Small-estate limits and probate costs in 51 states

How to read this table

The limit is not the estate’s value

Every state measures a different thing. Some count only personal property and ignore real estate entirely; some count all probate property. Some measure gross value; some subtract liens and encumbrances first. Two estates with identical net worth can land on opposite sides of the same threshold because of how the property is titled.

Personal property only states in this table exclude solely-owned real property from the count, which means a house does not push the estate over the limit — but it also means the affidavit will not transfer the house. That is a separate proceeding.

The waiting period runs from the date of death

Where a state states a waiting period, it is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented until it has run. Two states in this table state no universal waiting period for the route modelled, which is recorded as “none stated” rather than as zero days, because the statute’s silence is not the same as a stated absence.

Court cost is the smallest part of the bill

32 of 51 states publish a computable statutory schedule, so the figures above are exact for the reference estate. What they exclude is usually larger: newspaper publication for creditor notice, a bond premium if no waiver applies, certified copies, recording fees for real property, and any professional help. This site does not estimate those, because no statute sets them.

Executor compensation is a ceiling or a schedule, not a promise

15 of 51 states publish a percentage schedule. The rest apply a reasonable-compensation standard, where a court or a commissioner of accounts decides the amount. Even in schedule states the number is a presumption or a minimum that a court can adjust, and a will can override it. A calculator can tell you what the schedule produces; it cannot tell you what a judge will approve.

A statewide form is not guaranteed

14 of 51 states publish a statewide small-estate form. In the others the affidavit is a county-clerk artifact or is defined by the statute’s own required contents. Each state page states which situation applies rather than linking an arbitrary county’s packet.

Start with the task, not the state

If the table above answered a jurisdiction question, these guides cover the work that follows.

• Do you need probate after someone dies?
• How to access a bank account after someone dies
• What to do with a house after someone dies
• How to find and prepare probate forms
• What an executor should do in the first week