Legal costs and timelines, in plain numbers. Not a law firm.
Small estates, in numbers
Small Estate Affidavit: the Dollar Limits, by State
Every figure sourced and dated. Updated 2026-09-02.
A small estate affidavit lets an estate skip formal probate when its value falls under the state's dollar threshold, and that threshold is set state by state, not nationally. Texas: $75,000 (no will, homestead and exempt property excluded). Florida: $75,000, through its Disposition Without Administration process. New York: $50,000. California: $208,850, adjusted for inflation in 2025.
Why the shortcut is worth using
Formal probate typically consumes 3% to 7% of a gross estate and runs 6 to 12 months for an uncontested case. A small estate affidavit, where it applies, replaces that with a sworn document and a much shorter process, because the state has decided the estate is not large enough to justify full court supervision.
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Sources for every figure on this page
3% to 7%: SwiftProbate 2026: typical probate cost as a share of gross estate value (published estimate, retrieved 2026-08-31).
6 to 12 months: Alix probate timeline guide 2026: typical uncontested estate, filing to distribution (published estimate, retrieved 2026-08-31).
$75,000: SettledEstate 2026 / FastWill 2026: Texas small-estate-affidavit threshold (excludes homestead and exempt property; decedent must have left no will) (published estimate, retrieved 2026-09-01).
$208,850: MMZ Law 2026: California small-estate threshold, adjusted for inflation April 2025 (from $184,500) (published estimate, retrieved 2026-09-01).
$50,000: Legal Survival 2026: New York small-estate threshold (published estimate, retrieved 2026-09-01).
$75,000: SJF Law Group 2026: Florida's Disposition Without Administration threshold, its small-estate equivalent (published estimate, retrieved 2026-09-01).
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