California lets you skip formal probate when the estate is small enough. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, small estate probate in California uses one of two simplified procedures: a small estate affidavit for personal property worth up to $208,850, or a court petition to transfer a primary residence worth up to $750,000. Which one you use depends on what the decedent owned. If the estate has only bank accounts, personal belongings, and other personal property, no court filing is required at all. If it includes the home, you’ll file a short petition in Superior Court. Both procedures are faster and cheaper than full probate, and the thresholds jumped substantially under Assembly Bill 2016, so estates that looked too large before April 2025 may now qualify.
The Dollar Limits
Two separate limits apply, and the one you care about depends on what’s in the estate.
- Personal property affidavit (Probate Code 13100): Total gross value of the decedent’s real and personal property in California cannot exceed $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. For deaths between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, the limit was $184,500.
- Primary residence petition (Probate Code 13151): The decedent’s interest in their California primary residence cannot exceed $750,000 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Before that date, the real property limit was $184,500 and applied to any real property, not just a primary residence.
Both thresholds use gross fair market value on the date of death. Mortgages and liens don’t reduce the number.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Check if You Can Use a Simple Process to Transfer Property The residence petition covers only the decedent’s primary residence, not rental property, vacation homes, or vacant land.
What Doesn’t Count Toward the Limit
Probate Code 13050 excludes a long list of asset types from the calculation:
- Anything held in joint tenancy or with a right of survivorship, including property in a revocable trust.
- Bank accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary or survivorship rights.
- Vehicles, vessels, and manufactured homes, which transfer through the DMV using Form REG 5.
- Amounts owed to the decedent for Armed Forces service.
- Up to $16,625 of unpaid salary or vacation pay from an employer.
- Life insurance proceeds and retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs) with named beneficiaries.
- Property passing to a surviving spouse through a Spousal Property Petition under Probate Code 13650.
These exclusions matter.2California Legislative Information. California Code PROB 13050 A family that looks far above the limit at first glance often qualifies once joint accounts, beneficiary-designated retirement funds, and life insurance come out of the math.
Who Can Sign or File
California law calls the eligible person a “successor of the decedent.” If there’s a will, that’s whoever inherits the specific property under it. If there’s no will, it’s whoever would inherit under California’s intestacy rules. A trust named in the will also counts. Every person who qualifies as a successor to a particular asset has to join in signing. One heir cannot act alone when others share a legal claim to the same property.
You don’t need to be a California resident. What matters is that the property sits in California and the estate value falls within the limits. If a personal representative has already been appointed in a formal probate case, the small estate affidavit is generally off the table.
The Small Estate Affidavit for Personal Property
If the estate contains only personal property (bank and brokerage accounts, safe deposit box contents, personal belongings) and the total value of non-excluded California assets is $208,850 or less, you can transfer everything with a small estate affidavit. No court filing. You prepare the document, wait the required period, and present it to whoever holds the property.
Wait 40 Days
You cannot use the affidavit until at least 40 days have passed since the date of death. There is no workaround. Banks and other holders will check the death certificate against the affidavit date and reject anything filed earlier.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Check if You Can Use a Simple Process to Transfer Property
Prepare the Affidavit
The standard form is Judicial Council Form DE-300. Describe each asset with enough detail for the holder to identify it: account numbers for financial accounts, specific descriptions for physical items. The affidavit must state that no probate proceeding is pending or has been conducted in California for the estate, and that the gross value of all non-excluded property does not exceed the statutory limit.
Attach a certified copy of the death certificate and a completed Inventory and Appraisal (Form DE-160). On the inventory, the person filing appraises cash, bank accounts, and insurance proceeds at face value. Other assets (antiques, jewelry, collectibles) get appraised by a probate referee, a court-appointed official. Your county’s assigned referees are listed through the California State Controller’s office or your local probate court clerk.
California law allows the affidavit to be signed as a declaration under penalty of perjury, so notarization is not required by statute. In practice, many banks and brokerages refuse to honor an unnotarized affidavit, especially for securities or large balances. Call the institution first and ask what they’ll accept.3California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 13101
Present It to the Holder
Once the affidavit is complete and the 40 days have passed, hand-deliver or mail it to the institution holding the asset. The holder is legally required to comply with a properly executed affidavit. If they refuse without a valid reason, they can be held liable for damages and attorney fees.
The Petition for a Primary Residence
When the estate includes the decedent’s California home, a separate court-based procedure applies. The simplified petition (Form DE-310) covers only the decedent’s primary residence, and the home’s gross value cannot exceed $750,000.4Judicial Council of California. Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence If the probate referee appraises the home at even one dollar above $750,000, the petition fails and you’ll need full probate.
Where and When to File
Wait at least 40 days after the date of death. File in Superior Court in the county where the decedent lived. If the decedent was not a California resident, file in the county where the property is located. The statewide filing fee is $435, though some counties add a local courthouse construction surcharge.5Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
The petition requires a probate referee’s appraisal, the legal description and Assessor’s Parcel Number of the home, and facts showing it was the decedent’s primary residence. You must name every heir and beneficiary, including anyone not receiving a share.
Notice and Hearing
After filing, serve a Notice of Hearing (Form DE-120) on all heirs and interested parties by mail at least 15 days before the hearing.6Judicial Council of California. Notice of Hearing—Decedent’s Estate or Trust At the hearing, if no one objects and the paperwork is in order, the judge signs an Order Determining Succession to the primary residence. Take a certified copy of that order to the county recorder’s office to transfer the deed into your name. Recording fees vary by county and are typically under $100.
Documents to Gather
- At least one certified copy of the death certificate. Ordering two or three extras is worth the small added cost.
- Inventory and Appraisal (Form DE-160), required for both the affidavit and the petition.
- The will, if one exists.
- Form DE-300 for personal property transfers, or Form DE-310 for a primary residence transfer.
- Form DE-120 (Notice of Hearing) for the real property petition.
All Judicial Council forms are available free at the California Courts self-help website.
You Become Personally Liable for the Decedent’s Debts
Using the small estate process does not erase the decedent’s debts. If you collect property through an affidavit or court order, you become personally liable to the decedent’s creditors up to the fair market value of what you received. A credit card company, medical provider, or other creditor can come after you directly without opening a probate case. This liability runs for the statute of limitations on the underlying debt.
This catches people off guard. Collect $80,000 from a bank account using a small estate affidavit, then discover the decedent owed $50,000 in medical bills, and the creditors can demand payment from you. If you know or suspect the decedent had significant debts, think carefully about whether the simplified route is right. Formal probate provides a structured creditor claims process with deadlines that can permanently cut off late claims.
Property Tax Reassessment on an Inherited Home
Inheriting a California home usually triggers a property tax reassessment to current market value under Proposition 13. Proposition 19, effective February 2021, narrowed the parent-child exclusion. To keep the parent’s lower tax base, the child must use the inherited home as their own primary residence and file for the homeowner’s exemption within one year of the transfer. Even then, the exclusion only covers the property’s existing taxable value plus $1,044,586 (the adjusted cap for transfers through February 15, 2027). If the home’s market value exceeds that combined amount, the difference gets added to the new taxable value.7California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Fact Sheet Failing to file the exclusion claim within three years means losing the benefit retroactively. This is one of the most commonly missed steps in inherited property transfers.
One Tax Point Worth Knowing
Property inherited through a small estate transfer gets a new cost basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death. If your parent bought a home for $150,000 and it was worth $600,000 when they died, your basis is $600,000. Sell it the next month for $610,000 and your taxable gain is only $10,000, not the $460,000 that would have applied if you’d received the house as a gift during their lifetime. In California, both halves of community property receive this stepped-up basis, not just the decedent’s half. Retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s do not get the step-up; withdrawals remain taxable as ordinary income.
If the Estate Is Too Big
If the gross value of non-excluded property tops $208,850, the home is worth more than $750,000, or the real property isn’t the decedent’s primary residence, the simplified procedures aren’t available. The estate goes through formal probate: petitioning for appointment of a personal representative, notifying creditors, inventorying assets, and obtaining court approval before distributions. California’s statutory attorney fees for probate run on the gross estate value: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, and declining from there. That’s why borderline families work hard to qualify.
One common trap on borderline homes: the probate referee’s appraisal comes back higher than you expected. File the petition for a primary residence valued at the referee’s number above $750,000 and the court rejects it. You start over in full probate. Getting an independent appraisal before filing, even as an extra expense, can save the wasted filing fee and months of delay.
Every person signing a small estate affidavit or petition does so under penalty of perjury. Claiming an estate qualifies when you know it doesn’t, omitting heirs with a legal right to the property, or inflating your share can be prosecuted as a felony.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 126 Any heir wrongfully cut out can also sue to recover their share.