Settle a small estate in Idaho without probate
In Idaho this is called: Collection of personal property by affidavit (small estate affidavit); summary administration for a surviving spouse who is the sole heir. If the part of the estate that would go through probate is worth no more than $100,000 after liens, the person who inherits can collect personal property by giving a sworn affidavit to whoever holds it, with no court case.
Up to $100,000, 30 days after the death, no court filing.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
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Free tools
Small estate checker
Add up the estate and compare it with the Idaho limit for the date of death.
Letter to a bank
Present your signed affidavit to a bank or other holder in Idaho.
Balance request letter
Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.
What-to-gather checklist
Papers, steps, forms and fees for Idaho, by procedure.
Car, bank, house in Idaho
Car or other vehicle
A successor can transfer a vehicle title with the ITD Small Estate Affidavit (ITD 3413) after 30 days, if the probate estate minus liens is no more than $100,000.
Bank accounts
Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner if an intent to give the account can be shown, and money in a pay-on-death account belongs to the named payee.
Related pages
Collection of personal property by affidavit (Idaho Code 15-3-1201)
A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or person holding the property, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.
- Limit
Up to $100,000 Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
The fair market value of everything subject to probate, wherever it is, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be more than $100,000.
- What counts
The fair market value of the entire estate that is subject to probate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances. Property that passes outside probate (joint accounts with survivorship, pay-on-death accounts, beneficiary designations) is not part of the probate estate.
- Waiting period
At least 30 days must have passed since the death.
- Who can use it
A person or entity claiming to be the successor (who inherits under the will, including a trust named in the will, or under state law), or someone acting for the successor. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare can also act as a successor to recover Medicaid, after giving notice to heirs and creditors.
- Court or where to file
Not filed with a court. You give it to the bank or other holder.
- Notary
The law requires an affidavit, which is a sworn statement.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate (holders usually ask for it)
- Steps
- Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
- Check that no one has applied for appointment of a personal representative or for summary administration in any state.
- Write the affidavit with the four statements the law requires.
- Sign it under oath.
- Give it to each bank, company or person holding the property.
- Fee
No court filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with the court.
- Debts and responsibility
Anyone who receives property by affidavit must answer for it to any personal representative of the estate or to anyone with a better right.
- What the bank or holder must do
The holder that pays or delivers on the affidavit is released as if it dealt with a personal representative and need not check the truth of the affidavit. A transfer agent must re-register securities. If a holder refuses, the people entitled can bring a court proceeding to recover the property.
Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201, 15-3-1202
Source: Official page
Summary administration of estates in which a surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary
If the surviving spouse inherits everything, under the will or with no will, the spouse can file a short court petition. After a hearing, the court issues a decree that works like a final distribution order, and there is no estate administration.
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period. Notice of the hearing must be given as the probate code requires.
- Who can use it
The surviving spouse who is the sole heir or sole devisee, or a person claiming property through the spouse.
- Court or where to file
Magistrate division of the district court in the county (probate court).
- Notary
The petition is verified (sworn).
- Papers to attach
- The original will, if there is one
- Proof of the marriage and death
- Steps
- File a verified petition stating the marriage, the death, and that the spouse is the only heir or devisee.
- Give notice of the hearing.
- At the hearing (the spouse may appear by phone or file affidavits instead), the court issues a decree if the facts are shown.
- Fee
Set by the court; ask the clerk.
- Debts and responsibility
A spouse who uses this procedure takes on and is liable for all debts that could be claims against the estate.
Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1205
Source: Official page
Small estates summary administrative procedure
In an open probate case, if the estate after liens is worth no more than the homestead allowance, exempt property, administration costs, funeral and last-illness expenses, the personal representative can distribute it without notice to creditors and close with a sworn statement.
- Waiting period
The personal representative may distribute once the inventory shows the estate qualifies.
- Who can use it
A personal representative appointed in a probate case.
- Court or where to file
Magistrate division of the district court where the case is open.
- Papers to attach
- Inventory and appraisal
- Closing statement
- Steps
- A personal representative is appointed.
- The inventory shows the estate qualifies.
- The personal representative distributes the estate and files a closing statement.
- Fee
Set by the court; ask the clerk.
Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1203, 15-3-1204
Source: Official page
What counts toward the limit in Idaho
Add up the fair market value of everything in the person's estate that is subject to probate, wherever it is, and subtract liens and encumbrances. Property that passes outside probate is not part of that total.
Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1)
In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone, with no pay-on-death payee, count. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner (if an intent to give can be shown), and money in a pay-on-death account belongs to the payee, not to the probate estate. Law: Idaho Code 15-6-104 |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Vehicles in the person's name count toward the probate estate. The Transportation Department uses form ITD 3413 for a small estate vehicle transfer. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1); ITD 3413 |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | A boat or mobile home in the person's name that is subject to probate counts. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Real estate in Idaho | Counts | Real estate subject to probate counts toward the total, minus mortgages. The affidavit itself collects personal property only. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a) |
Main home (primary residence) | Counts | A home subject to probate counts, minus the mortgage. A home held as community property with right of survivorship passes to the surviving spouse. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1), 15-6-401 |
Real estate in another state | Counts | The estate is counted 'wherever located', so probate real estate in other states counts. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person, such as a final paycheck, counts. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a) |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the court assistance office how military pay owed to the person is treated. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Insurance and retirement benefits paid to a named beneficiary are not subject to probate. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Benefits payable to the person's estate are subject to probate and count. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Property in a living trust | Left out | Property already in a living trust is not subject to probate. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property that passes by survivorship to a co-owner is not subject to probate. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1), 15-6-104, 15-6-401 |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Not clear | Idaho is a community property state. Ask the court assistance office how community property passing to the spouse is counted; a spouse who inherits everything can use summary administration instead. Law: Idaho Code 15-2-102, 15-3-1205 |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks in the person's name alone, with no transfer-on-death beneficiary, count. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)-(b) |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Belongings count at fair market value. Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201(a)(1) |
Source: Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in Idaho
A successor can transfer a vehicle title with the ITD Small Estate Affidavit (ITD 3413) after 30 days, if the probate estate minus liens is no more than $100,000. If the person died without a will, left no creditors and no other property needing probate, a survivor or heir can use the Affidavit of Inheritance (ITD 3414), listing the other heirs. Both are signed under penalty of perjury and are attached to the application for an Idaho title; the claimant agrees to defend the department against claims.
Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1201; ITD 3413, ITD 3414
- Agency
- Idaho Transportation Department, Division of Motor Vehicles (ITD DMV)
- Waiting period
- 30 days after the death
- Fee
The DMV charges its title fee.
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Idaho
Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner if an intent to give the account can be shown, and money in a pay-on-death account belongs to the named payee. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can use the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the probate estate is worth no more than $100,000 after liens.
Law: Idaho Code 15-6-104, 15-3-1201
Source: Official page
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Idaho
- Real estate (TOD deed)
No
Idaho law does not provide a transfer-on-death deed. A married couple can hold real property as community property with right of survivorship, which passes to the surviving spouse at the first death.
Law: Idaho Code 15-6-401
- Bank account (POD)
Yes
Law: Idaho Code 15-6-104(b)
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in Idaho
Idaho is a community property state. With no will, the person's half of community property passes to the surviving spouse. Real property held as community property with right of survivorship belongs to the surviving spouse at death (15-6-401). A spouse who is the only heir or devisee can use summary administration (15-3-1205), but then takes on the person's debts.
Law: Idaho Code 15-2-102(b)
Debts of the person in Idaho
Anyone who receives property by affidavit must answer for it to a personal representative or anyone with a better right. A surviving spouse who uses summary administration is liable for all debts that could be claims against the estate (15-3-1205(c)).
Law: Idaho Code 15-3-1202
Medicaid estate recovery in Idaho
Idaho may recover Medicaid paid for a person who was 55 or older when it was paid, from the person's estate and the spouse's estate. Idaho defines the estate broadly: it includes property passed by joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement. There is no recovery until both spouses have died, and not while there is a surviving child under 21 or a blind or disabled child. A personal representative must notify the director within 30 days of appointment. The department can use the small estate affidavit as a successor, after mailing notice to heirs and creditors, and may file a lien.
Law: Idaho Code 56-218, 15-3-1201(c)
- Agency
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Medicaid Estate Recovery Office
- Phone
- 866-849-3843
- Official page
- Official page
Who inherits with no will in Idaho
If there is no will, the surviving spouse gets the person's half of community property. Of separate property, the spouse gets all of it if there are no children or parents; half if there are parents but no children; half if there are children. The rest goes to the children (or their descendants), then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents' families.
Law: Idaho Code 15-2-102, 15-2-103
Source: Official page
Death certificates in Idaho
Applicants must provide a government-issued photo ID with signature (or two forms of ID).
- Where to get it
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics
- Official page
- Official page
Where to file in Idaho
The small estate affidavit is not filed with any court; you give it to the bank or other holder. For a vehicle, use ITD 3413 or ITD 3414 with the title application at the DMV. A surviving spouse's summary administration petition, or a probate case, is filed in the magistrate division of the district court in the county.
Good to know in Idaho
- The affidavit counts the whole probate estate, wherever located, including real estate, at fair market value minus liens.
- A surviving spouse who inherits everything can get a court decree without administration, but becomes liable for the person's debts.
- Idaho Medicaid estate recovery reaches property passed outside probate, such as joint tenancy and living trusts.
National rules that apply in every state
Federal estate tax
- For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
- Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)
The final income tax return
- Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
- Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
- To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).
Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)
Social Security
- Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
- If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)
Savings bonds
- If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.
Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)
Debts
- Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
- If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
- You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.
Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)
A house with a mortgage
- For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/
Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31
FDIC insurance on bank accounts
- After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.
Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)
Medicaid estate recovery
- States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
- The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
- Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html
Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)
Death certificates
- Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.
Free help in Idaho
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
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Questions about small estates in Idaho
What is a small estate affidavit called in Idaho?
In Idaho this is called: Collection of personal property by affidavit (small estate affidavit); summary administration for a surviving spouse who is the sole heir. If the part of the estate that would go through probate is worth no more than $100,000 after liens, the person who inherits can collect personal property by giving a sworn affidavit to whoever holds it, with no court case.
What is the small estate limit in Idaho?
Up to $100,000, 30 days after the death, no court filing.
How long do I wait in Idaho?
At least 30 days must have passed since the death.
Do I have to go to court in Idaho?
Not filed with a court. You give it to the bank or other holder.
How do I transfer a car after a death in Idaho?
A successor can transfer a vehicle title with the ITD Small Estate Affidavit (ITD 3413) after 30 days, if the probate estate minus liens is no more than $100,000. If the person died without a will, left no creditors and no other property needing probate, a survivor or heir can use the Affidavit of Inheritance (ITD 3414), listing the other heirs.
What happens to a bank account after a death in Idaho?
Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner if an intent to give the account can be shown, and money in a pay-on-death account belongs to the named payee. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can use the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the probate estate is worth no more than $100,000 after liens.
Who inherits in Idaho if there is no will?
If there is no will, the surviving spouse gets the person's half of community property. Of separate property, the spouse gets all of it if there are no children or parents; half if there are parents but no children; half if there are children.
Do I owe the person's debts in Idaho?
Anyone who receives property by affidavit must answer for it to a personal representative or anyone with a better right. A surviving spouse who uses summary administration is liable for all debts that could be claims against the estate (15-3-1205(c)).
- Idaho Code 15-3-1201 (Idaho Legislature)
- Idaho Code 15-3-1202
- Idaho Code 15-3-1205
- Idaho Code 15-2-102
- Idaho Code 15-6-104
- Idaho Code 15-6-401
- Idaho Code 56-218
- 2026 S1399 Statement of Purpose
- ITD 3413 Small Estate Affidavit
- ITD 3414 Affidavit of Inheritance
- IDHW: About Medicaid for Elderly or Adults with Disabilities (estate recovery)
- CDC NCHS Where to Write: Idaho