About
This site is published under the pen name James Whitfield. It is a byline, not a biography: the person behind it chooses to stay anonymous (see the author page for why), and nothing here asks you to trust a personal story. Trust the statute citations instead — every claim links to the probate code section behind it.
The gap this site fills: state small-estate forms are usually clear about the fields and silent about the process. Families commonly report bank branch staff insisting on court-issued "Letters of Administration" that the statute doesn't actually require, and nothing explains what to do when the person across the counter is confidently wrong about the law.
Not everyone even has the option of walking into a branch. A lot of families handling this are doing it from another state entirely, coordinating by phone, mail, and email — sometimes with a sibling on the ground, sometimes alone. The bank-presentation script in every kit is written to be read over the phone by someone who has never set foot in that county, not just for someone standing at the counter.
We are not attorneys. We read state probate codes and small-estate statutes and publish what we find — the statutory thresholds, the form walkthroughs, the bank-presentation playbook, the exact statute citations. We will not advise you on your specific situation; for that, you need a licensed attorney in your state. Your state bar has a referral service for low-cost initial consultations.
You won't find a photo or a founder story here — on purpose. What you will find on every single page is the actual statute section, linked, so you never have to take a claim on faith. That's the trade this site makes: less personality, more verifiability. Estate Affidavit Guide is a research publication, not a personal brand — the state probate codes are the authority, and my job is to translate them. The byline stays consistent across every page, email, and support reply, because for a single-author site, that consistency is the one credential I can actually offer you.
What we publish — and what we won't
- State-specific operational guides built around each state's actual statutory small estate affidavit or affidavit of heirship process.
- Email support, limited to product, refund, and "we are not attorneys" questions.
- Used by families handling this themselves, and by paralegals, notaries, and other non-attorney preparers handling it for clients.
We do not:
- Draft, host, or distribute affidavit instrument text. We link to the state's own statute and official form, where one exists.
- Customize a kit based on your family's situation. Every buyer in a given state receives the same kit.
- Tell you whether your estate qualifies — that's the one thing only you (or an attorney) can determine. What we do instead: hand you the exact statutory dollar line and the exact citation, so that comparison takes minutes instead of a week of guessing.
- Give advice over phone, chat, or email about your specific situation. We do not have a phone number.
- Sell email addresses, share buyer data with attorneys, or run an affiliate / referral business.
Contact
Email support@estateaffidavitguide.com for product, refund, or kit-clarification questions. For advice on your specific situation, please contact a licensed attorney in your state — your state bar association maintains a referral service for low-cost initial consultations.