51 jurisdictions · statutes read 2026-10-20

Does this estate need probate?

The small-estate route fits these figures

Affidavit for collection of personal property — Cal. Prob. Code § 13100.

Limit that applies: $208,850; measured as the gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California, excluding property described in Probate Code § 13050.

Read from the statute on 2026-10-20. Details: California small estate · timeline. General information, not legal advice.

1Median affidavit limit $62,500
2Median waiting period 30 days
3Median claim period 4 months
4Fee schedules 13 states

What the checker answers

Most states let a small estate skip full probate. The ways in vary: an affidavit handed to the bank, a sworn statement filed with the court clerk, or a short court proceeding. Each has a dollar limit set by statute, often a waiting period after the death, and rules about what property counts. The checker reads those rules from the statute itself for 51 jurisdictions and tells you which route the figures you enter fall into, the earliest date the route opens, when the creditor claim period ends, and the court fee where the fee schedule could be read.

The median dollar limit across the 48 jurisdictions with a figure is $62,500. The highest is Wyoming at $400,000; the lowest is Rhode Island at $15,000. Where a waiting period is written into the law, the median is 30 days after death. Three states — Georgia, Kentucky and New Hampshire — offer a simplified route with no dollar ceiling at all, and Maine, Michigan, Colorado and Alabama tie their limit to an inflation adjustment.

How many of the 48 jurisdictions with a dollar figure fall in each small-estate limit band, in thousands of dollars (general limit, not the spouse figure).

Three things the statutes measure differently

What counts toward the limit. Texas leaves out the homestead and exempt property; Nevada leaves out registered vehicles; New York counts only personal property; Oregon tests personal property and real property against two separate limits.
Who may use it. North Carolina, Nevada, Maryland and Ohio raise the limit when a surviving spouse takes the estate; New Jersey's affidavit exists only where there is no will.
Whether real estate is allowed. Connecticut, Massachusetts and Delaware shut the route to estates holding real property in the state; Missouri, Arkansas and Florida allow it.

Browse by state

Small estate affidavit limits51 jurisdictions: dollar limit, waiting period, what counts, statute. How long probate takes39 creditor claim periods with worked dates. Probate court fees13 state fee schedules, fee by estate value. GuidesWhat probate is, what skips it, executor timeline.

Probate Clock is a reference site, not a law firm. It does not give legal advice, does not refer you to lawyers and is paid by no one in a probate matter. The free, official route is your county probate court or its clerk, whose self-help pages and forms are written for people acting without a lawyer. Every figure here links to the statute or fee schedule it came from; read that before relying on it.