The Small-estate Affidavit

What It Does

It is a sworn statement that the estate qualifies, that you are entitled to the property, and that no probate proceeding is pending. Used correctly it replaces months of court process with one document.

The Conditions that Have to Hold

• The gross value of the decedent’s California personal property is under the statutory threshold
• At least 40 days have passed since the death
• No probate proceeding is pending or has been granted
• You are a successor of the decedent as the statute defines it
• Every other successor has consented, or you have their signatures

Getting It Wrong Is Not Neutral

The affidavit is sworn. Overstating your entitlement or understating the estate is not a paperwork error. If the facts are close to a line, that is exactly when a consultation is worth more than the fee.

The Current Threshold

California lets the personal property of a small estate be collected by affidavit instead of probate, under Probate Code section 13100. The threshold moves, and the figure that governs your claim is the one in force on the date of death — not today’s.

The threshold is adjusted every three years against the Consumer Price Index. The 2025 increase came in through AB 2016.

The Two Conditions People Miss

Forty Days Must Have Passed

The affidavit cannot be used until at least forty days after the death. There is no way to shorten it and a claim filed early will be refused.

The Threshold Covers the Whole Estate

Not just the unclaimed property. If the deceased left $3,000 in an unclaimed account and $400,000 in a brokerage account, the estate is over the limit and this route is not available — even though the sum you are claiming is small. This is the single most common misunderstanding about section 13100.

What Counts Towards the Limit

Personal property: bank accounts, securities, vehicles, personal effects, money owed to the deceased. Section 13100 does not cover real property, which has its own procedures and its own thresholds. Property held in joint tenancy, in a living trust, or with a named beneficiary passes outside the estate and does not count.

What the Affidavit Has to Say

• That at least forty days have passed since the death
• That no proceeding is pending or has been conducted to administer the estate
• That the gross value of the estate’s personal property does not exceed the threshold
• A description of the property being claimed
• That the person signing is the successor in interest, and why
• That no other person has a superior right

It is signed under penalty of perjury, and a certified death certificate is attached. The State Controller requires it notarized.

Who May Sign

The successor in interest — the person entitled under the will, or under the rules of intestate succession where there is no will. Where several people are entitled, each may sign for their share, or all may sign together. What does not work is one relative signing on behalf of others without their agreement.

When This Route Is Wrong

• The estate exceeds the threshold for the date of death
• Probate has already been opened — use the Letters instead
• Heirs disagree about who is entitled
• The property is real property rather than personal property
• There is a will contest, or an unresolved question about who inherits

In every one of these, signing an affidavit under penalty of perjury is the wrong move. That is a moment to talk to a probate lawyer, not to a recovery firm.