How Probate Works, State by State
Probate rules — thresholds, deadlines, and the court that handles it — vary significantly by state. Find the specific numbers and process for where the decedent lived.
How Probate Works in California
California requires probate for most solely-titled property, but it also offers more ways to shortcut that process than almost any other state — from a no-filing affidavit for smaller estates to a streamlined court petition for a primary residence worth up to $750,000.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Florida
Florida treats time itself as a qualifying factor for simplified probate: an estate can use the faster process either because it's small, or simply because two years have passed since the death — since Florida's creditor-claim statute bars all claims after that point regardless of notice.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Georgia
Georgia's main simplified path isn't gated by a dollar amount at all — it depends on whether the decedent died without a will, owes no debts, and every heir agrees in writing. Where Georgia is genuinely narrower than most states is on affidavits: there's no broad "collect everything under $X" statute, only a small one limited to bank deposits.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Illinois
Illinois recently raised its small-estate affidavit threshold from $100,000 to $150,000 for anyone who died on or after August 15, 2025 — a good reminder that this figure changes, and that an older death may still fall under the earlier cap.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Michigan
Michigan's small-estate relief is unusually well-indexed to inflation — its thresholds adjust every year, and for deaths in 2026 the figure is $53,000. Both of its simplified paths share that same dollar figure, but they cover different territory: one can include real property, the other is personal property only with no court filing at all.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in New York
New York's probate is handled by the Surrogate's Court, and its small-estate shortcut — Voluntary Administration — covers personal property only up to $50,000; anything involving real estate, no matter how small, needs full probate or administration.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in North Carolina
North Carolina has no separate probate court — the Clerk of Superior Court in each county handles estate matters as "judge of probate," a distinct role from that clerk's other duties. Its small-estate affidavit is a genuine out-of-court shortcut, unlike some neighboring states.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Ohio
Ohio's two small-estate shortcuts are both faster than full probate, but neither is a true out-of-court affidavit — both still require filing an application with the Probate Court and getting a court order, which is worth knowing before assuming a small estate needs no court involvement at all.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania doesn't offer a simple sworn affidavit that bypasses court the way many other states do. Instead it has two separate tools: a genuinely small set of asset-specific payments institutions can release without any filing, and a formal-but-simplified court petition for personal property up to $50,000.
Read the guide →How Probate Works in Texas
Texas probate is unusual in two ways: most estates use "independent administration," a Texas-specific process that lets an executor act with little ongoing court supervision, and a valid will with no debts can skip appointing an executor at all through a process called Muniment of Title.
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