California probate code · checked October 2026

California Small Estate: The Limit, the Tracks, and the Form

For money and belongings, California's affidavit limit is $208,850 — applied to the estate after the assets that pass automatically are taken out. California splits the house three ways: a separate affidavit for real property up to $69,625 (form DE-305, six-month wait, court-filed), a court petition for a primary residence up to $750,000 (§§ 13150–13158, form DE-310) — and the trap: the $208,850 affidavit test counts the house in the gross value even though the affidavit cannot transfer it. The affidavit, where one exists, cannot be used until 40 days have passed since the death.

Run the free California check

The California line, in facts

The affidavit limit today: $208,850, judged by the law in force on the date of death.

The paper: Affidavit under Probate Code § 13100 — there is no Judicial Council form for the affidavit itself; the DE-300 values chart attaches to it.

How it moves: presented to whoever holds the property; no court case is opened.

The wait: 40 days after the death before the affidavit can be used.

For a surviving spouse: No higher affidavit cap for a spouse. Separate spouse tracks: small-estate set-aside for surviving spouse/minor children at net value $107,900 (§ 6602, deaths on/after 2025-04-01); spousal property petition (§ 13500/13650) with no dollar cap; deceased-spouse compensation affidavit (§ 13600-13601) capped at $20,875.

The tracks in California

Track	Limit	How it works
Small-estate affidavit	$208,850	Presented to whoever holds the property; no court case. Form: Affidavit under Probate Code § 13100 — there is no Judicial Council form for the affidavit itself; the DE-300 values chart attaches to it.
Real-property affidavit	$69,625	Judicial Council form DE-305 (Affidavit Re Real Property of Small Value, § 13200)
Small estate set-aside (Prob. Code § 6600-6613)	$107,900	The small-estate set-aside (§§ 6600–6613) lets a surviving spouse or minor children take estate property up to $107,900 in net value — a family track, not a general shortcut.
Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence (Prob. Code sec. 13151, form DE-310)	$750,000	The court track for a primary home.

The California path, walked in order

Wait out the 40 days from the date of death (§ 13101) — nothing is signed before the clock runs.
Count the estate the statute's way: remove beneficiary, joint and TOD assets first (the kit's Worksheet B), and check the limit for the date of death on the DE-300 chart.
For money and belongings: sign the § 13100 affidavit (Judicial Council form DE-310) and present it to each holder — no court filing.
For a primary home worth up to $750,000: the track is a court petition (§§ 13150–13158), a different paper from the affidavit — do not let a bank clerk merge them.
Order extra certified death certificates before you start; every holder keeps one.

What catches families in California

The limit keys to the DATE OF DEATH off the DE-300 chart: $166,250 (deaths from April 1, 2019), $184,500 (from April 1, 2022), $208,850 (from April 1, 2025). The next adjustment lands April 1, 2028.
Owning a $300,000 house disqualifies the bank-account affidavit: the § 13100 test is the gross value of all California real and personal property, minus the § 13050 exclusions (which include registered vehicles, transferred through the DMV on form REG 5).
There is no Judicial Council form for the § 13100 affidavit itself — anyone selling you 'the official form' is selling a statute's contents back to you.

Vehicles in California

Registered vehicles, vessels and manufactured homes are excluded from the value calculation under § 13050 and are transferred through DMV (Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate, REG 5), not the § 13100 affidavit.

Debts, and the signer's duty

The § 13100 affidavit does not require debts to be paid first; the successor is personally liable for the decedent's unsecured debts up to the value received (§ 13109). For the § 13200 real property affidavit, funeral, last-illness and unsecured debts must have been paid.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: Cal. Prob. Code § 890; Cal. Prob. Code § 13100-13101; Cal. Prob. Code § 13200; Cal. Prob. Code § 13151-13154; Cal. Prob. Code § 6602, 6609; Cal. Prob. Code § 13600-13601; Cal. Prob. Code § 5600-5698 (TOD deed). This page reads the published law; it is not legal advice, and the court is the final word.

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