The sworn form that lets a family collect a modest estate without opening a probate case at all.
Every state provides a simplified route for estates below a threshold, on the reasoning that a full court administration costs more than the estate is worth. The commonest form is the small estate affidavit: a sworn statement identifying the deceased person, the claimant, the relationship, and the property sought, presented directly to whoever holds the asset - a bank, a credit union, a transfer agent, a motor vehicle department - who may then release it without any court appointment. A second and related route, sometimes called summary or informal administration, opens a court file but on a much shorter path.
Three conditions typically gate it, and each is a place where families come unstuck. The estate's qualifying value must be under a ceiling set by state statute, which differs enormously between states and is periodically adjusted, so the figure must be read from the current statute of the state where the person lived. A waiting period after death, also set by that statute, usually has to elapse before the affidavit may be presented. And in most states real property is excluded or handled by a separate procedure, so an estate that is mostly a house generally does not qualify even when the bank accounts are small. Note also what counts toward the ceiling: assets already passing by beneficiary designation or survivorship are normally outside the probate estate and therefore usually outside the calculation.
An affidavit is sworn testimony, and that is the part to take seriously. Signing one asserts under penalty of perjury that the facts are true, that the signer is entitled, and in most states that debts have been paid or will be. It does not extinguish creditors: they retain their rights, and someone who collects and distributes an estate this way can be personally answerable for valid debts up to what they received. It also does not resolve a dispute - it is a mechanism for an uncontested estate. Where another relative disagrees, where the will is questioned, or where the deceased person owed substantial money, the affidavit is the wrong instrument and using it can make the situation worse.
Start by asking the probate court clerk in the county where the person lived whether the state has a small estate procedure and what form it uses; many courts publish the form and the current limit, and clerks may explain procedure even though they cannot give legal advice. Before signing, write down every asset and how each one is titled, because assets with a named beneficiary or a surviving joint owner usually pass outside this process entirely and may take the estate under the limit. Ask a lawyer where real property is involved, where the total is near the ceiling, where there are unpaid debts or medical bills of any size, where the deceased person received Medicaid and estate recovery may apply, where anyone in the family disputes anything, or where a business interest exists. Institutions occasionally refuse a valid affidavit and ask for court letters instead; that is worth one call to a lawyer before starting a full administration you may not need.
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