How to File a Small Estate Affidavit in Pennsylvania

To file a small estate affidavit in Pennsylvania, get the affidavit form from the institution holding the asset (a bank, employer, insurer, or the state Treasurer) or from your county Register of Wills, confirm the asset falls within the dollar caps set by 20 Pa. C.S. § 3101, gather a certified death certificate and proof of your family relationship, sign the affidavit before a notary, and present the package to the institution. Pennsylvania has no single statewide form and no court filing step for the § 3101 process. If the estate is larger than the § 3101 caps but under $50,000 in personal property, a separate petition under § 3102 goes through Orphans’ Court instead.

Step 1: Confirm the Asset Qualifies

Pennsylvania doesn’t use one blanket small estate limit. Section 3101 sets a separate cap for each asset category, and the cap applies to that category alone.¹

Unpaid wages, salary, or employee benefits: up to $10,000. The employer may pay, but is not legally required to.
Bank, credit union, or savings institution deposit accounts: up to $20,000 per institution. The bank shall pay once the paperwork is in order. This cap was raised from $10,000 by Act 50 of 2025, so older figures are outdated.
Life insurance payable to the estate (not to a named individual): up to $11,000. The insurer must wait at least 60 days after death and must not have received a written claim from an appointed personal representative.
Patient care account funds for a decedent who was receiving state medical assistance: up to $10,000, with burial expenses paid first.
Unclaimed or abandoned property held by the State Treasurer: up to $20,000.²

The decedent must have been a Pennsylvania resident at death, and no personal representative can have been appointed for the estate. If someone has already opened formal probate, § 3101 is off the table.

Step 2: Confirm You Have Priority to File

Eligibility is limited to a narrow family group in a strict order:

Surviving spouse first
Children next, if there is no surviving spouse
Parents, if neither a spouse nor children survive
Siblings last

A lower-priority relative cannot file over a higher-priority one who is available. Some county affidavit forms include a section where higher-priority relatives sign a release, allowing someone further down the chain to collect. Anyone who receives funds through this process is personally answerable to anyone harmed by an improper distribution, so filing when a higher-priority relative exists creates real legal exposure.¹

Step 3: Get the Affidavit Form

There is no single statewide form. In most cases the form comes from the institution holding the asset. Banks, employers, and insurance companies each have their own version. Several county Register of Wills offices, including Erie and Dauphin, publish their own standard forms as well.³⁴ Ask the bank or employer first. If they don’t provide one, check with the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived.

Whatever version you use, the affidavit will require you to swear to your identity, your relationship to the decedent, your priority status, and the fact that no personal representative has been appointed and no estate proceeding will be opened. On the Dauphin County form, for example, the claimant certifies both their priority and that no higher-priority heir exists or that such heirs have released their claim. Signing this sworn statement falsely exposes you to criminal penalties for unsworn falsification.

Step 4: Gather the Supporting Documents

Assemble these before you sit down with a notary:

A certified death certificate. An original, not a photocopy.
Proof of your relationship to the decedent, such as a marriage certificate or birth certificate that shows where you fall in the priority order.
For bank deposit claims, funeral documentation. This means either a receipted funeral bill showing payment in full, or a written statement from a licensed funeral director confirming that satisfactory payment arrangements have been made. Banks reject deposit-account claims that arrive without one or the other. Wage claims and life insurance claims don’t require this.¹
Government-issued photo ID for the notarization.

Claims to the State Treasurer for unclaimed property have their own paperwork requirements: a certified death certificate, a sworn affidavit detailing the family relationship, and confirmation of whether a personal representative has been appointed. The Treasurer may request more.

Step 5: Sign Before a Notary

Every § 3101 affidavit has to be signed in front of a notary public. Pennsylvania sets the notarial fee at $5 per signature, with an additional $2 for each extra name on an acknowledgment.⁵ Many banks provide notary service on site, and some waive the fee for account holders. UPS stores, law offices, and some libraries also handle notarizations. Don’t sign the affidavit before you get there; the notary needs to witness the signature.

Step 6: Present the Package and Collect the Funds

Bring the notarized affidavit and your supporting documents to whoever is holding the asset. For a bank account, that usually means visiting a branch in person. For unpaid wages, you’ll work with the employer’s HR or payroll department. For life insurance payable to the estate, submit to the insurer through their claims process. For unclaimed property, submit to the State Treasurer.

Banks are legally required to release the funds once they have a valid, complete affidavit with the funeral documentation. The statute protects them from future liability after paying a verified claimant, which is why most institutions process these claims without much friction. Timing varies by institution, but a check or transfer typically arrives within five to ten business days.

When the Affidavit Won’t Work

The § 3101 process has hard limits. It cannot be used for:

Real estate. Property titled solely in the decedent’s name requires probate or a court order regardless of value.
Titled vehicles. These transfer through PennDOT, which requires either Letters Testamentary from the Register of Wills or a separate PennDOT process.
Investment and brokerage accounts. Stocks, bonds, and brokerage accounts are not “deposit accounts” under the statute.
Accounts with a named beneficiary or a joint owner. These already pass outside probate and don’t need an affidavit.

If the personal property is more than the § 3101 caps but the gross value of probate assets (excluding real estate and assets already covered by § 3101) is $50,000 or less, Pennsylvania offers a middle path: a small estate petition under 20 Pa. C.S. § 3102, filed in the Orphans’ Court of the county where the decedent lived. The court issues a decree of distribution that carries the same weight as a distribution order after full administration. The $50,000 cap doesn’t include real estate, so the decedent can own a house and still qualify.⁶

Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Still Applies

Using the affidavit doesn’t waive inheritance tax. The tax is due on the value of assets transferred, and rates turn on the claimant’s relationship to the decedent:

Surviving spouse: 0%
Children and lineal descendants: 4.5%
Siblings: 12%
All other heirs: 15%

The tax is due at death and becomes delinquent nine months later. Paying within three months earns a 5% discount.⁷ A sibling collecting a $20,000 bank account through the affidavit owes $2,400 in inheritance tax, even though the collection itself required no court filing.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 20 Chapter 31 – Section 3101
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 20 Section 3101 – Payments to Family and Funeral Directors
3
Register of Wills of Erie County. Small Estate Affidavit
4
Dauphin County. Small Estate Affidavit Pursuant to Pennsylvania Statute 20 Section 3101
5
Pennsylvania Department of State. Notary Public Fees
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 20 Chapter 31 – Section 3102
7
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Inheritance Tax