Small Estate Affidavit vs Formal Probate

The four kinds of lane

This guide uses four labels. A holder presented affidavit is presented to the holder of the asset. A court petition is filed with a court or clerk and produces an order, letters, or a certificate. A summary procedure is a court procedure with shortened steps. Full administration appoints a personal representative and runs the ordinary probate steps. A state may run more than one lane. The lanes must never be merged into one set of rules.

Holder presented affidavit lanes

Virginia runs a holder presented affidavit lane. The affidavit lane covers an entire personal probate estate of $75,000 or less at death. Real property is excluded. All known successors make the affidavit. At least 60 days must have passed. No court filing appears in the statute text. The affidavit goes to the holder.

Washington uses a holder presented affidavit with a 40 day wait and a 10 day notice step. A copy goes to the Department of Social and Health Services. No filing with a court is stated for that lane in the directory summary. The cap is $100,000 for the entire probate estate, excluding the surviving spouse or domestic partner community interest.

Kansas describes a holder or entity presented affidavit in the statute text as read. The test is $75,000 in total assets subject to probate. The decedent must be a Kansas resident. No wait, filing, bond, debt condition, or no pending letters condition appears in the section. The current Judicial Council form, February 2024 revision, adds form averments. The Council form page states the form is not filed with the court, and the notes direct presentation to the holder. A banked closure read reported a district-court filing direction in the notes, but the build-time live re-read on 2026-11-02 found the opposite, and this guide follows the re-read.

Oklahoma section 393 is a holder presented affidavit. The test is $50,000 in fair market value of Oklahoma property subject to disposition by will or intestate succession at death, less liens and encumbrances. The wait is 10 or more days. The holder shall pay or deliver. No court filing appears in the section. No successor definition appears in the section.

Wyoming section 2-1-201 is a holder presented affidavit for personal property only. The test is $400,000 for the entire estate located in Wyoming subject to administration, less liens and encumbrances. The wait is 30 days. The affidavit is filed with the county clerk and a certified copy is presented to holders. Real property is not delivered through this lane.

Nebraska runs two affidavit lanes. The personal property affidavit is presented to the holder. The real property affidavit is filed with the register of deeds. Each lane has its own $100,000 test and its own wording. The two lanes must never be merged.

New Mexico section 1201 is a holder presented affidavit. The test is $50,000 for the entire estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. The wait is 30 days. The section states the affidavit may not be used to perfect title to real estate. That is a use bar, not a statement that real property value is excluded from the test.

Illinois uses a statutory form affidavit with no court filing stated for the affidavit lane. The cap is $150,000 in non vehicle personal property. Vehicles are listed separately for the Secretary of State. The affidavit is presented to the holder.

Court petition and court issued document lanes

Alabama runs a court petition and order regime, not a holder affidavit. A verified petition goes to the probate judge of the domicile county. No bond is required. Notice by publication and notice to the Medicaid Agency apply. An order is barred until at least 30 days after publication and at least 30 days after Medicaid receipt. There is no flat dollar cap. The test is the sum of the homestead, exempt property, and family allowances.

Connecticut runs a court decree procedure, not a holder affidavit. The test is $40,000 in solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, excluding property that passes outside probate. No solely owned real property in Connecticut may be in the estate. The court sends a copy to the Department of Administrative Services and shall not issue a decree until 30 days after the copy was sent.

Maryland has no affidavit lane. The procedure is a court petition to the Register of Wills. The test is $50,000 in fair market value less debts of record secured by the property, or $100,000 when the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir. The Register directs a personal representative and letters. Claims, objections, and bond rules run through the court.

Pennsylvania section 3102 runs on petition to the Orphans Court. The test is $50,000 in gross value exclusive of real estate and section 3101 property, but including family exemption personal property. The court acts in its discretion. No wait, publication, bond, or mandatory appraisement appears in the statute. Section 3101 runs five separate direct payment lanes with their own caps and conditions. Those lanes are not the section 3102 petition.

Tennessee runs a clerk petition procedure, not a holder affidavit. A sworn petition goes to the clerk. The clerk issues limited letters restricted to the itemized property. The test is $50,000 in probate property, which means personal property only. The wait is 45 days from death. A testate fork exists. It is described in the guide on small estates without a will.

Rhode Island runs a court certification model. A sworn statement on a court prescribed form is filed with the probate court of the city or town where the decedent resided. The judge reviews the statement. The clerk issues a certification of appointment. Only the certification is presented to holders. The test is $15,000 in inventory value exclusive of tangible personal property. The estate must consist entirely of personal property.

Massachusetts runs a court filed statement. A statement verified by oath is filed with the Probate and Family Court on the court prescribed form. The register dockets it and issues an attested copy. The attested copy is the authority token presented to holders. No letters of authority issue. The test is $25,000 in other personal property, excluding one motor vehicle of any value. The estate must consist entirely of personal property.

New Hampshire runs a waiver of administration, not a holder affidavit. The court appoints an administrator in one of six qualifying circumstances. No estate value test appears in the section. Administration closes on a court approved affidavit of administration filed 6 to 12 months after appointment. That affidavit is a closing filing to the court, not an instrument presented to a holder.

Vermont runs a court filing procedure. Eight items are filed with the court. The test is $45,000 in fair market value. The estate must be entirely personal property, with a time share provision stated in the section. Letters are effective for one year after issuance. A separate waiver procedure is mutually exclusive with this procedure.

Summary procedures

A summary procedure is a court procedure with shortened steps. It is not a holder affidavit. Wisconsin runs three $50,000 tracks that must never be merged. Section 867.03 is transfer by affidavit with no court involvement. Section 867.01 is summary settlement by court order. Section 867.02 is summary assignment by court order with creditor publication. Each track measures value differently.

Minnesota runs a summary closing procedure in addition to its affidavit lane. The summary test is $150,000 in gross probate estate exclusive of exempt homestead and exempt property. It runs by court petition, decree, and bond. Real property in kind passes only through the summary distribution route.

Arkansas runs a clerk filed affidavit with a publication duty for real property estates. The affidavit is filed with the probate clerk. The test is $100,000 in all property less encumbrances. The wait is 45 days. For real property estates, publication is mandatory within 30 days after filing and a 3 month claim bar runs from first publication.

Utah runs summary administration in sections 1203 and 1204 in addition to its affidavit lane. The test is an allowances sum test with no flat figure. A personal representative is involved. No creditor notice is stated for those sections. A closing by sworn statement applies.

Idaho runs summary administration in sections 1203 and 1204 in addition to its affidavit lane. The test is an allowances sum test with no flat figure stated as a total. A surviving spouse summary administration under section 1205 has no dollar cap and no wait stated, with its own petition and assumption of indebtedness rules.

Nebraska runs summary procedures in sections 127 and 128 in addition to its two affidavit lanes. The tests are allowances sum tests with no flat cap. Allowance figures are death date tiered and the sections were not opened. No allowance figure is stated in this guide.

New Mexico runs summary procedures in sections 1203 and 1204 in addition to its affidavit lane. The test is a relative test with no dollar figure. A personal representative, inventory, and appraisal are involved. No creditor notice is stated.

Maine runs summary procedures in sections 3-1203 and 3-1204 in addition to its affidavit lane. The test is a relative test with no cap. Allowances are inflation adjusted under section 1-108. No base allowance figure is stated as current in this guide.

Massachusetts section 3-1203 is a summary disbursement mode for an appointed personal representative, not a second filing track. It has no dollar cap and no wait period. The personal representative may disburse without creditor notice and file a closing statement.

Oklahoma runs two court tracks in addition to its affidavit lane. Sections 245 to 247 run summary administration on one of three conditions, including a $200,000 value condition. Section 241 runs a post appointment dispensing track at $150,000. The two tracks have different caps, triggers, and clocks and must never be merged.

Wyoming section 2-1-205 runs a district court summary decree. It covers personal or real property including mineral interests. The test is $400,000. Publication, service, and an objection clock apply. A certified copy of the decree is recorded county by county as presumptive evidence of title.

Kentucky runs a dispensing procedure and an agreement procedure. Section 395.455 lets the court order dispensing where the exemption and preferred claims paid meet or exceed distributable assets. Section 395.470 runs on written agreement of all beneficiaries with advertisement for 6 weeks. Neither section states a holder affidavit procedure or a waiting period before collection in the terms stated here.

Indiana runs a summary disbursement procedure in addition to its collection affidavit. Section 29-1-8-3 applies a sum test with death date tiers. No creditor notice is stated. The personal representative or distributee disburses immediately and files a closing statement. Duties terminate 3 months after the closing statement filing if no action, claim, or objection is filed.

Full administration as the contrast

Full administration is the ordinary court supervised case. A personal representative is appointed. An inventory, creditor notice, and accounting may apply. The cited sources show the contrast in concrete terms. In New Hampshire, any interested person may petition for full administration for good cause before the waiver affidavit is filed. In West Virginia, an objection to a small estate certificate may lead to a referral that can revoke the certificate and require full probate administration. In Wyoming, a distributee who satisfies the summary decree section and the affidavit section needs no further action under that title. The contrast matters because meeting a small estate test is what avoids the full case. Failing the test, or finding additional assets above the test, sends the estate back to the fuller procedure. Tennessee states a conversion rule in those terms. Vermont states a conversion duty if value at death later exceeds $45,000.

What this guide does not state

No verified figure is stated in this guide for a state whose procedure is not described in the cited sources. States with banked research that are not used as lane examples here include Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Arizona, California, and Colorado. Their lane descriptions belong in their state guides and in the companion explainers on waits and value tests. No fee figure is stated. No form number is stated except where the cited source names it. No state is described as having a holder affidavit unless a cited source states that channel.

For small estate procedures in other states, see the Small Estate Affidavits by State directory. For the questions each state procedure answers, see Small Estate Affidavit Questions.

Source

Sources: research files A412 (Tennessee), A413 (Ohio), A414 (Wisconsin), A415 (Minnesota), A416 and A417 (Indiana), A418 (Virginia), A419 (Missouri), A420 and A458 (Kansas), A421 and A435 (Arkansas), A422 (Utah), A423 (Idaho), A424 and A459 (Montana), A425 (Nebraska), A426 (Alabama), A427 (Pennsylvania), A428 (Michigan), A429 (Delaware), A430 (New Jersey), A431 (Connecticut), A432 (Iowa), A433 (South Dakota), A434 and A456 (North Dakota), A436 (Kentucky), A437 (New Mexico), A438 (Maine), A439 (Massachusetts), A440 (Alaska), A441 (Hawaii), A442 (Vermont), A443 and A460 (Louisiana), A444 (Maryland), A445 and A455 (Mississippi), A446 (Oklahoma), A447 (New Hampshire), A448 and A457 (Wyoming), A449 (Rhode Island), A450, A451, and A454 (West Virginia), and the live guide directory exemplar for Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, and California figures. Open flags are disclosed in the companion notes file. No new data was used.

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 the court in the state where the estate is handled or a lawyer.