California Small Estate Affidavit

California small estate rules at a glance

Can you use it?

You can generally use the California shortcut when all of these are true:

• The probate estate is $208,850 or less (gross value of California property that would otherwise go through probate, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025).
• Timing: 40 days after the death.
• No one has been appointed, or applied to be appointed, executor or administrator.
• Real estate: only small parcels: real property worth $69,625 or less has its own affidavit, and a primary residence up to $750,000 can pass by a court petition.

Other California rules

• Property held in joint tenancy, in a trust or with a named beneficiary does not count toward the limit.
• Other California real property worth $69,625 or less can be transferred with an Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value (Probate Code § 13200).

How to use the California affidavit

1. Add up the probate estate. List what the person owned in their name alone, with no beneficiary or surviving joint owner, at its value on the date of death.
2. Check the timing. 40 days after the death.
3. Get the paperwork. Use Judicial Council form DE-300, Maximum Values for Small Estates.
4. Sign it under oath, usually before a notary, listing each person entitled to the property and their share.
5. Give it to each holder. Hand a copy, with a certified death certificate, to each bank, broker or other holder. They pay or transfer what they hold.
6. Pay debts and distribute. Pay the funeral and valid debts, then distribute under the will or California's intestacy law. If you take more than your share, the other heirs and creditors can come after you for it.

The person's final income tax return is still due by April 15 of the year after the death. See the final tax returns guide, and Form 1310 to claim a refund without an executor.

A car has its own paperwork at the DMV: see how to transfer a car title after death in California (REG 5).

If the estate is over the limit

Then the estate goes through probate: the court appoints an executor, who gets letters testamentary (or letters of administration when there is no will) and settles the estate. California's court and forms are in the probate forms by state table. In California, creditors have this long to claim: 4 months after letters are first issued, or 60 days after notice to that creditor if later. See how long probate takes in California.

Use the probate cost calculator to estimate the court, attorney and executor fees.

California taxes on a small estate

California has no estate or inheritance tax, so a small estate owes no state death tax. See California estate tax for the rules heirs still meet, such as income tax on an inherited IRA.

Small estate affidavits in other states

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

Or compare them all in the 50-state table.

Related guides

• Letters testamentary: how executors get them, by state
• What is probate? How it works, step by step
• How long does probate take? Timeline by state
• Probate cost calculator: fees by state
• Probate court forms by state
• Transfer a car title after death, by state
• Executor checklist: what to do when someone dies
• Form 1310: claiming a deceased person's tax refund