Small Estates

When a loved one passes away, you do not always have to go through a grueling formal probate court process just to manage their estate. For families dealing with modest estates, California provides simplified, fast-track procedures that can settle an estate in a matter of weeks.

Based upon California law, there are three primary small estate shortcuts available depending on what your loved one owned at the time of his or her passing.

If the deceased person only owned bank accounts, cash, and cars, you may be able to use a simple sworn document called an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property to claim their assets directly from financial institutions, depending upon the total combined cash value of the assets owned and the amount of time that has elapsed since the decedent passed.

There are different dollar limits based upon the year in which a decedent died. So, the threshold can be seen as a bit of a moving target.

The estate’s total value must be under the threshold, and you must wait a mandatory 40 days after the date of death to furnish the affidavit. You will sign the document under penalty of perjury and will take it straight to the bank or investment firm along with a certified death certificate. No court hearing is required.

Note that this route will not work if the decedent passed away owning real estate.

Historically, if someone owned a home in California, they were almost entirely locked out of small estate shortcuts. However, a groundbreaking rule, Assembly Bill 2016, creates an expedited path for real estate for a primary residence, which must be valued at $750,000 or less.

Under the new rules, and after waiting six months from the decedent’s date of death, an eligible heir may file a Petition to Determine Succession with the probate court. A state-appointed Probate Referee must officially appraise the property to prove it is under the limit. While this requires a brief court hearing, it completely avoids traditional probate, saving thousands in mandatory legal percentages to attorneys and executors or administrators.

Note that much of California real estate will be valued over the $750,000 threshold and that this only applies to a primary residence of the decedent. If the decedent owned additional real property or even had only one parcel of real property, but held it as a rental, this option will not suffice.

Think, timeshares or vacant land. If the deceased person owned real estate that was not their primary home, there is a separate document for low-value real estate.

As with the Small Estate Affidavit, the threshold is a moving target. To qualify for this option, the property’s gross value must be below the threshold for the year in which the decedent passed.

The court will require specific document be filed with the court clerk. Once it is approved, you will record a certified copy with the County Recorder to seamlessly transfer the property’s title into your name.

When figuring out if the estate fits beneath any applicable small estate thresholds, California allows you to completely ignore several major asset categories including, any property held in a Revocable Living Trust, assets owned in Joint Tenancy, accounts with designated Payable-on-Death (POD) or beneficiary forms and vehicles, boats, and mobile homes owned by the decedent.

While these small estate rules are designed to simplify your life and the caseload of the local probate courts, the math and strict procedural guidelines can get tricky. It is highly recommended to seek professional legal guidance if any of the following apply:

• Valuation at or near the borderline. The total value of the bank accounts or real estate sits right near the 2026 thresholds ($208,850 or $750,000), meaning a minor calculation error could invalidate your paperwork.
• Issues with a title company. Even with a valid small estate transfer, some traditional title insurance companies are hesitant to issue title insurance on a home transferred under the new $750,000 rule without an attorney's formal sign-off.
• Family or sibling conflict regarding who has the legal right to claim the property or who to sign the affidavit.
• The decedent had debts, but they are unknown. Bypassing probate means you may become personally responsible for the deceased's debts up to the value of the property you inherit. An attorney can help insulate you from aggressive creditors.

Grieving the loss of a family member is hard enough without having to decipher the Probate Code. Our legal team can review your loved one's assets, run the exact math to see which shortcut you qualify for, if any, and handle the paperwork on your behalf.

Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and learn how we can help you wrap up your loved one's estate quickly, cleanly, and affordably.