California Probate Code 13100: Small Estate Affidavit Limits and Use

A California small estate affidavit lets a successor collect a deceased person’s personal property without opening probate, as long as the qualifying California estate is worth $208,850 or less for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.¹ You wait 40 days after the death, sign a sworn statement listing the required facts, attach a certified death certificate, and hand it to whoever holds the property. No judge is involved.

Who Can Use It and the Dollar Limit

You must be a “successor” of the decedent, meaning you are entitled to the property under the will or, if there is no will, under California’s intestate succession rules. At least 40 days must have passed since the date of death before you present the affidavit.²

The current ceiling is $208,850 for anyone who died on or after April 1, 2025.¹ The figure is adjusted every three years for inflation, with the Judicial Council publishing the updated amount.³ If the qualifying value goes over the ceiling, the affidavit will not work and you will need formal probate.

What Counts Toward the Limit

The threshold is measured against a narrower slice of the estate than most people expect. Section 13050 excludes several major categories from the gross value calculation, and those exclusions often decide whether an estate qualifies.⁴

Joint tenancy property that passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant.
Property held in a revocable trust.
Property passing to a surviving spouse under Probate Code 13500.
Multi-party bank accounts with a surviving co-owner or payable-on-death beneficiary, to the extent the funds belong to that person after death.
Registered vehicles and vessels, including cars, boats, manufactured homes, and mobile homes, which move through the DMV under separate procedures.
Compensation owed for the decedent’s Armed Forces service.
Salary or unused vacation pay owed to the decedent, up to $16,625 (also CPI-adjusted).

Real property located outside California is excluded entirely. It does not count toward the ceiling, and California’s small estate procedures cannot transfer it.

A quick example: someone looking at a bank account, a brokerage account, and a car might assume the estate is too large. If the car transfers through the DMV and a joint bank account passes to the co-owner, only the brokerage account and any solely owned bank accounts count.

What the Affidavit Must Say

The affidavit is a sworn statement signed under penalty of perjury, with the required contents set out in Section 13101.⁵ It must include:

The decedent’s full name, date of death, and place of death.
A statement that at least 40 days have passed since the death.
Either a declaration that no probate proceeding has been filed in California, or proof that the personal representative has consented in writing.
A statement that the gross fair market value of the decedent’s California property, excluding Section 13050 property, does not exceed the current threshold.
A specific description of the property being requested.
Your name and a declaration that you are the successor with no other person having a superior right.
A declaration under penalty of perjury that everything in the affidavit is true.

A certified copy of the death certificate must be physically attached. If a personal representative has consented, a copy of that consent and the letters must also be attached.⁵

Proving Your Identity to the Holder

Section 13104 requires reasonable proof of identity when you present the affidavit. In person, that means a current California driver’s license or ID (or one issued within the past five years), a U.S. passport, or a military ID. Someone personally known to the holder can also vouch for you in a sworn written statement.⁶

A notarized certificate of acknowledgment also satisfies the requirement, which is the practical route when you are dealing with a bank or brokerage firm remotely.⁶

Real Property Is a Different Track

The Section 13100 affidavit transfers personal property. Bank accounts, brokerage holdings, wages, and money owed to the decedent. It does not transfer real estate.

If the estate includes any real property in California, you must attach an inventory and appraisal of that real property to the affidavit. The appraisal has to be done by a probate referee appointed by the State Controller for the county where the property is located.⁷ This lets the holder confirm that the combined value of real and personal property stays under the threshold.

To transfer California real property itself, a separate procedure exists under Section 13200. It has its own dollar limit, requires filing with the superior court rather than presenting an affidavit to a holder, and imposes a six-month waiting period instead of 40 days. All funeral expenses, last-illness costs, and unsecured debts must be paid before filing.⁸

Getting the Holder to Release the Property

Once you present a valid affidavit, the bank, brokerage, employer, or other holder is legally required to release the property. Under Section 13105, if you have met all the requirements, you are entitled to the property.⁹

Institutions sometimes stall or refuse anyway. If that happens, you can sue to compel the transfer, and a court must award reasonable attorney’s fees if it finds the holder acted unreasonably in refusing.⁹ Citing Section 13105 in a follow-up letter often resolves the issue without going to court.

Debts You Take On With the Property

Collecting property through the affidavit does not mean you keep it free of the decedent’s obligations. Under Section 13109, you become personally liable for the decedent’s unsecured debts.¹⁰

Your exposure is capped at the fair market value of what you received, minus any liens or encumbrances on that property. If you collect $50,000 from a bank account and the decedent had $80,000 in credit card debt, creditors can pursue you for up to $50,000. Not the remaining $30,000. Creditors can enforce their claims against you the same way they could have enforced them against the decedent, and you can raise any defense the decedent would have had.¹⁰

Before you file the affidavit, check what the decedent owed. If unsecured debts approach or exceed the value of the property, the affidavit may save the cost of probate but still leave you with nothing after creditors are paid.

Getting the Facts Right

The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury. Overstating your right to the property, undervaluing the estate to squeeze under the threshold, or claiming no probate has been filed when one has can expose you to perjury charges and civil liability to other heirs.⁵ Holders rely on your sworn statements instead of judicial oversight.

Disputes among heirs are the other common trap. You must declare that no one else has a superior right to the property. If a sibling, stepchild, or creditor disagrees, they can challenge your claim after the fact. When the family situation is complicated or the will is ambiguous, talking to an attorney before filing is worth the cost of avoiding a fight over property that has already changed hands.

1
California Courts. DE-300 Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside and Disposition
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13100 – Affidavit Procedure for Collection or Transfer of Personal Property
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 890
4
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13050
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13101
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13104
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13103
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13200
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13105
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13109