How Probate Affects Small Estates: Streamlined Processes and Exemptions

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Probate refers to the court-supervised process of administering a decedent’s estate. It is often a costly and time-consuming business, which can frustrate heirs and beneficiaries as they wait to receive their inheritances. However, small estates may take advantage of streamlined processes that facilitate property transfers much more efficiently than traditional probate.

The Streamlined Process for Small Estates

California law offers several options for facilitating an efficient transfer of a decedent’s assets when they have a “small” estate. First, a decedent’s family may distribute their estate through an affidavit if the total value of the decedent’s estate does not exceed a specific threshold. For individuals who died on April 1, 2022, or later, their families may use an affidavit if the decedent’s estate’s value does not exceed $184,500. The total value of the estate should include all of the decedent’s real and personal property and all life insurance or retirement benefits paid to the estate, but should exclude:

  • Vehicles and mobile homes
  • Real property located outside California
  • Property held in trust
  • Property held in a joint tenancy 
  • Community property or property that passed directly to the decedent’s surviving spouse or domestic partner
  • Bank accounts held jointly with other persons
  • Debts or mortgages (which cannot offset the value of assets in the estate)

Families cannot use small estate affidavits to transfer real property, although other streamlined procedures exist for real property under a specific value. Furthermore, a family may use a small estate affidavit only if no probate case has opened for the decedent in any jurisdiction and at least 40 days have passed since the decedent’s death. 

Alternatively, families may pursue “summary succession” to transfer qualifying assets without needing probate. Summary succession rules include:

  • Estate assets distributable to the decedent’s surviving spouse and minor children for their immediate needs – Up to $95,325 for individuals who died between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, or up to $107,900 for individuals who died on or after April 1, 2025.
  • Unpaid wages for military service or employment – Up to $18,450 for individuals who died between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, or up to $20,875 for individuals who died on or after April 1, 2025.
  • The decedent’s primary residence – Value of up to $184,500 for individuals who died between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, or up to $750,000 for individuals who died on or after April 1, 2025.
  • The decedent’s other real property in California – Value of up to $61,500 for individuals who died between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, or up to $69,625 for individuals who died on or after April 1, 2025.
  • Unpaid earnings distributable to the decedent’s surviving spouse – Up to $18,450 for individuals who died between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, or up to $20,875 for individuals who died on or after April 1, 2025.

Assets Typically Exempt from Probate

Many types of assets that a decedent owned or had an interest in do not go through probate in California after the decedent’s death. Examples of assets usually exempt from probate include:

  • Property owned in a joint tenancy with right of survivorship or a tenancy by the entirety
  • Assets that have designated beneficiaries, such as life insurance policies or retirement/pension accounts
  • Bank or brokerage accounts with pay-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, which distribute assets from the account or transfer control of the account to a designated beneficiary
  • Assets held in trusts
  • Real property located outside California (although such property may have to go through probate in the home state)

Planning Strategies to Simplify or Avoid Probate

Legal strategies that individuals can pursue to simplify or avoid probate of their estate after death include:

  • Utilizing and updating beneficiary or pay/transfer-on-death designations
  • Creating living trusts to pass assets to beneficiaries after death
  • Placing titled property in joint tenancies where appropriate

Contact a Probate Attorney Today

Do you need help probating an estate? Don’t go through the process alone. Instead, contact Biddle Law today for an initial consultation with a probate attorney to discuss your family’s options.