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
Colorado at a glance
- Limit
- Fair market value of everything the person owned, less liens and encumbrances, by year of death: $82,000 for 2024, $80,000 for 2023, $74,000 for 2022, $70,000 for 2020 and 2021, $68,000 for 2019, $66,000 for 2017 and 2018. The form we read stops at 2024. It can't transfer real estate.
"Y.O.D. 2024 is $82,000, Y.O.D. 2023 is $80,000"
- Wait
- At least 10 days after the death.
"At least 10 days have elapsed since the death of (decedent)"
- Notary
- Sworn before a notary public or a deputy clerk.
"Subscribed and affirmed, or sworn to before me"
- Where it goes
- Presented to whoever is paying or delivering the property, who is then discharged as if dealing with a personal representative.
Add the estate value above for an answer. Source: Colorado Judicial Branch form JDF 999, Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (rev. March 5, 2024)
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.