Glossary

Small estate threshold

The value below which a state offers a simplified alternative to full probate.

Below the threshold an estate can often be settled by affidavit or a summary procedure rather than full administration, which is faster and considerably cheaper. What counts toward the figure varies. New York's threshold is measured on personal property only, so real estate does not count and is not covered. Maryland's rises where the surviving spouse is the sole heir. Colorado's is not stated as a number at all — it is twice a base figure, indexed annually and keyed to the year of death. The figure published by a state's courts is the one that governs, and it is not always the one printed in the code.

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