421-5471 (Act 169). The Health Care POA names an agent to make medical decisions when the principal cannot. Becomes effective on a physician’s determination of incapacity. Best practice: pair with a Living Will and (for seriously ill patients) a POLST?.2
The PA Inheritance Tax
Pennsylvania is one of only six US states with a state-level inheritance tax (the others are NJ, KY, MD, NE, and IA; Iowa’s tax is phasing out). The rate structure depends on the heir’s relationship to the decedent:3
- 0%: surviving spouse, lineal descendants under 21, charitable beneficiaries
- 4.5%: lineal descendants 21 and older (children, grandchildren, parents)
- 12%: siblings
- 15%: other heirs (nieces, nephews, friends, unrelated persons)
The tax applies to property passing at death, including property in revocable trusts and certain joint accounts. Some assets are exempt: life insurance proceeds payable to a named beneficiary, transfers to a spouse, certain retirement accounts payable to a named beneficiary.
The PA filial-responsibility risk
Covered in our PA Medicaid guide: 23 Pa. C.S. §4603 makes adult children of indigent parents potentially liable for unpaid nursing-home care under the Pittas precedent. Tight Medicaid-application timing is the primary defense. Knowing about the risk is the starting point.4
Orphans' Court — PA's probate institution
Probate in PA runs through the Orphans’ Court in each county (sometimes called Register of Wills office at the county-clerk level for routine probate filings). Two paths:
- Full probate / Letters Testamentary or Administration.Required for most estates with assets over $50,000. Typical PA probate runs 12–18 months
- Small estate?. Under 20 Pa. C.S. §3102, for estates with personal property under $50,000. Streamlined procedure
Best practice for PA families with meaningful assets: use a revocable living trust to avoid Orphans’ Court entirely for the bulk of assets. Note that property in a revocable trust is still subject to PA Inheritance Tax— trusts avoid probate, not the inheritance tax.
PA homestead and senior property tax relief
PA does not have a creditor-protection homestead? exemption like Florida or Texas. PA does offer:
- Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion(Act 50 of 1998) — partial property tax relief for principal residences
- Property Tax/Rent Rebate (PTRR)— state program for seniors 65+ with income under $48,110 (2026, post-2023 expansion). Up to $1,000/year refund
What to do this quarter
- Confirm POA is Act 95-compliant. If pre-2015, refresh with a PA attorney
- Confirm Health Care POA is current
- For families with lateral inheritance patterns (siblings, nieces/nephews), model the PA Inheritance Tax implications and plan accordingly
- If your parent qualifies for PTRR, file annually with the PA Department of Revenue