When someone dies in California owning only modest assets, the family may not need probate at all. A California small estate affidavit, also called a Probate Code section 13100 affidavit or an affidavit for collection of personal property, lets the heirs collect bank accounts, stocks, a final paycheck and other personal property by signing a sworn statement and handing it to whoever holds the asset.
This page explains, quoting the California Probate Code and the Judicial Council, who can use it, the current dollar limit, what must be in it, and what happens after the bank pays. You can download a free affidavit with every statement the law requires, in PDF and Word.
The short answer
If the decedent’s property in California, not counting excluded assets, “does not exceed” the limit and “40 days have elapsed since the death”, the heir can collect personal property “without procuring letters of administration or awaiting probate of the will” (Probate Code 13100). For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the limit is $208,850 (Judicial Council of California). The affidavit is not filed with the court: it is “furnished to the holder of the decedent’s property” (section 13101(a)), such as the bank, together with a certified death certificate.
The dollar limit depends on the date of death
The limit is adjusted every three years under Probate Code section 890. The Judicial Council’s published table, “Maximum Amounts for Determining Eligibility for Summary Succession Procedures”:
| Procedure | Death before April 1, 2022 | April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025 | On or after April 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small estate affidavit (sections 13100, 13101) | $166,250 | $184,500 | $208,850 |
| Real property affidavit (section 13200) | $55,425 | $61,500 | $69,625 |
| Unpaid salary excluded from the total (section 13050(c)) | $16,625 | $18,450 | $20,875 |
The next adjustment is scheduled for April 1, 2028. For a death on or after April 1, 2022, the affidavit must attach “the list of adjusted dollar amounts” in effect on the date of death (section 13101(f)).
A home is different. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a petition to succeed to real property under sections 13150 to 13157 is limited to “the decedent’s primary residence in California” and to a value of $750,000, according to the Judicial Council. That is a court petition, not this affidavit.
What does not count toward the limit
Section 13050 excludes several kinds of property when you add up the estate:
- Property that passes on its own: joint tenancy property, life estates, property passing to a surviving spouse under section 13500, and “property in a trust revocable by the decedent during the decedent’s lifetime” (13050(a)(1)).
- Multiple-party accounts, such as joint and payable-on-death (P.O.D.) accounts, to the extent the money belongs to a surviving party or beneficiary (13050(a)(2)).
- Vehicles, boats and manufactured homes registered with the state (13050(b)). These have their own transfer procedures.
- Amounts due for service in the U.S. Armed Forces and unpaid salary or other compensation, “including compensation for unused vacation”, up to the adjusted limit (13050(c)).
Read the list carefully: a living trust, a joint bank account and a car can be worth more than the limit and still not stop you from using the affidavit for what is left.
What the affidavit must say
Section 13101(a) lists eleven statements. Several are prescribed word for word, which is why a generic “small estate affidavit” from another state will not do:
| # | Statement |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | The decedent’s name, and the date and place of death. |
| 3 | “At least 40 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent, as shown in a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate attached to this affidavit or declaration.” |
| 4 | “No proceeding is now being or has been conducted in California for administration of the decedent’s estate”, or that the personal representative has consented in writing. |
| 5 | That the gross fair market value of the California property, excluding the property in sections 13050 and 13151, does not exceed the applicable limit. |
| 6-7 | A description of the property to be collected, and the name of the decedent’s successor. |
| 8 | That the signer is the successor, or is authorized under section 13051 to act for the successor. |
| 9-10 | “No other person has a superior right to the interest of the decedent in the described property”, and a request that the property be paid, delivered or transferred to the signer. |
| 11 | The declaration under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California. |
Attach a certified copy of the death certificate (13101(d)), the personal representative’s consent and letters if that option applies (13101(e)), and the adjusted dollar amount list for deaths on or after April 1, 2022 (13101(f)). If more than one heir signs, the statements are adjusted to say so (13101(b)). If the property is a debt secured by a recorded lien on real property, the affidavit must also meet section 13106.5 (13101(c)).
How to use it, step by step
- Wait 40 days after the death.
- Add up the gross value of all the decedent’s real and personal property in California, leaving out the excluded items above, and check it is under the limit for the date of death.
- Get certified copies of the death certificate, one for each holder.
- Complete one affidavit per holder, describing that holder’s property.
- Prove your identity. Sign in front of the holder with a California DMV ID or driver’s license, a U.S. passport, or another ID listed in section 13104(d) that is current or was issued within the preceding five years, or have a notary acknowledge your signature: “a notary public’s certificate of acknowledgment identifying the person executing the affidavit or declaration is reasonable proof of identity” (13104(e)). If you do not sign in front of the holder, the notary’s certificate is the route section 13104 provides.
- Hand it to the holder: the bank, brokerage, employer or transfer agent.
If the bank refuses
Once the requirements are met, the successor is “entitled to have the property described in the affidavit or declaration paid, delivered, or transferred” (section 13105(a)). The holder may rely on the affidavit “in good faith” and “has no duty to inquire into the truth of any statement” (13106(a)). If the holder refuses “within a reasonable time”, the successor may sue, and the court “shall award reasonable attorney’s fees” if the holder “acted unreasonably” (13105(b)).
What heirs take on
The decedent’s debts can follow the property. A transferee “is personally liable” for the decedent’s unsecured debts, up to the fair market value of the property at the time the affidavit is presented, less liens and encumbrances (section 13109(b)). If someone with a better right turns up, the personal representative can ask for the property back, and a person who “fraudulently secured” the transfer is liable for “three times the fair market value” (section 13111(b)).
Small estate affidavit or a different procedure?
| Situation | Procedure |
|---|---|
| Personal property, when the total California estate (real and personal, minus exclusions) is under the limit | This affidavit (sections 13100 to 13117) |
| Real property worth up to $69,625 (death on or after April 1, 2025) | Affidavit regarding real property of small value (section 13200), filed in superior court “no sooner than six months” after the death, in the form prescribed by the Judicial Council, with a notary’s acknowledgment for each signer and an inventory and appraisal attached. The limit applies to all the decedent’s California real property. |
| The decedent’s primary residence worth up to $750,000 | Petition to succeed to real property (sections 13150 to 13157) |
| Property passing to a surviving spouse | Spousal property procedures (section 13500 and following) |
| Larger estates | Formal probate |
Common mistakes
- Using it before day 40.
- Using the wrong limit: it depends on the date of death, not the date you sign.
- Leaving out the decedent’s California real estate. A house or land in the decedent’s name alone counts toward the limit, unless it was held in joint tenancy or a living trust, passes to a surviving spouse under section 13500, or is included in a petition filed under section 13151. The car and the living trust are excluded (section 13050).
- Forgetting the attachments: certified death certificate and the adjusted amount list.
- Using another state’s form that lacks the statements section 13101 prescribes.
Free California small estate affidavit
Download an affidavit for collection of personal property in PDF or Word. It sets out all eleven statements of Probate Code 13101(a), with the prescribed wording, a line to enter the dollar limit for the date of death, an attachment checklist and a proof-of-identity section under section 13104 (a notary attaches California’s own acknowledgment certificate).
California small estate affidavit: common questions
What is the small estate limit in California in 2026?
$208,850 for a death on or after April 1, 2025, according to the Judicial Council’s table. Earlier deaths use $184,500 or $166,250.
Is the California small estate affidavit filed with the court?
No. It is furnished to the person or institution holding the property. The separate real property affidavit under section 13200 is the one filed in superior court.
Does a California small estate affidavit need to be notarized?
Not necessarily. The law asks for “reasonable proof of the identity” of the signer: signing in front of the holder with ID, or a notary’s certificate of acknowledgment, both work (section 13104). The separate real property affidavit under section 13200 does require a notary’s acknowledgment for each signer.
Can I use a small estate affidavit for a car?
Vehicles registered under the Vehicle Code are excluded from this procedure and from the total (section 13050(b)). Ask the DMV about transferring a vehicle without probate.
How long do I have to wait?
At least 40 days after the death, shown by the certified death certificate attached to the affidavit.
Related
- Small estate affidavit: how other states handle it
- Texas affidavit of heirship
- California bill of sale
- Last will and testament
How this page was checked
Quotations come from the California Probate Code on the Legislature’s official site: sections 13050, 13100, 13101, 13104, 13105, 13106, 13109, 13111 and 13200; and from the Judicial Council of California’s table of adjusted amounts. The downloadable affidavit was compared statement by statement against section 13101(a).
Last verified: October 2026. We do not advance this date without re-checking the sources. The dollar limits are adjusted every three years: check the Judicial Council’s current table for the date of death.
LegalTemplateVault is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Compiled and edited by Daniel Mercer, editor of LegalTemplateVault. He is not an attorney, and neither is anyone else on this site: we compile primary sources and cite them so you can check them yourself.