Small Estate Waiting Periods by State
Some waits run from the date of death. Others run from filing, publication, mailing, or an order. Some states state no wait at all. This directory states the wait and the clock basis for each lane, and never invents a wait where the cited sections state none.
Waiting periods by state
| State | Wait | Clock basis |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 30 days | After death |
| Alabama | No death-date wait stated | Order gates: 30 days after publication and 30 days after Medicaid Agency receipt |
| Arkansas | 45 days | After death; real-property publication within 30 days after filing |
| Arizona | 30 days personal property; 6 months real property | After death; real property filed in court |
| California | 40 days personal property; 6 months real property (DE-305) | As stated in the California guides, per the directory exemplar |
| Colorado | 10 days | After death |
| Connecticut | 30 days after death gate; decree only after 30 days from court copy sent | Section 45a-275 gate plus 30 days after the court sends a copy to the Department of Administrative Services |
| Delaware | 30 days | After death |
| Hawaii | No waiting period stated | Statute states no wait; three statements only |
| Iowa | 40 days; 90 days Human Services lane | After death |
| Idaho | 30 days; 60-day priority-claim window in the deemed-successor subsection | After death |
| Illinois | No waiting period stated in 755 ILCS 5/25-1 | Statute states no wait |
| Indiana | 45 days; 5 days vehicle and watercraft fork | After death |
| Kansas | No wait stated in K.S.A. 59-1507b | Statute states no wait, filing, bond, or debt condition |
| Kentucky | No waiting period stated; 6 weeks advertisement for the agreement route | No affidavit procedure exists |
| Louisiana | No waiting period stated; 90-day wait is dead law | 20-year route runs from death to execution of the affidavit |
| Massachusetts | 30 days | After death; 4-month claim clock from docketing for the Medical Assistance notice |
| Maryland | No waiting period stated | Claims clocks run from death and notice; no affidavit procedure exists |
| Maine | 30 days | After death |
| Michigan | 28 days affidavit; 63-day heir responsibility for assignment | After death |
| Minnesota | 30 days | Since death, or for safe-deposit contents 30 days since the inventory filing |
| Missouri | 30 days | After death; 2-week publication where listed property exceeds $15,000 |
| Mississippi | 30 days; 180 days safe-deposit lane | After death |
| Montana | 30 days | After death |
| North Dakota | 30 days | Elapsed since death |
| Nebraska | 30 days, both lanes | After death, shown by a certified death-certificate copy or abstract |
| New Hampshire | No death-date wait stated | Closing affidavit 6 to 12 months after appointment; no affidavit lane exists |
| New Jersey | No wait stated for either track | Consent condition only, on the heirs track |
| New Mexico | 30 days affidavit; 6 months homestead lane | After death |
| Oklahoma | 10 or more days affidavit; order and publication clocks for the court lanes | After death for the affidavit lane only |
| Oregon | 30 days | After death, filed with the probate court |
| Pennsylvania | No wait stated for the petition; 60 days life insurance lane; 1 year after first advertisement for section 3531 | After death for the life insurance lane only |
| Rhode Island | 30 days | After death, provided no letters petition was filed with the city or town probate court |
| South Dakota | 30 days personal property; 60 days real property | After death |
| Tennessee | 45 days | From death, as evidenced by a copy of the death certificate |
| Texas | 30 days | After death, filed with the court clerk |
| Utah | 30 days | After death |
| Virginia | 60 days affidavit and no-affidavit lanes; 30 days funeral lane | After death |
| Vermont | No death-date wait stated | 14-day objection, 60-day inventory confirmation, letters effective 1 year |
| Washington | 40 days plus 10 days notice | After death, plus notice to other successors |
| Wisconsin | No blanket wait | 30-day will-named personal representative hold and 30-day real-property heir notice inside their own subsections only |
| West Virginia | 30 days will-nominated affiant; 60 days all other affiants; 120 days small sums lanes (a) and (c) | Since death; 30-day objection window runs from the clerk mailing |
| Wyoming | 30 days affidavit; 90 days government-creditor affidavit; 30 days to file the summary application | After death; 45-day clock in section 2-1-202(b) runs from presentation and is not a wait |
Tools
Use the Small Estate Waiting Period Checker to compute the earliest date for each death-date wait from the date of death entered. The Small Estate Value Limit Lookup states the cap for the same states.
Source
Waiting periods and clock bases 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. Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Maryland no-wait statements are stated as gated in the research files. Open flags: West Virginia certificate clocks per A450 and A451; Vermont fee fork unresolved. 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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