California small estate limit: $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025

For a death on or after April 1, 2025, California's small estate affidavit (Probate Code sections 13100 and 13101) can be used when the gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California, after the exclusions listed below, is $208,850 or less. The figure is $184,500 for deaths from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2025, and $166,250 for earlier deaths. At least 40 days must pass after the death before the affidavit can be used.

Figures above were read from the Judicial Council of California's Probate Code section 890 table and form DE-300 on 2026-10-11. See sources.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Whether a procedure fits depends on the facts of the estate; a probate attorney or the superior court's self-help center can help with a specific case.

The limit depends on the date of death

Probate Code section 890 requires the Judicial Council to adjust these dollar amounts every three years. The Judicial Council's published table says the amounts were adjusted on April 1, 2022, and April 1, 2025, and ends with this line: "Unless otherwise provided by statute, these amounts will next be adjusted on April 1, 2028."

The date that decides which figure applies is the date of death, not the date the affidavit is signed. A death in 2026 uses the column for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.

Where $208,850 comes from, and where $184,500 still appears

The $208,850 figure is the April 1, 2025 inflation adjustment under section 890. It did not come from Assembly Bill 2016 (Stats. 2024, ch. 331). According to the Judicial Council's table, AB 2016 changed only the real property petition under sections 13150 to 13157, by raising its maximum to $750,000 and "limiting the use of the procedure to the decedent’s primary residence in California."

Some official pages still show the older figure. On 2026-10-11, the California Courts Self-Help Guide page on the small estate affidavit said "if the decedent died on April 1, 2022, or later, the estate is small if it is valued at $184,500 or less", and the opening section of the guide's page When formal probate may not be needed said "If the person died on April 1, 2022, or later, it is $184,500". The table further down that second page, form DE-300 and the Judicial Council table all give $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. The DMV's vehicle form REG 5 (REV. 12/2024) lists only $166,250 and $184,500.

What counts toward the limit, and what does not

Form DE-300 describes the test as the gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California, excluding the property described in Probate Code section 13050 and any property included in a petition filed under section 13151. California real estate counts toward the total even though this affidavit cannot transfer it.

The Self-Help Guide lists what to leave out of the total:

• Cars, boats and mobile homes
• Real property outside California
• Property held in trust, including a living trust
• Property the decedent owned with someone else in joint tenancy, and bank accounts owned by more than one person
• Community, quasi-community or separate property that passed directly to the surviving spouse or domestic partner
• Life insurance, death benefits and other non-probate assets that pass directly to named beneficiaries
• Unpaid salary or other compensation up to the DE-300 amount ($20,875 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, under section 13050(c))

Debts are not subtracted. The guide says: "You are not allowed to subtract the debts of the person who died." Life insurance or retirement benefits payable to the estate itself, rather than to a named person, are counted.

The 40-day wait and the other conditions

• Waiting period. The Self-Help Guide says: "You cannot start this process unless at least 40 days have passed since the person passed away."
• No formal probate case. The affidavit is not available if a probate case is already open, unless the personal representative gives written permission.
• Signatures. Every other person entitled to inherit the property must also sign the affidavit.
• Notary. "Legally, you are not required to have the Affidavit notarized." The guide adds that many institutions ask for it anyway.
• Attachments. A certified copy of the death certificate, proof that the decedent owned the property, and proof of identity. If the decedent owned real property in California, an Inventory and Appraisal (form DE-160) signed by a probate referee must also be attached.
• No court filing. The affidavit is given to the bank, company or person holding the property. If they refuse it, the guide suggests referring them to Probate Code sections 13100 to 13106.

Real estate: two separate procedures

The Self-Help Guide states: "You cannot use this type of Affidavit to transfer real property (like a house, building, or land)". California has two other summary procedures for real property, each with a Judicial Council form.

Form DE-305 states: "At least six months have passed since the decedent's death." Form DE-310 states: "At least 40 days have passed since the decedent's death." Both require an inventory and appraisal of the real property by a probate referee, using forms DE-160 and DE-161.

Official forms named on courts.ca.gov

• DE-300, Maximum Values For Small Estate Set-Aside & Disposition of Estate Without Administration (Rev. April 28, 2025). It says it must be attached, for deaths on or after April 1, 2022, to an affidavit or declaration under section 13101, to forms DE-305 and DE-310, and to a spouse's salary affidavit under section 13601.
• DE-305, Affidavit Re Real Property of Small Value (Rev. January 1, 2026).
• DE-310, Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence, and DE-315, Order Determining Succession to Primary Residence (both Rev. April 28, 2025).
• DE-160, Inventory and Appraisal, and DE-161, Inventory and Appraisal Attachment.
• DE-221, Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition, which the Self-Help Guide describes for a surviving spouse or domestic partner who is legally entitled to all of the property.

For the section 13100 affidavit itself, the Self-Help Guide does not name a Judicial Council form. It says to ask the bank or company holding the property first, because "Many companies and institutions have their own and will want you to use their version." Otherwise it points to a local court self-help center or a law library sample, such as the one from the Sacramento Law Library. For vehicles and vessels, the DMV uses its own form, REG 5, Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate.

Other states set their limits very differently; Texas, for example, requires a judge's approval. See the Texas small estate affidavit and small estate limits in the 10 largest states.

What we could not confirm

• The statute text on the Legislature's own site (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov) was not read for this page. Section numbers and amounts come from the Judicial Council table, the Judicial Council forms and the Self-Help Guide.
• The full subsection-by-subsection text of Probate Code section 13050. The exclusion list above is the Self-Help Guide's summary, and the guide itself refers readers to section 13050 for details.
• Court filing fees for forms DE-305 and DE-310. We did not check them.
• Why form DE-305 was revised effective January 1, 2026. The form shows the revision date; we did not find the Judicial Council material explaining it.
• Whether the DMV plans to update REG 5. The file served from the DMV site on 2026-10-11 was REV. 12/2024.

Sources

• Maximum Amounts for Determining Eligibility for Summary Succession Procedures (Probate Code section 890 table) - Judicial Council of California, courts.ca.gov (PDF), read 2026-10-11
• Form DE-300, Maximum Values For Small Estate Set-Aside & Disposition of Estate Without Administration, Rev. April 28, 2025 - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-11
• Form DE-305, Affidavit Re Real Property of Small Value, Rev. January 1, 2026 - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-11
• Form DE-310, Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence, Rev. April 28, 2025 - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-11
• Form DE-315, Order Determining Succession to Primary Residence, Rev. April 28, 2025 - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-11
• Small estate affidavit to transfer personal property - California Courts Self-Help Guide, read 2026-10-11
• When formal probate may not be needed - California Courts Self-Help Guide, read 2026-10-11
• Form pages for DE-160, DE-161 and DE-221 - California Courts Self-Help Guide (DE-160), (DE-161), (DE-221), read 2026-10-11
• REG 5, Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate, California Titled Vehicle or Vessel Only, REV. 12/2024 - California DMV (PDF), read 2026-10-11

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