Most people facing this question are a few weeks past a funeral, holding a stack of statements and a death certificate, and wondering whether the bank will ever release a parent's or spouse's account without a court case. Often a brother or sister is waiting on the answer too. This page walks through the simplified procedures California offers, what each covers, what counts toward the limits, and when the answer is a full probate instead.
What California's Small Estate Procedures Are
California has several simplified procedures that let heirs and beneficiaries transfer a person's property without opening a full probate case in Superior Court. Each comes from the California Probate Code, and each has its own conditions. The Judicial Council names them this way:
- The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property — a signed statement given to whoever holds the property.
- The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence — a court petition for the home the person lived in.
- The affidavit for real property of small value — a sworn statement filed with the court for low-value real estate.
- The spousal or domestic partner property petition — a court petition confirming property passes to the surviving spouse.
The difference between personal property and real property runs through all of them. Real property means land and buildings, such as a house or a lot. Personal property is nearly everything else: bank accounts, money owed to the person, furniture, jewelry, investments.
The dollar limits move. Under Probate Code section 890, the Judicial Council adjusts them every three years for inflation and publishes the current list. The California Courts guide to simple property transfers says the last updates were April 1, 2022, and April 1, 2025, with the next on April 1, 2028. Section 890 also says an adjustment does not apply when the death came before the adjustment date, so the date of death decides which limit applies.
The Affidavit for Collection or Transfer of Personal Property
This is the procedure most families mean when they say "small estate affidavit." In plain terms, the person entitled to an account or item signs a sworn statement, hands it to the bank, brokerage or other holder, and asks for the property. Probate Code section 13100 allows it "without procuring letters of administration or awaiting probate of the will," meaning without a court appointing anyone first.
The statute sets two conditions. First, the gross value of the person's real and personal property in California, leaving out the property described in Probate Code section 13050 and any property included in a primary-residence petition, cannot exceed the limit. Second, "40 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent." The California Courts guide lists the limit as $208,850 for a death on or after April 1, 2025, $184,500 for a death from April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025, and $166,250 for a death before April 1, 2022.
Section 13100 lets the successor collect money owed to the person, receive tangible personal property (physical things), and have debts, securities and similar rights transferred. A "successor of the decedent," under Probate Code section 13006, is the beneficiary or beneficiaries who take the item under the will, or, with no will, the person or people who inherit it under California's inheritance rules.
The affidavit transfers personal property only. It is furnished to the holder, not filed with a court.
When Real Property Is Involved: Two Separate Procedures
A house cannot pass by the personal-property affidavit; section 13100 reaches money, physical belongings and debts or securities. California offers two separate routes for real property, and they are not interchangeable. Both run through the Superior Court.
The petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. Under Probate Code section 13151, when a person dies leaving real property that was their primary residence in California and its gross value does not exceed the limit, the successor may petition the superior court of the county where the estate may be administered for an order that the petitioner has succeeded to it. The same 40-day wait that applies to the personal-property affidavit applies here. The petitioner delivers notice of the petition to each heir and devisee named in it within five business days of filing. Under Probate Code section 13150, the procedure is available only if no estate administration is being or has been conducted in California, or the personal representative consents in writing. The Judicial Council's form DE-310 calls for an appraisal by a probate referee, a state-appointed appraiser.
The $750,000 figure appears in section 13151 itself, as adjusted under section 890, and the Judicial Council's form DE-300 and form DE-310 both list it for a death on or after April 1, 2025. The California Courts guide gives the earlier home value limits as $184,500 for April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025, and $166,250 before April 1, 2022, and notes that the 2025 increase to $750,000 applies only if the property was the person's main home in California.
The affidavit for real property of small value. Under Probate Code section 13200, no sooner than six months after the death, the successor files a sworn affidavit with the superior court in the county where the person was domiciled, or, for someone not domiciled in California, any county where their real property is located. It needs a notary's acknowledgment, an inventory and appraisal by a probate referee, and a certified death certificate. The California Courts guide lists the limit as $69,625 for a death on or after April 1, 2025, $61,500 for April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025, and $55,425 before April 1, 2022.
Property held in a trust the person could revoke during life is excluded from these counts under section 13050. It is handled by the successor trustee under the trust's own terms. The broader choices around an inherited home are in what to do with an inherited house.
The Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition
For a surviving spouse, the question is often simpler and more personal: confirming that what the couple built together now belongs to the one who remains. Probate Code section 13650 lets a surviving spouse, or the personal representative, guardian or conservator of the surviving spouse's estate, petition the superior court of the county where the estate may be administered. The petition asks for an order that administration of all or part of the estate is not necessary because it is property passing to the surviving spouse.
The same petition may ask the court to confirm the surviving spouse's ownership of property that already belongs to them under the community property rules. It can cover all or part of the estate, so it may reach a house as well as accounts. Property the surviving spouse has elected to have administered in a regular probate is not covered, to the extent of that election.
Section 13650, as quoted in this article, does not state a 40-day or six-month waiting period, and it does not set a dollar limit of the kind that applies to the affidavits and the primary-residence petition. The petition turns instead on whether the property passes to the surviving spouse. The other limits and waits described on this page are tied to their own procedures.
This petition differs from the personal-property affidavit in where it goes. The affidavit goes to the bank or other holder. The spousal or domestic partner property petition goes to the court, which issues an order. The California Courts guide describes the related options for transferring property without formal probate.
What Does and Does Not Count Toward the Dollar Limit
The figure that matters is not everything the person owned. Probate Code section 13050 lists property left out when measuring the estate for these procedures:
- Property held as a joint tenant, or in which the person had a life interest or other interest that ended at death.
- Property that passed to the surviving spouse under the spousal rules referenced in the statute.
- Property in a trust the person could revoke during life.
- A multiple-party account, to the extent the money belongs after death to a surviving party, a P.O.D. (payable-on-death) payee, or a beneficiary.
- Registered vehicles, numbered vessels, and registered manufactured homes, mobilehomes, commercial coaches, truck campers and floating homes.
Section 13050 also leaves out the value of amounts owed for service in the U.S. Armed Forces and, up to a cap, salary or other compensation owed from employment. The Judicial Council's form DE-300 lists that cap as $20,875 for a death on or after April 1, 2025, and $18,450 for April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025.
The reason joint accounts fall outside the count comes from Probate Code section 5302: money left in a joint account at death belongs to the surviving party unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent, and a P.O.D. account goes to the named payee once the sole or last party dies.
What remains is measured at gross value, the value before debts are subtracted. If that remaining property is over the limit, a full probate is generally the path, though another listed procedure may still fit part of the estate.
The Personal-Property Affidavit in Practice
For the person doing this, the work is mostly paperwork and patience: gathering a few documents, signing one statement, and waiting on each institution's reply. Probate Code section 13101 lists what the affidavit or declaration states, including:
- The person's name, and the date and place of death.
- That the waiting period has run, as shown on an attached certified death certificate.
- That no estate administration is being or has been conducted in California, or that the personal representative consented in writing.
- That the gross value of California property, with the exclusions above, does not exceed the limit.
- A description of the property, and the name of the successor.
- That no one has a superior right to it, and a request that it be delivered.
The list continues in the statute. The signer affirms under penalty of perjury that the statements are true, and if more than one person signs, the statements are adjusted to reflect it.
Several attachments go with it. A certified copy of the death certificate is required. If a personal representative consented, copies of the consent and letters are attached. For a death on or after April 1, 2022, the published list of adjusted dollar amounts in effect on the date of death is attached; the Judicial Council's form DE-300 is that list.
The successor gives the affidavit to the holder of the property, not to a court. A holder may have its own paperwork, and learning what it requires is part of the process. The steps that come before and after this one are laid out in the estate settlement checklist.
When These Procedures Do Not Apply
The personal-property affidavit is unavailable when the counted property is over the limit for the date of death. A home over the primary-residence limit, or other real property over the small-value limit, generally points to a full probate, unless the spousal or domestic partner property petition covers it. The broader picture of how a full estate is settled is in the California estate settlement guide.
Debts are part of choosing a route. On the affidavit for real property of small value, the successor states that funeral expenses, last-illness expenses and unsecured debts have been paid, and the Judicial Council's form DE-305 notes the declarant may be personally liable for unsecured debts up to the property's fair market value and any income received from it. A probate attorney can explain how debts are handled in each path, including after a personal-property affidavit.
Where family members disagree or misconduct is suspected, that contested matter is a different subject, handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases. Real property located in another state is governed by that state's law.
Sorting Out Which Path Fits
Weighing a signed affidavit against a court petition or a full probate, while still answering calls from banks and relatives, is a lot to carry in the weeks after a death. The Find Your Next Step questionnaire at Silver Lining Estate asks about the reader's role, whether there is a will or a trust, whether a house or other real estate is involved, and what the reader is trying to work out, then points to the guides and the kinds of professionals that fit.
For a family still sorting out which of these routes applies, Silver Lining Estate is available to hear from anyone who would like to talk the situation through.
