California Small Estate Affidavit PDF: Limits, Signing, and Filing

California does not publish a single official small estate affidavit form. The procedure under Probate Code section 13100 lets an heir collect a deceased person’s personal property by presenting a signed declaration that contains specific statutory statements, along with a certified death certificate, directly to whoever holds the property. Many banks, brokerages, and employers provide their own version of the form, and local court self-help centers offer templates, but any document that includes the required elements and is signed under penalty of perjury will work.¹²

Where to Get the Form

Because the state doesn’t mandate a specific form, you have a few options. Call the institution holding the property first and ask whether they have a preferred version; many banks and brokerages do, and using theirs avoids friction at the counter. If they don’t, local superior court self-help centers typically have fill-in templates, and the Judicial Branch’s self-help website walks through what the document has to say.²

Whichever template you start from, check it against the statutory checklist below before signing. A missing element is the most common reason a holder refuses to pay.

What the Affidavit Must Contain

The document must be a declaration signed under penalty of perjury, and it must include all of the following:³

The decedent’s name, date of death, and place of death.
A statement that at least 40 days have passed since the death, with the certified death certificate attached as proof.
A statement that no probate proceeding is pending or has been conducted in California, or alternatively that the appointed personal representative has consented in writing.
A statement that the gross value of the decedent’s California estate, excluding the property that doesn’t count toward the limit, does not exceed $208,850.
A description of the specific property you are collecting, with account numbers, certificate numbers, or other identifying details.
The name of the successor and a statement that you are the successor or are authorized to act for the successor.
A statement that no other person has a superior right to the property.
A request that the property be paid, delivered, or transferred to you.
A perjury declaration confirming the affidavit is true and correct under California law.

Attach a certified copy of the death certificate. If you’re claiming under the decedent’s will, bring a copy of the will as well.

Who Can Use This Form

Three conditions must all be true:

The qualifying value of the decedent’s California estate is $208,850 or less. That threshold applies to deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and adjusts every three years.⁴⁵
At least 40 days have passed since the date of death.¹
No California probate is pending or completed, or the personal representative has given written consent.³

One subtlety: the $208,850 cap looks at all the decedent’s California property, including real estate, even though this affidavit can only transfer personal property. A $300,000 house plus a $15,000 bank account disqualifies the bank account from this process because the overall estate exceeds the limit.

What Doesn’t Count Toward the $208,850 Limit

Several categories of property are excluded from the calculation, which is why estates that look oversized often still qualify:

Joint tenancy property, which passes automatically to the surviving co-owner.
Assets held in a revocable trust.
Accounts with a named beneficiary or pay-on-death designation.
Registered vehicles, vessels, and manufactured homes, which have their own transfer procedures.
Military pay owed for Armed Forces service.
Up to $16,625 in unpaid wages owed to the decedent.⁶

Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary also sits outside the estate because it never becomes the decedent’s property. Add up only what’s left after these exclusions.

Who Signs as the Successor

Only a “successor of the decedent” can present the affidavit. If there’s a will, the successor is the person the will names to receive the specific property being collected. If there’s no will, it’s whoever inherits under California’s intestate rules — surviving spouse first, then children, then more distant relatives in a defined order.⁷

When more than one person inherits the same property, all of them must sign or authorize someone to sign for them. Three siblings who equally inherit a bank account can’t send just one sibling to the bank with their own name on the affidavit.

Notarization and Death Certificates

The statute itself doesn’t require notarization. A declaration under penalty of perjury is legally sufficient. In practice, most banks and nearly all brokerages insist on a notarized signature anyway, so call ahead and get it notarized before the visit.²

Order several certified copies of the death certificate from the county recorder or vital records office. Each institution keeps the affidavit and the certified certificate you attach, so if you need to collect from three places, you need three sets. Certified copies typically run $10 to $30 each.

Presenting the Affidavit

Once the affidavit is signed, notarized if required, and has the certified death certificate attached, hand it to the bank, credit union, brokerage, employer, or other entity holding the property and request the transfer. There’s no court filing involved for personal property.

A holder that receives a valid affidavit must pay, deliver, or transfer the property, and in doing so is discharged from further liability. The institution is entitled to rely on your statements in good faith and has no duty to investigate them.⁸

What You Take On by Signing

Collecting property through this affidavit makes you personally liable for the decedent’s unsecured debts. A creditor can sue you directly using the same tools they could have used against the decedent.⁹

Your exposure is capped at the fair market value of the property you received, minus any liens on it. Collect $50,000 from an account when the decedent owed $80,000 on credit cards, and your maximum personal liability is $50,000. You can also raise any defense the decedent could have raised, including statute of limitations. The liability is real, so get a clear picture of outstanding debts before you sign.

If the Holder Refuses to Pay

Most refusals come from a missing document or a formatting issue, not bad faith. Confirm every statutory element is in the affidavit and that your death certificate is a certified copy rather than a photocopy. If the paperwork is clean, ask to speak with a manager or the institution’s legal department.²

If that doesn’t resolve it, you can sue to compel the transfer. If the court finds the refusal was unreasonable, the institution has to pay your attorney’s fees on top of releasing the property.¹⁰

Property This Form Doesn’t Cover

The small estate affidavit under section 13100 reaches personal property only. A few common assets have their own separate procedures:

Real estate. California has a different small estate procedure for real property, with a lower value cap of $69,625 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a six-month waiting period, a required probate referee appraisal, and a filing with the superior court.¹¹¹²
Vehicles. Use DMV Form REG 5 (Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate) filed with the DMV, not the section 13100 affidavit.¹³
Federal tax refunds. You’ll also need IRS Form 1310 to claim a refund owed to the decedent.¹⁴
U.S. savings bonds. TreasuryDirect treats estates settled under state small estate laws as settlements under “special provisions of state law” and routes them through a different procedure than the simpler one available for truly non-administered estates under $100,000. Contact TreasuryDirect for current instructions.¹⁵

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 13100 – Affidavit Procedure for Collection or Transfer of Personal Property
2
Judicial Branch of California. Small Estate Affidavit to Transfer Personal Property
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 13101
4
Judicial Council of California. Form DE-300 – Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside and Disposition of Estate Without Administration
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 890
6
California Legislative Information. California Code PROB 13050
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 13006
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 13106
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California Legislative Information. California Code PROB 13109
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California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 13105
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Judicial Branch of California. Check If You Can Use a Simple Process to Transfer Property
12
California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 13200
13
California DMV. Title Transfers and Changes
14
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
15
TreasuryDirect. Death of a Savings Bond Owner