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Estate Planning
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California just made it easier to skip probate entirely for a much larger share of estates. For deaths on or after April 1, 2026, the small estate affidavit threshold rises to $239,700, and a separate 2024 law now lets many families claim a home worth up to $750,000 without a full probate case. If you’re settling a parent’s estate this year, or planning your own, both numbers are worth knowing exactly.
The California Courts self-help guide on small estate affidavits confirms the threshold adjusts periodically under Probate Code Section 890. For deaths between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, the limit is $208,850. For deaths on or after April 1, 2026, it rises to $239,700. If the total value of a decedent’s personal property falls under that number, an heir can collect it using a sworn affidavit instead of opening a probate case, once at least 40 days have passed since the date of death. That 40-day wait is mandatory. There’s no way to shorten it, even if every heir agrees on how to divide things.
It’s easy to assume “personal property” covers everything someone owned, but it doesn’t include real estate. A house, condo, or land held in the decedent’s name follows different rules entirely, which is where the bigger change actually is.
Before AB 2016, a family trying to avoid probate on a home had to use the “Affidavit Re Real Property of Small Value,” capped at a value so low it excluded almost every California house. The full text of AB 2016, as chaptered, shows what changed: if a decedent’s primary residence was worth $750,000 or less (adjusted periodically, the same way the small estate threshold is), and 40 days have passed since death, a successor can file a petition asking the court to confirm they’ve succeeded to that property, without opening full probate administration. The bill requires the petitioner to notify every heir and devisee named in the petition, so it’s not a way around involving the rest of the family, just a way around the full probate timeline and cost.
For a lot of California families, especially in markets where an ordinary home easily clears six figures, this is the difference between a multi-month probate case and a court petition that resolves in weeks.
Wondering whether a specific estate you’re settling actually qualifies under either threshold, or whether the primary residence petition applies to a property that wasn’t the decedent’s only home? Schedule a consultation with Salvo Law before you assume probate is required. A lot of estates that would have needed full administration two years ago don’t anymore.
Neither threshold eliminates probate for larger estates. If personal property exceeds $239,700, or the primary residence is worth more than $750,000, the estate still needs full probate administration (or a living trust set up in advance, which avoids the question altogether). And the primary residence petition specifically requires the property to have been the decedent’s primary residence. A rental property, vacation home, or property the decedent no longer lived in at death doesn’t qualify the same way, regardless of value.
There’s also a detail worth knowing if you’re the one settling the estate: the 40-day waiting period runs from the date of death, not the date you decide to act. Families sometimes lose time by not realizing the clock already started.
Does a small estate affidavit or primary residence petition require a lawyer? Not by law, but both require getting the value calculation right the first time. If you file a small estate affidavit and later find out the estate actually exceeded $239,700 once everything was accounted for, or the primary residence petition gets challenged because notice wasn’t properly given to an heir, you can end up in full probate anyway, just later and with more cost than if you’d started there. The forms are simple. Getting the underlying facts right before you file is where mistakes actually happen.
Both thresholds adjust periodically rather than staying fixed, which is why the small estate limit has moved twice in two years (from $184,500 to $208,850, now to $239,700). If you’re using an older article, a form, or even advice from a few years ago, double-check the number against the current date of death, not the date you’re reading it. An estate that didn’t qualify for simplified transfer in 2023 might qualify now, and the reverse is also possible if a property’s value has climbed since.
If you’re currently settling an estate, confirm the actual date of death first, since that determines which threshold applies, then get an accurate value for both the personal property and any real estate involved before assuming which process fits. If you’re updating your own estate plan, these thresholds matter less if you already have a living trust, since a properly funded trust avoids probate regardless of value. But if you’re relying on these affidavit and petition processes as your fallback plan, it’s worth confirming your estate’s likely value against the current numbers, not the numbers that applied when you last reviewed your plan.
A practical starting checklist: pull together bank and brokerage statements to total the personal property, get a realistic current value on any real estate (a recent appraisal or a solid comparative market estimate, not a years-old assessment), confirm whether the property in question was actually the decedent’s primary residence at any point (not necessarily at death), and identify every heir and devisee who’ll need formal notice if a petition is filed. Having those four things ready before you file is what actually determines whether the simplified process goes smoothly or turns into a dispute.
If it’s been a few years since your estate plan was reviewed, or you’re currently settling a loved one’s estate and aren’t sure which process applies, call Salvo Law at 818-676-9572. We’ll tell you plainly whether probate is actually required for your specific situation, not just what the general rule says.