Thanks, Robert, but I was really hoping that a PA title attorney would commetn on this.  I thought the same thing at first, except for this.  According to PA's laws of intestate succession, the surviving spouse gets the first $30,000 and half of the balance of the estate, with the other half divided equally among the surviving issue (children) of the decedent who are also the children of the surviving spouse.  I asked around the office and everyone seems divided on the issue. So I was looking for a more definitive answer from someone knowledgable with PA law.

Thanks for replying.

Brad Bradbury