One of the basic reasons to create a revocable living trust is to avoid probate. However, many people often find themselves the administrator of an estate that needs to go through the probate process. Probate laws are governed by each state and each state’s probate exemption law is different. (One of the major reasons to avoid probate in every state where you may have property.) Usually what is permitted is determined by accepted custom and practice in the local legal community. The checklist does not define how individual state law calculates the dollar limits for exemptions, transfers by wills, i.e., whether the limit applies to your gross estate (the market value of everything you own with no deductions for debts), net estate (market value less debts and encumbrances), or net probate estate (net value of property left by will). The checklist summarizes each state’s law and provides three categories of information for each state.

This category tells you whether the state has a law allowing any property left by a will to be transferred by affidavit, free of al probate. If there is a “no” in this category, then the state does not have this kind of law. “Free of normal probate” means that no actual court proceeding, notice of hearing, hearings before a judge, formal pleadings, etc. are required. Some states still require a relatively simple affidavit to be filed with a court or court clerk. Other states don’t require any judicial filing at all.
If there is a dollar figure in this category, it means the state has a law allowing property up to the dollar figure listed to be transferred by this method. Any restrictions on the type of property than can be transferred are listed. Some states allow only personal property and not real estate to be transferred. Real estate is usually so valuable that it is unlikely that an interest in real estate would fall below the dollar limit, unless the ownership in the property is a very small percentage of the whole. Any restrictions on who the beneficiaries can be are also listed. The checklist does not set forth the precise information which must be in an affidavit, if one is required. Search your state’s law to determine this.

This category provides the same kind of information as given in category 1 for those states which do require probate, but offer a simplified or truncated version. Again, these procedures vary widely from state to state. Under a summary probate, the executor files an application to probate the will exactly as in traditional probate. A hearing is then held to “prove” the will. If the will is proved valid, and it’s shown that the estate has no outstanding debts or other problems the court orders summary probate dispensing with many of the tedious steps or normal probate. Since the will has been proved in court, title to the property transferred in this way isn’t open to challenge. This avoids a problem that sometimes occurs with the small estate affidavit.

This category lists the legal citation for each state’s probate exemption statute. If the state has two statutes, one for an affidavit procedure and another for a simplified probate, both citations are given. In such cases, the first citation given is to the Affidavit Procedure statute. The citations are to the first section of the relevant statute. The + symbol after the statutory cite means that other pertinent sections follow the first section that is noted.

ALABAMA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$3,000 personal property only	Code of Alabama, Title 43, Ch. 2, Section 690 +

ALASKA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Alaska Statutes Title 13, Ch. 6, Section 13.16.08

ARIZONA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$50,000	No, (except for certain types of family property)	Arizona Revised Statute, Sections 14-3971+; 14-1973+

ARKANSAS
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$25,000	No	Arkansas Statutes Annotated, Sections G2.2127+

CALIFORNIA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$100,000 personal property and real property interest, $20,000	To surviving spouse, community property petition, no dollar limit	California Probate Code, Sections 13.200+, 13.500+

COLORADO
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	Net Estate $20,000	No (except for certain types of exempt family property, etc.)	Colorado Revised Statute Sections 13-12-1201+

CONNECTICUT
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	Net Estate $20,000	No (except for certain types of exempt family property, etc.)	Connecticut General Statutes Annotated title 45, Sections 266+

DELAWARE
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$12,500 personal property only: Beneficiaries can only be spouse, grandparents, children or other specified relatives	No	Delaware Code Annotated Title 12, Sections 2306+

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except if entire estate is more than two cars, and all debts and taxes are paid)	No	District of Columbia Code Title 20. Section 2101+

FLORIDA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except for very small estates with less than specified exceptions)	$25,000 property in Florida subject to probate: $60,000 for estate left primarily to family members	Florida Statutes Annotated Sections 735.301+; 735.201+ 735.103+

GEORGIA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No	No applicable statute

HAWAII
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$100,000	$20,000 property in Hawaii	Hawaii Revised Statutes, Sections 560: 3-1205+; 560: 3-1213

IDAHO
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Idaho Code Sections 15-3-301+

ILLINOIS
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$25,000 personal property. Also if all beneficiaries agree, and are Illinois residents, and no state inheritance or federal estate taxes are due	$50,000	Illinois Annotated Statutes, CH. 110 ½ Sections 9-8+, 6-8+, 25-1+

INDIANA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$8,500 personal property	No dollar limit	Indiana Statutes Annotated Sections 29-1-8+; 29-1-7.5-5+

IOWA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$15,000 total value of probate and non-probate Iowa property; only surviving spouse, minor children, parents	Iowa Code Annotated; section 635+

KANSAS
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Kansas Statutes Annotated, Sections 59-3201+; 3301+

KENTUCKY
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	By agreement of all beneficiaries when spouse receives probate estate under $7,500	Kentucky Revised Statutes, Sections 391.030+, 395,450+

LOUISIANA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No (except Louisiana residents who die intestate with estate worth less than $50,000)	No applicable statute

MAINE
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 18A, Sections 1-101

MARYLAND
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except if entire estate is no more than two cars or a boat worth less than $5,000)	$20,000	Annotated Code of Maryland, Section 5-601+

MASSACHUSETTS
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except wages less than $100, or bank accounts of $2,000 to $3,000, depending on type)	$15,000 personal property	Mass. General Laws Annotated, Ch 195, Section 16+

MICHIGAN
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$5,000; (and car worth less than $10,000 given to surviving spouse, if no other property)	Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated, Sections 27.5101+ 257.236; and 9.1936

MINNESOTA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$30,000	Minnesota Statutes Annotated, Section 525.51+

MISSISSIPPI
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$500	Mississippi Annotated Code, Sections 91-7-147

MISSOURI
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$15,000	Annotated Missouri Statutes, Section 5 473.097

MONTANA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Montana Code Annotated, Title 72, Section 3-201+

NEBRASKA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Revised Statutes of Nebraska, Sections 30-2414+

NEVADA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$20,000 for real property $200,000 for just personal property	$100,000	Nevada Revised Statutes, Section 145.070+, 146.010+

NEW HAMPSHIRE
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except $500 to surviving spouse)	$5,000	New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, CH 553.331+

NEW JERSEY
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (only if die intestate, then $10,000 to spouse, or $5,000 to others)	No	No applicable statute

NEW MEXICO
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$5,000	$10,000 plus certain statutory allowance	New Mexico Statutes, 45-3-1202, 45-3-1204

NEW YORK
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$10,000 (plus certain types of exempt property, to specified dollar limits)	No	Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated, Estates Powers and Trusts Law, Section 1301+

NORTH CAROLINA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$10,000 personal property	No	General Statutes of North Carolina, CH 28A, Section 23-1.1

NORTH DAKOTA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	North Dakota Code, Title 30.1-14+

OHIO
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$15,000	Ohio Revised Code Annotated, Section 2113.03

OKLAHOMA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$60,000	Oklahoma Statutes Annotated, Title 58, Sections 241+

OREGON
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$25,000 personal property, $60,000 real property	No	Oregon Revised Statutes, Section 114.515+

PENNSYLVANIA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$10,000 personal property	Pennsylvania statutes Annotated. Title 20, sections 3120+

RHODE ISLAND
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except person(s) who paid funeral costs, last bills, etc., up to $7,500)	No	No applicable statutes

SOUTH CAROLINA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$10,000	$10,000	Code of Laws of South Carolina, Title 62, CH 3, Sections 1201, 1203+

SOUTH DAKOTA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$5,000	$60,000	South Dakota codified Laws, Sections 30-11A+, 30-11-1

TENNESSEE
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No (except $1,000 wages to widow, bank accounts less than $1,000)	$10,000 real estate only	Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 30 Ch 4 Sections 101+

TEXAS
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$50,000	No dollar limit	Texas probate Code, Sections 137+, 145+

UTAH
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	No dollar limit	Utah Code, Title 75, Sections 3-301

VERMONT
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$10,000 personal property	Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 14, Sections 1901+

VIRGINIA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$5,000 personal property and $5,000 owed deceased from bank or employment	No	Code of Virginia, Sections 64.1-132+

WASHINGTON
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$30,000 personal property	No	Revised code of Washington Annotated, Title 11 Sections 62.010+

WEST VIRGINIA
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	No	$50,000	West Virginia Code, Ch 24, Art. 2, Section 1

WISCONSIN
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$5,000 personal property	$10,000 Also Wisconsin has an “informal” probate procedure that does not require a lawyer and has no dollar limit	Wisconsin Statutes Annotated; Sections 867.03+, 867.045+

WYOMING
	Affidavit Instead of Probate	Summary Probate	Statutes

	$30,000	No	Wyoming Statutes Annotated Section 2-1-201