A two-question check before you start gathering paperwork.
Most U.S. states allow heirs to settle a modest estate with a sworn affidavit instead of full probate, but each state sets its own cap and its own rules about what counts toward it. This finder compares an estate value against the statutory caps in the state you select and points to the procedure that fits.
Is the small-estate path open to you?
Choose the state of the deceased’s residence and enter the approximate value of the assets that would pass through probate. We compare against the statutory caps and surface the procedure that fits.
We do not store anything you enter. The check runs in your browser only.
In California, an estate of $95,000 falls within at least one applicable threshold.
- Eligible — Personal property up to $208,850 — within range.Eff Apr 1 2025 (AB 2016, Stats 2024 Ch 331). Pre-Apr 2025 figure was $184,500. Personal property only — DE-160 affidavit.
- Exceeds — Real property up to $69,425 — exceeds.Real property of small value — DE-305 affidavit. Inflation-adjusted per § 890; verify against current Judicial Council DE-300.
- Eligible — Primary residence up to $750,000 — within range.Primary residence petition under § 13151 et seq. — added by AB 2016 (2024), effective Apr 1 2025. New pathway, distinct from §§ 13100 / 13200.
How this works
The figure to enter is the value of the assets that would otherwise pass through probate. That generally means assets the deceased owned in their sole name with no beneficiary attached. Property held jointly with rights of survivorship, retirement accounts and life insurance with named beneficiaries, and accounts marked transfer-on-death or payable-on-death usually pass to the named person directly and are not counted here.
Several states distinguish between personal property, real property, and (in California) a primary residence — each with its own cap. When the state you select uses more than one cap, the finder reports each tier independently rather than collapsing them into a single number. A few states (Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio) extend a higher cap when the surviving spouse is the sole heir; if you select one of these, a checkbox appears so the finder can apply the right cap.
Georgia and New Hampshire do not gate their simplified procedures on estate size at all — eligibility is structural, depending on who the heirs are and whether anyone disputes the distribution. For those two states, the dollar question doesn’t apply, and the finder routes you to the structural test instead.
We do not save what you enter. The check runs in your browser, the page makes no network requests with your inputs, and nothing is written to local storage, cookies, or analytics. Reload the page and the values reset.
This is reference information about state law, not legal advice for your specific situation. The full state guides cite each statute. The methodology page explains how we verify and update.