Small estate checker for Delaware

Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.

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The limit is picked from the date of death.

Enter the date of death and the values you know

Leave a box empty if the person had nothing of that kind. We add up only what the state counts.

The limits this checker uses

These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.

Small estate affidavit: distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters (estate assets $50,000 or less)

30 days after the death.

What counts toward the limit in Delaware

Add up the value of the person's personal estate. Leave out jointly owned property, insurance and employee benefits paid to a named beneficiary, and the family Bible, clothes and family stores. If the person owned Delaware real estate alone or as a tenant in common, the affidavit cannot be used at all. The law does not say whether debts are subtracted; all known debts must be paid or provided for before signing.

Law: 12 Del. C. secs. 2306(a), 1901

Kind of propertyHow it is treatedDetails
Bank accounts in the person's name alone
Counts

Accounts in the person's name alone count.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(3), 1901(a)

Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
Left out

Jointly owned accounts are left out of the total.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(3)

Cars and other vehicles
Counts

A vehicle is personal property and counts. The named executor and next of kin may take possession of the person's vehicles after the death, using the Register of Wills form for this.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(3), 2306(c)(1)

Boats and mobile or manufactured homes
Counts

Boats and other goods and chattels count.

Law: 12 Del. C. 1901(a), 2306(a)(3)

Real estate in Delaware
Has its own procedure

The affidavit cannot be used at all if the person owned Delaware real estate alone or as a tenant in common; that estate needs probate.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(6)

Main home (primary residence)
Has its own procedure

If the person owned their Delaware home alone or as a tenant in common, the affidavit cannot be used. A home held jointly with survivorship or passing by a transfer on death deed does not need probate.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(6)

Real estate in another state
Not clear

The law speaks of the 'personal estate' and Delaware real estate only; it does not say how real estate in other states is treated.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)

Unpaid wages owed to the person
Counts

Money owed to the person counts.

Law: 12 Del. C. 1901(a)

Military pay owed to the person
Not clear

The law does not mention military pay.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306

Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person
Left out

Insurance, pension, bonus, stock option and other employee benefits paid to a named beneficiary are left out.

Law: 12 Del. C. 1901(c), 2306(a)(3)

Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate
Counts

Benefits payable to the estate count.

Law: 12 Del. C. 1901(c)

Property in a living trust
Not clear

The law does not mention property held in a living trust.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306

Property owned jointly with right of survivorship
Left out

Jointly owned property is left out.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(3)

Property going to a surviving spouse
Counts

Personal property counts even if it goes to the spouse.

Law: 12 Del. C. 2306(a)(3)

Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts
Counts

Stock in the person's name alone counts.

Law: 12 Del. C. 1901(a)

Furniture, jewelry and other belongings
Counts

Goods count, except the family Bible, the person's clothes and family stores, which are left out.

Law: 12 Del. C. 1901(a)-(b)

Source: Official page

Small estate affidavit: distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters (estate assets $50,000 or less)

A close relative, the named executor or another person listed in the law signs a sworn affidavit and gives it to the bank or other holder, which can then pay or transfer the person's personal property for distribution under the will or intestacy law, without opening a probate case. The Register of Wills in each county handles these affidavits.

Limit

Up to $50,000

The person's personal estate (not counting jointly owned property and beneficiary-designated benefits) cannot be more than $50,000. The limit was raised from $30,000 to $50,000 by a law approved June 10, 2026.

What counts

The value of the person's personal estate, not counting the family Bible, clothes and family stores, property paid to a named beneficiary under insurance, pension or employee benefit plans, and jointly owned property. The person must not have owned Delaware real estate, alone or as a tenant in common.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death.

Who can use it

The spouse; a grandparent or a lineal descendant of a grandparent (children, grandchildren, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and so on); the personal representative, guardian or trustee of any of them; the trustee of a trust the person created; a licensed Delaware funeral director; or the executor named in the will if qualified. Preference goes, in order, to the named executor, the spouse, a child, a parent, a sibling, a grandchild, a grandparent, then a funeral director.

Court or where to file

Given to the bank or holder. The Register of Wills of the county may issue the affidavit.

Notary

The affidavit is made under oath.

Papers to attach
  • Certified copy of the death certificate
  • Proof that all known debts are paid or provided for
  • The will, if there is one (distribution follows the will)
Steps
  1. Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
  2. Make sure the person owned no Delaware real estate (alone or as tenant in common) and that no petition for a personal representative is pending or granted.
  3. Pay or provide for all known debts, and pay, provide for, or have the spouse waive (or let lapse) the $7,500 spouse's allowance.
  4. Sign the affidavit under oath (ask the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived).
  5. Give the affidavit to each bank or holder, collect the property and distribute it under the will or intestacy law.
Fee

Set by each county Register of Wills. Example: Sussex County charges $5.00 plus $2.00 per page for a small estate affidavit.

Debts and responsibility

The people who receive property must answer for it to anyone with a prior right, and must account to any heir or to a personal representative appointed later.

What the bank or holder must do

A holder who pays, delivers or transfers on the affidavit is released as if it had paid a personal representative and need not check the affidavit. If the holder refuses, the property can be recovered or its delivery compelled in an action in the Court of Chancery on proof of the facts in the affidavit.

Law: 12 Del. C. secs. 2306, 2307, 1901(b)-(c); 85 Del. Laws c. 281

Source: Official page

Bank accounts after a death in Delaware

Jointly owned accounts are left out of the small estate total and go to the surviving owner. For an account in the person's name alone, the people listed in the law can use the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the personal estate is $50,000 or less and all known debts are paid or provided for. The bank is released when it pays on the affidavit.

Law: 12 Del. C. secs. 2306, 2307

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Delaware

A surviving spouse may claim a cash allowance of up to $7,500 from the estate by notifying the Register of Wills and the executor or administrator in writing within 9 months of the death or 6 months of the grant of letters, whichever is shorter. Before using the small estate affidavit, this allowance must be paid, provided for, waived or have lapsed.

Related pages

Free help in Delaware

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.