Small Estate Value Limits by State
The limit is not one national number. Each state tests its own value definition, and many states run two or three lanes with different limits. This directory states the cap and the value definition for each lane, from the banked research, and flags the figures that failed verification instead of printing them.
Value limits by state
| State | Cap | Value definition |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Vehicles $100,000 plus other personal property $50,000; summary no flat cap | Two-limb test; summary is a relative allowances test |
| Alabama | No flat cap | Homestead plus exempt property plus family allowances as adjusted under section 43-8-116 |
| Arkansas | $100,000 | All property less encumbrances; homestead and spouse and minor-children allowances excluded from the calculation only |
| Arizona | $200,000 personal property; $300,000 real property | Separate tracks; see the Arizona guide |
| California | Not verified in the banked research files | See the California guides and the California limits checker |
| Colorado | 2026 $88,000; 2025 $86,000; 2024 $82,000; 2023 $80,000; 2022 $74,000; 2021 $70,000; 2020 $70,000 | Fair market value less liens and encumbrances, including real property value; cap follows the year of death |
| Connecticut | $40,000; $1,000 medical benefits lane | Aggregate solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, excluding nonprobate-passing property; no solely owned Connecticut real property |
| Delaware | $50,000 | Personal estate excluding section 1901(b) and (c) property and jointly owned property; no lien deduction stated |
| Hawaii | $100,000 | Gross value of the estate in this State; vehicles registered in the decedent name transferable regardless of value, counting ambiguity flagged |
| Iowa | $100,000 | Gross value of personal property distributable by will or intestacy; no interest in real estate |
| Idaho | $100,000; summary no flat cap | Fair market value of the entire estate subject to probate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances |
| Illinois | $150,000 | Non-vehicle personal property value; Secretary of State vehicles listed separately |
| Indiana | $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000 by year of death; summary sum test $25,000 or $50,000 | Gross probate estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances and reasonable funeral expenses |
| Kansas | $75,000, both lanes | Total assets subject to probate; no deduction stated |
| Kentucky | No flat estate cap; $30,000 exemption test; $2,500 bank lane | Exemption plus preferred claims paid at least equal to distributable assets |
| Louisiana | $200,000 Louisiana domiciliary; $125,000 ancillary; any value on the 20-year route | Gross value valued as of the date of death; 20-year route runs to execution |
| Massachusetts | $25,000; summary no flat cap | Other personal property excluding one motor vehicle; estate entirely personal property |
| Maryland | $50,000; $100,000 spouse sole legatee or heir fork | Fair market value less debts of record secured by the property, as of death, property subject to administration in Maryland |
| Maine | $40,000 base, inflation adjusted; no adjusted figure verified | Entire estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances; adjustment keyed to year of death |
| Michigan | $50,000 base, adjusted; 2024 $50,000, 2025 $51,000; assignment mortgage cap 2024 $250,000, 2025 $257,000 | Entire estate wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances; no real property |
| Minnesota | $75,000 affidavit; $150,000 summary closing | Entire probate estate wherever located less liens and encumbrances; summary is gross probate estate exclusive of exempt homestead and exempt property |
| Missouri | $40,000 | Net entire estate less liens, debt, and encumbrances, including real property |
| Mississippi | $75,000; safe-deposit $50,000; bank lane $12,500 | Entire probate estate wherever located, excluding liens and encumbrances; republication tier, not primary verified |
| Montana | $100,000; Department of Revenue fork $5,000 or less; summary no flat cap | Value of the probate estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances |
| North Dakota | $100,000; summary no flat cap | Entire estate subject to distribution under chapters 30.1-01 through 30.1-23, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances |
| Nebraska | $100,000 personal property; $100,000 real property; summary no flat cap | All personal property wherever located less liens and encumbrances; real property interest from assessment rolls for the year of death less taxes and interest due at death |
| New Hampshire | No dollar cap | No affidavit lane; $25,000 is a bond rule, never a cap |
| New Jersey | $50,000 spouse or partner; $20,000 heirs | Total real plus personal property for the spouse track; intestate only |
| New Mexico | $50,000; summary no flat cap; homestead assessed value $500,000 or less | Entire estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances; affidavit may not perfect title to real estate |
| Oklahoma | $50,000 affidavit; $200,000 or other gate summary; $150,000 dispensing track; $50,000 bank lane | Fair market value of Oklahoma property subject to disposition at death, less liens and encumbrances |
| Oregon | $75,000 personal property plus $200,000 real property and manufactured homes | Two limbs combined; no lien reduction stated in the checker data |
| Pennsylvania | $50,000 petition; direct-payment lanes $10,000, $20,000, $10,000, $11,000, $20,000; $50,000 section 3531; $3,500 family exemption | Gross value exclusive of real estate and section 3101 property for the petition |
| Rhode Island | $15,000, both tracks | Section 33-9-1 inventory value exclusive of tangible personal property; estate entirely personal property |
| South Dakota | $100,000 personal property; $50,000 real property | Entire estate wherever located less liens and encumbrances; real property interest per assessment rolls or fair market value at death |
| Tennessee | $50,000 | Does not exceed $50,000; probate property means personal property only |
| Texas | $75,000 | Excluding homestead and exempt property; affidavit date; intestate only |
| Utah | $100,000; summary no flat cap; vehicle fork 4 vehicles excluded | Entire estate subject to administration wherever located, less liens and encumbrances |
| Virginia | $75,000 affidavit; $35,000 no-affidavit lane | Entire personal probate estate at death, excluding real property |
| Vermont | $45,000; waiver no cap | Fair market value, entirely personal property plus a time-share-estate exception |
| Washington | $100,000 | Entire probate estate excluding the surviving spouse or domestic partner community property interest |
| Wisconsin | $50,000, all three tracks | Affidavit: gross value; settlement and assignment: net of secured debts |
| West Virginia | $50,000; small sums lane $5,000; $100,000 real-estate figure is definition only | Total aggregate fair market value at death of all probate personal property and assets; lane bars any probate real property since July 9, 2025 |
| Wyoming | $400,000, all three tests | Affidavit: Wyoming-located; creditor affidavit: wherever located; summary decree: entire estate including personal property, unqualified |
Tools
Use the Small Estate Value Limit Lookup to compare an entered value against each single-number cap. The Small Estate Waiting Period Checker states the wait for the same states.
Source
Caps and value definitions from research files A412 through A460 in the Veldica Traffic Ledgers backlog, with closure files A455 through A460 superseding base files where they correct a figure, plus the live eligibility checker data verified 2026-10-31 for Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Illinois. Figures that failed verification are excluded and disclosed here: Maine $51,100 is not verified; Michigan 2026 figures are secondary only; North Dakota $50,000 is stale; Wyoming $200,000 is dead since July 1, 2025; Mississippi $50,000 is dead law; Kansas $40,000 survives only on stale form copies. Mississippi $75,000 is republication tier, not primary verified. Facts verified 2026-10-31 through 2026-11-02.
This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state motor vehicle agency or court.
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