Probate Code §13100 · All of California
Small Estate Affidavit,
and no probate court
If the estate is $208,850 or less and 40 days have passed since the death, California law lets you collect the bank accounts, the brokerage account, the final paycheck and the car by sworn affidavit — no petition, no hearing, no judge. We prepare it for a flat $600, usually within two business days.
What a small estate affidavit actually is
Its formal name is the Affidavit for Collection, Receipt, or Transfer of Personal Property, and it lives in California Probate Code sections 13100 to 13116. It is a sworn statement, signed under penalty of perjury by the people entitled to inherit, that says: this person died, here is what they owned, it is under the statutory ceiling, forty days have passed, and no probate is pending.
You do not file it with a court. There is no case number, no $435 filing fee, no hearing date, no personal representative. You hand it to the bank, the credit union, the brokerage, the employer or the DMV, and under Probate Code §13105 they are required to release the property to you. If they refuse without reasonable cause, the statute lets you recover attorney fees.
That is the whole mechanism. The difficulty is never the concept — it is that a single missing recital, an unsigned successor, or a missing DE-300 attachment gives the bank a reason to send you away.
Four things have to be true before it works
Every one of these comes straight from the statute. If all four are true, you almost certainly do not need probate court for that property.
The estate is $208,850 or less
Gross value on the date of death, not today, and not net of debts. The figure is set by date of death: $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025; $184,500 for deaths between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2025; $166,250 before that.
At least 40 days have passed
Probate Code §13100 imposes a 40-day wait from the date of death. It cannot be waived, shortened, or argued around, and every institution counts the days.
No probate is pending or completed
If a probate case has been opened for this decedent, the affidavit route is closed unless the appointed personal representative consents in writing.
You are a successor in interest
The person named in the will, or the heir under intestate succession if there is no will, or the trustee where the asset belongs to a trust. Every successor entitled to the asset has to sign.
What counts toward the $208,850, and what does not
This is where most families guess wrong in both directions — some think they are over the ceiling when they are not, and some think they are under it when they are not. Probate Code §13050 controls the arithmetic.
Counts toward the limit
Solely owned bank and credit union accounts. Brokerage and investment accounts with no beneficiary. Vehicles, boats and mobile homes. Uncashed checks. Business interests. Personal property and household goods. Money owed to the decedent.
Does not count
Joint tenancy property, which passes by survivorship. Assets already titled in a living trust. Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts. Retirement accounts and life insurance with a named living beneficiary. Property held as community property with right of survivorship. Salary or other compensation owed for the decedent’s personal services, up to $20,875. A primary residence transferred by a separate §13151 petition.
The last two are the ones that rescue estates people assumed were too big. A house that goes through the primary-residence petition is excluded from the affidavit arithmetic entirely, so a family can move a residence worth up to $750,000 through one procedure and up to $208,850 of accounts through another, and still never open a full probate.
Which California procedure fits your situation
A small estate affidavit only moves personal property. Real estate has its own routes, and the ceilings are wildly different. These are the current figures from Judicial Council form DE-300, revised April 28, 2025, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
| Procedure | Ceiling | Covers | Wait | Court? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Estate Affidavit §13100 | $208,850 | Personal property only — accounts, vehicles, investments | 40 days | No court at all |
| Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence §13151 (DE-310) | $750,000 | The decedent’s California primary residence | 41st day | Yes — petition and order |
| Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value §13200 (DE-305) | $69,625 | Other California real property | 6 months | Filed with the court |
| Spousal Property Petition §13500 (DE-221) | No dollar limit | Community property passing to a surviving spouse, real or personal | None | Yes — petition and hearing |
| Full probate administration | Above the ceilings | Everything else | — | Yes — 9 to 18 months |
Form DE-300 must be attached to the affidavit itself — it is mandatory for any death on or after April 1, 2022, and a missing DE-300 is one of the most common reasons a bank hands the paperwork back. We attach it as a matter of course. These figures were last adjusted April 1, 2025 and, under Probate Code §890, are next scheduled to change April 1, 2028; despite what several websites currently claim, no increase took effect in April 2026.
Need one of the other routes instead? See probate document preparation, or read about clearing a deceased owner’s name from title.
The five steps, start to released funds
There is no court queue in this process, so the timeline belongs almost entirely to you and the institution. Most families are holding released funds inside two to four weeks of ordering.
You tell us what the estate holds
The decedent, the date of death, whether there is a will, who the successors are, and a list of every account or item you need released with its date-of-death value. About ten minutes online, and no payment is required to begin.
We confirm the numbers against the statute
We apply the §13050 exclusions, total what actually counts, and confirm which date-of-death ceiling governs. If the total lands over the limit, we tell you before you pay anything, not after.
We draft the affidavit
Every recital §13101 requires, in the order institutions expect to read them, with form DE-300 attached and a separate signed original prepared for each bank, brokerage, employer or DMV office on your list.
You sign in front of a notary
Every successor entitled to the property signs. Institutions almost universally require notarized signatures and a certified copy of the death certificate attached to each original. We include a checklist showing who signs what.
You present it and the property is released
Hand it across the counter with photo identification. Under Probate Code §13105 the holder must transfer the property to you. Banks commonly release within a few business days; the DMV processes vehicle transfers on its own schedule.
Free form, TruPoint, or a probate attorney — the honest comparison
You have three real options. All three can work. They differ in what happens when the bank pushes back.
| Free form off the internet | TruPoint Legal — $600 | Probate attorney | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $0 to $60 | $600 flat, quoted before you pay | $1,500 to $3,500 hourly for the same affidavit |
| Who checks the §13050 exclusions | You do | We do, before you pay | They do |
| DE-300 attached | Usually missing — the single most common rejection | Always attached | Yes |
| Current dollar ceiling | Many free templates still show $166,250 or $184,500 | $208,850, verified against DE-300 Rev. 4/28/2025 | Yes |
| Multiple institutions | You retype it each time | A separate signed original for every institution on your list | Yes, billed per document |
| If the bank refuses | You start over | We revise the affidavit to their stated objection at no extra charge | They can litigate under §13105 |
| Legal advice on strategy | None | None — we are not attorneys and say so plainly | Yes, and that is what you are paying for |
If the estate is contested, if the heirs disagree, or if you need someone to advise you on strategy or represent you, hire an attorney — that is the right call and we will say so on the phone. What we do is prepare the document correctly, at your direction, for a fraction of what hourly drafting costs.
The objections we hear every week
Can I not just download a free form?
You can, and if the estate is one small credit union account you may be fine. The failures we get called about are missing DE-300 attachments, stale dollar ceilings, successors who never signed, and templates from other states. A second rejection costs more in time than the fee.
Do I need a lawyer for this?
California does not require one. This is a self-help procedure the Legislature built to be used without counsel. A Registered Legal Document Assistant is the category the law created for people who want the document prepared properly without hiring an attorney.
My bank says it has its own form
Some do, and some of those forms are not compliant with §13101. A bank form also only works at that bank. Bring us their form and we will prepare a statutory affidavit that satisfies it and works everywhere else too.
There is a house, so probate is required
Not necessarily. A primary residence up to $750,000 has its own petition and is excluded from the affidavit total. Real property of small value has its own affidavit. Ask before you assume the estate needs full administration.
We are already past 40 days — are we too late?
No. Forty days is a floor, not a deadline. There is no expiry on the small estate affidavit; families come to us years after a death, usually when a dormant account surfaces.
Is $600 not a lot for one document?
Statutory probate fees on a $500,000 estate run roughly $26,000 before the $435 filing fee. The comparison that matters is not free form versus $600 — it is $600 versus the administration you avoid by getting this right.
What the flat $600 covers
One price, quoted before you pay, with nothing added afterwards.
- Review of your asset list against the Probate Code §13050 exclusions
- The affidavit drafted to every §13101 requirement
- Judicial Council form DE-300 attached as the statute requires
- A separate signed original for each institution you name
- A signing and notary checklist showing who signs what
- One revision if an institution states an objection
Paid separately, at cost, to whoever charges them: notary fees, certified death certificates from Vital Records, and any DMV or institutional transfer charge. Vehicle transfers, additional institutions beyond your original list, and any court petition are quoted separately.
Questions people ask before starting
What is a small estate affidavit in California?
What is the small estate affidavit limit in California for 2026?
How much does a small estate affidavit cost in California?
How long do I have to wait after the death?
Can I use a small estate affidavit for a house or real estate?
Does a California small estate affidavit have to be notarized?
What if the bank refuses to accept the affidavit?
Who has to sign the small estate affidavit?
What documents do I need to attach?
Do I need a lawyer to prepare a small estate affidavit?
What happens if the estate is worth more than $208,850?
Can I use a small estate affidavit if there is a will?
Can I transfer a car with a small estate affidavit?
How long does the whole process take?
Do I have to come to your San Jose office?
How do I stop my own family from going through this?
Send us the account list, we take it from there
Flat $600 to prepare the affidavit. No payment to begin, and nothing is charged until you have approved the fee. If the estate turns out not to qualify, we tell you before you pay.
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