California Probate Code Section 13006: Successors, Limits, and Liability

California Probate Code Section 13006 defines a “successor of the decedent” as either the sole beneficiary entitled to a specific piece of the decedent’s property (or all such beneficiaries acting together) when there is a will, or the sole person entitled to that property under intestate succession (or all such heirs acting together) when there is no will. That definition is the gate to California’s small estate affidavit: qualify, and you can collect personal property worth up to $208,850 without opening probate; fail to qualify, and the shortcut is closed no matter how modest the estate.¹

Who Section 13006 Calls a Successor

The statute splits into two tracks based on whether the decedent left a will.¹

If there is a will, you are a successor when you are the sole beneficiary named for the specific property you want to collect, or when every beneficiary entitled to that property joins in the claim. A trust named in the will also counts as a beneficiary if the will directs that particular property to the trust.

If there is no will, you are a successor when you are the sole person entitled to that property under California’s intestate succession rules, or when every person entitled to it acts together. When another state’s or a foreign country’s law governs who inherits a particular asset, that law applies instead of California’s.

The definition is property-specific. You can be the sole successor for one asset (a checking account left to you by name) and one of several successors for another (a brokerage account left to you and two siblings). Section 13006 is applied item by item, not to the estate as a whole.

Why “All Beneficiaries” or “All Heirs” Matters

The phrase “all of the beneficiaries” is where most people get stuck. If a will leaves a bank account to three siblings, one sibling cannot file the affidavit alone. All three have to sign. A single heir who refuses to participate, or who cannot be located, blocks the process for that asset and can push the family into full probate.

The same rule applies to intestate heirs. Everyone at the same priority level under the intestacy statute must join. You cannot leave out a half-sibling because they live overseas, and you cannot exclude a niece because she inherited through a deceased parent. If they are entitled, they sign, or the affidavit does not work.

How Intestate Succession Decides Who the Successors Are

When there is no will, you have to work through California’s intestate succession statute to figure out who the successors are. The share not passing to a surviving spouse follows a strict order of priority:²

The decedent’s children inherit first, splitting equally. If a child died before the decedent, that child’s own children step into the share.
If no children or grandchildren survive, the estate passes to the decedent’s parents equally.
If no parents survive either, the estate goes to the decedent’s brothers and sisters, with nieces and nephews inheriting the share of any deceased sibling.
The chain continues outward through grandparents, their descendants, and eventually to stepchildren’s descendants and in-laws of a predeceased spouse.

You stop at the first level that has a living taker. Everyone at that level is a successor for Section 13006 purposes, and every one of them has to participate in the affidavit.

What Successor Status Lets You Do

Being a successor under Section 13006 gives you access to the small estate affidavit procedure under Probate Code Sections 13100 through 13106. You present a sworn declaration directly to whoever holds the asset. No court order. No letters of administration. No letters testamentary. You can use it to collect money owed to the decedent, receive tangible personal property, and have financial accounts or securities transferred into your name.³

Two thresholds have to be met before the affidavit will work. The gross fair market value of all the decedent’s real and personal property in California cannot exceed $208,850. That figure applies to deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and the Judicial Council adjusts it every three years based on the Consumer Price Index; the next scheduled adjustment is April 1, 2028.⁴⁵ The threshold in effect at the time of death governs, so later adjustments do not apply retroactively. Second, at least 40 days must pass after the date of death before you present the affidavit, and you prove that by attaching a certified copy of the death certificate.³

What Doesn’t Count Toward the $208,850 Cap

Not everything the decedent owned counts against the limit. Section 13050 excludes several categories of property from the value calculation:⁶

Anything held in joint tenancy, which passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant.
Assets that transfer to a surviving spouse under community property or other spousal succession rules.
Property held in a revocable trust.
Multi-party bank accounts and pay-on-death or beneficiary-designated accounts where the balance belongs to a surviving party or named beneficiary.
Registered vehicles, boats, manufactured homes, and similar titled property, which have their own DMV transfer procedures.
Amounts due for Armed Forces service and up to $16,625 in unpaid salary or vacation compensation from the decedent’s employer.

These exclusions matter. An estate that looks well over the limit on paper often drops under it once the house held in joint tenancy, the car, and the life insurance paid to a named beneficiary come out of the calculation.

Boundaries: Real Property and Treasury Securities

The Section 13100 affidavit covers personal property only. Real estate is handled through a separate simplified procedure under Section 13200, which has its own six-month waiting period, requires filing with the superior court, needs a probate referee appraisal, and requires certification that funeral expenses, last-illness expenses, and unsecured debts have been paid.⁷ U.S. savings bonds and other Treasury securities are also outside the California affidavit; those transfer through FS Form 5336 filed with TreasuryDirect, which has its own $100,000 threshold and its own order of precedence starting with the surviving spouse.⁸

Debts and Fraud Liability After Collecting

Qualifying as a successor and collecting property does not close the book on the decedent’s obligations. If a full probate proceeding is later opened, you become personally liable to the estate for a proportional share of the decedent’s unsecured debts, with the property you received treated as if it had stayed in the estate for that calculation.⁹ Any debts you already paid on the decedent’s behalf get credited against that amount, so keeping receipts is worth the effort.

The other exposure is fraud. If you obtained property through a false affidavit, you are liable for three times the fair market value of what you took as of the date the affidavit was presented, less any liens.¹⁰ A person with a superior right to the property can sue to recover that treble amount up to three years after the affidavit was presented, or three years after the fraud was discovered, whichever is later. That is the practical reason to work out heirship carefully before signing: claim more than Section 13006 actually gives you, and the price is three times what you took.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13006 – Successor of Decedent
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 6402 – Intestate Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse
3
California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 13100 – Affidavit Procedure for Collection or Transfer of Personal Property
4
California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 890 – Adjustment of Dollar Amounts
5
California Courts | Self Help Guide. Small Estate Affidavit to Transfer Personal Property
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 13050 – Excluded Property
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California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 13200 – Affidavit of Real Property of Small Value
8
TreasuryDirect / Bureau of the Fiscal Service. FS Form 5336 – Disposition of Treasury Securities Belonging to a Decedent’s Estate Being Settled Without Administration
9
California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 13109.5 – Personal Liability of Transferee to Estate
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California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 13111 – Liability for Fraudulent Affidavit