How it works. Pick the state, enter the date of death and the estate's value, and say whether there's real estate. You get whether the value is under the limit the state's own page states, the earliest date the affidavit can be used, and whether it must be notarized, with the official wording and link.
Check a small estate
California: $52,200, death on November 7, 2025
Under the stated limit
- $52,200 is within the stated limit of up to $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
The limit, in the official wording:
"On or after April 1, 2025 ... $208,850"
Earliest date: From December 17, 2025, already reached. At least 40 days after the death.
Notary: It depends. The statewide self-help guide says notarizing isn't legally required, but the courts' sample affidavit has a notary acknowledgment and Riverside's instructions say to notarize every signature. Banks often expect it.
"Legally, you are not required to have the Affidavit notarized."
Where it goes: Not filed with the court; give it, with a certified death certificate, to the person, company or bank holding the property.
Official form: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Probate Code 13100-13106)
This compares your number with the stated limit; it isn't a ruling on the estate. What counts toward the value has exceptions, and a lawyer can confirm. Official source: Judicial Council of California: Probate Code section 890 adjusted amounts (PDF) · California Courts Self-Help Guide: Small estate affidavit to transfer personal property · More on this state
Reading the result
"Under the stated limit" means your number is within the figure on the state's official page for that date of death. It doesn't settle what counts toward the value, whether every heir agrees, or whether a holder will accept the affidavit. "Over" points to full probate or another procedure the state names. "Not confirmed" means we couldn't find the rule on an official page, so nothing is guessed. A lawyer can confirm any of it. For every state on one page, see small estate affidavit by state.
Where an affidavit has to be notarized or sworn: MCC Solutions notarizes in New Jersey, with a mobile notary who comes to you and remote online notarization. Elsewhere, a local notary can help.
General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Checked November 2026 against the official pages linked in each result. Limits change, some every year or by date of death, and banks, motor vehicle offices and employers can each ask for their own form; a lawyer can confirm how a rule applies to one estate. A notary identifies the signer and completes the certificate; a notary doesn't prepare the affidavit or say whether it fits.
Questions about the checker
What value should I enter?
The value of what would pass through the estate: property in the person's name alone, without a beneficiary or a joint owner. Leave out accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary, life insurance paid to a named person, and joint accounts with survivorship. States differ on subtracting liens, and some leave out vehicles or a homestead; the result says when the state's page does.
Why does the date of death matter?
Some limits are set by date of death (California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Maryland on our list), and the waiting period runs from it. Without a date, the checker uses the current figure and can't give the earliest date.
What does 'Real estate rules this procedure out' mean?
In some states, owning a house or land in the person's name alone takes the estate out of the small estate procedure, whatever its value. Real estate held jointly with survivorship or passed by a transfer on death deed usually isn't part of the estate.
Is this an affidavit form?
No. It compares your number with the official limit and links the state's own form where there is one. Each bank, motor vehicle office or employer may also have its own form.
Does the checker save what I enter?
No. The page reads your choices from the address bar and works out the answer on the server. Nothing is stored, and it works without JavaScript.