District of Columbia Estate Checklist

Which procedure

Your name (optional)

Papers most holders ask for Certified copies of the death certificate Your photo ID The will, if there is one Recent statements for each account, car and property

Papers for this procedure: Administration of a Small Estate (Petition for Administration of Small Estate, SEB) The person's will, if any, and the Certificate of Filing Will Photo identification of each petitioner with signature Death certificate Funeral bills and receipts for the funeral or cremation Written list of all assets the person owned or co-owned at death, with current statements for bank and credit union accounts, stocks, bonds and retirement accounts Vehicle title (or registration card) and written confirmation of the vehicle's value (an online trade-in quote is accepted) Property tax assessment bills for any real estate outside D.C. Uncashed checks payable to the person, and a letter from the D.C. Unclaimed Property Unit stating any value held Names and addresses of all heirs and, if there is a will, all legatees

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Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit (transfers by affidavit)

If the whole estate is small and has no real estate, the people who inherit can sign a sworn affidavit and give it to a bank, transfer agent, the DMV or anyone else holding an asset. The holder must pay or deliver the asset to the 'designated successor' named in the affidavit. Nothing is filed with the court.

Limit

Up to $40,000 (deaths on or after March 21, 2025) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of death	Limit
On or after March 21, 2025	$40,000

For a death on or after March 21, 2025, the person's entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, must be worth no more than $40,000 (and more than the estate's known debts), with no real estate.

What counts

The value of the person's entire probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, on the date of death. It must be more than the estate's known debts but not more than $40,000, and the estate cannot include any interest in real property.

Waiting period

At least 60 days must have passed since the death, as shown by a certified death certificate attached to the affidavit.

Who can use it

All known successors (people other than creditors who inherit under the will or the law) must make the affidavit. It names a 'designated successor' who receives the asset and has a legal (fiduciary) duty to safeguard it and promptly pay or deliver each successor's share. No application for a personal representative can be pending or granted anywhere.

Court or where to file

Not filed with a court. You give it to the holder of the asset.

Notary

The successor swears or affirms that all statements are true under penalty of perjury.

Papers to attach

Certified copy of the death certificate
Statement that the funeral expenses have been paid
Names and addresses of all successors and the share of the asset each is entitled to
Any certificates for securities, surrendered to the transfer agent

Steps

Wait at least 60 days after the death.
Pay the funeral expenses.
Write an affidavit with all the statements the law requires, signed by all known successors, naming the designated successor.
Attach a certified death certificate and give the affidavit to the bank, transfer agent, DMV or other holder.
The designated successor receives the asset and passes each successor's share on promptly.

Fee

There is no court filing fee because the affidavit is not filed with the court. The DMV charges its normal title fees for a vehicle.

Debts and responsibility

The designated successor has a fiduciary duty to safeguard and promptly pay or deliver the asset. Anyone who receives an asset this way must account for it to any personal representative appointed later or to another successor with an equal or better right. False statements are perjury.

What the bank or holder must do

A holder presented with a proper affidavit must pay or deliver the asset; transfer agents must re-register securities and the DMV must transfer a vehicle title. The holder is released as if it had dealt with a personal representative and need not check the truth of the affidavit. If it refuses, the asset can be recovered with damages in court, and a holder that refuses without reasonable cause must pay the successors' costs and reasonable attorney's fees; the holder must prove reasonable cause.

Law: D.C. Code secs. 20-360 to 20-362 (D.C. Law 25-302

Source: Official page

Death certificates in the District of Columbia

A copy of a government-issued picture ID must accompany each request. The recorded information line for current fees is (202) 442-9303.

Where to get it: DC Health, Vital Records Division, 2201 Shannon Place SE, Washington, DC 20020
Official page: Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in the District of Columbia

A surviving joint owner gets a new title by presenting the title in both names and an authenticated death certificate (no excise tax). For a vehicle owned only by the person who died, DC DMV needs an assignment of title by the personal representative and an authenticated copy of the letters or of the small estate order listing the vehicle, plus a DMV title application and the original death certificate. For deaths on or after March 21, 2025, the DMV must also transfer a vehicle title to the designated successor named in a proper small asset affidavit, on payment of the fees.

Law: D.C. Code secs. 20-361(d), 20-351

Agency: District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles (DC DMV)
Fee: DC DMV title fees apply. A surviving joint owner's new title is exempt from excise tax; other excise tax exemptions are listed in the DMV's exemption chart.
Transfer-on-death title: An individual owner can add one beneficiary to a DC title. After the owner's death, the beneficiary brings the death certificate, their ID and the fee to a DMV service center; no letters of administration are needed, and a will does not override the designation. A lien must be satisfied or approved for transfer first.

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in the District of Columbia

The surviving spouse or domestic partner has top priority (with children, if there is no will) to be personal representative of a small estate. In an estate, D.C. law gives a surviving spouse or domestic partner a homestead allowance of $30,000 and exempt property up to $20,000 (household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances and personal effects, above any security interests), and the spouse or partner and dependent children a reasonable family allowance, which the personal representative may pay in a lump sum of up to $30,000. These amounts were raised by D.C. Law 25-302 for deaths on or after March 21, 2025. If there is no spouse or partner, the children share the exempt property allowance unless a will leaves them nothing.

Related pages

Free help in the District of Columbia

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