California Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value

If a bank told you an account is frozen and didn't explain what that actually means, you're not stuck, and you're not the only one this has happened to. A probate attorney would typically charge $1,500–$4,200+ to walk you through exactly what California law already lets you do yourself. This kit is $37, one-time, and covers the same ground — the eligibility rule, the official form, and what to say if a bank or clerk pushes back.

If a house is stuck in limbo because the estate is too small to justify full probate, California's Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value (Form DE-305) is often the fix — but it works differently from California's own personal-property affidavit. It requires at least 6 months since the date of death (not 40 days), a probate referee's formal appraisal, and it's filed with the Superior Court before the clerk's certified copy gets recorded with the county recorder. It applies whether or not the decedent left a valid will, as long as the property's gross value is under $69,625 — a separate, lower cap than the $208,850 threshold for bank accounts and personal property. This is informational only, written by researchers, not attorneys, and does not draft or file anything on your behalf.

Last reviewed September 18, 2026

California has more than one probate-avoidance mechanism. See the Small Estate Affidavit guide instead → · See the Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence guide instead →

Built on the official state form
Every claim cited to Probate Code § 13200
Secure checkout by Stripe
Money-back if the affidavit is rejected

Splitting up the estate with someone else? Send them this page before you start.

Email This

Why timing matters: The 6-month wait is fixed and can't be shortened, and the required probate referee appraisal takes real time to schedule and complete — families who assume this works like the 40-day personal-property affidavit often start too late relative to a pending sale or refinance. Confirm the gross value of the property (not the equity after a mortgage) against the $69,625 cap early, since being close to the line is the most common reason to get this checked by an attorney before investing time in the appraisal step. Miss the window and the estate is generally pushed into full probate instead — a probate attorney typically charges $1,500–$4,200+ for work this kit is built to help you avoid.

The California $69,625 Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value cap

Filing Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value in California starts with one number — the statutory cap. The estate, measured the way the statute measures it, has to be at or under $69,625 (California real property only, a separate and much lower cap than the personal-property Small Estate Affidavit's $208,850 (effective 4/1/2025; adjusted every 3 years under Probate Code § 890)), under Probate Code § 13200. This is a statutory line, not a judgment call — the court or asset holder either sees the total under the cap or they don't. There's also a fixed 180-day waiting period after death before you can file at all — separate from the eligibility question, and it doesn't move regardless of how quickly you gather everything else. Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value is filed with the court, not handed directly to a bank or DMV. California publishes an official fill-in form: Judicial Council Form DE-305, rev. January 1, 2026 — requires a probate referee's Inventory and Appraisal (Forms DE-160/DE-161) before filing. Filed with the Superior Court in the county of the decedent's domicile (or, if not California-domiciled, the county where the property sits); the clerk then issues a certified copy that gets recorded with the county recorder. .

How to file, step by step

1

Confirm the property's gross value is under $69,625 and at least 6 months have passed since death

This is a separate, lower cap than the personal-property Small Estate Affidavit's $208,850 — do not confuse the two. The 6-month wait is also longer than the personal-property affidavit's 40-day wait.
2

Obtain a probate referee's Inventory and Appraisal

Unlike the personal-property affidavit, this mechanism requires a formal appraisal (Forms DE-160/DE-161) completed by a probate referee appointed by the State Controller for the property's county — budget real time and a referee's fee for this step.
3

Prepare Form DE-305 with the legal description and Assessor's Parcel Number

The form requires the property's legal description and Assessor's Parcel Number copied exactly from the deed, along with a statement of the decedent's interest in it. View source →
4

Attach Form DE-300 (values chart) and confirm no unresolved probate, guardian, or debt issues

The form requires attesting that no California probate proceeding is pending (or that the personal representative has consented in writing), that any guardian/conservator was served, and that funeral, last-illness, and known unsecured debts are paid.
5

Sign, have the affidavit notarized, and file it with the Superior Court

File in the county of the decedent's domicile, or (if not California-domiciled) the county where the property sits. There is no hearing — the clerk reviews the affidavit for completeness.
6

Obtain the clerk's certified copy and record it with the county recorder

Once the clerk determines the affidavit is complete, it issues a certified copy (without attachments), which gets recorded with the county recorder — the recorder indexes the decedent as grantor and each successor as grantee. This certified, recorded copy is the document that completes the transfer of record.

California · Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value

Probate Code § 13200 · Last reviewed September 18, 2026

$37

One-time · instant PDF download · no subscription, no upsell

A step-by-step kit covering the eligibility check, the annotated official form, and what to do when a bank or clerk pushes back.

What's inside

Cover & key facts
Contents
Glossary
Plain-English overview
Citations index

This kit fits when:

The estate is within California's $69,625 limit (see what counts above)
180+ days have passed since the death
You're ready to file with the court (the kit walks you through it)

This kit explains the statute — it doesn't determine your eligibility. Read the requirements above before you buy.

Your options

Free court form

The form only

This kit

$37

Form + steps + bank script

Attorney

$1,500–$4,200+

Typical fee

Rejected because of the kit? Full refund.

Email us the stated rejection reason within 30 days and we refund within one business day. Changed your mind? 7 days, no questions asked. Refund policy

One last step — confirm below and it's instant from there.

Secure checkout by Stripe · Instant download · Money-back guarantee

See sample pages from the kit

What it actually looks like

Sample pages from the kit

Real pages from the California kit PDF. Click any page to enlarge.

Print-friendly, readable on a phone or tablet, and designed to be taken to the bank or clerk. Every operational claim cites the actual statute or official publication.

How this compares

Yes — California's own form is free (that's the Free state form column below). The $37 is for everything the free form leaves you to work out alone: the eligibility check, the filing sequence, and what to do when a bank, DMV, or clerk pushes back.

	This kit	Probate attorney	Free state form	Doing nothing
Cost	$37	$1,500–4,200+	$0	Eventually full probate, if the estate is never settled
Time to filed	Same week to prepare; court approval timing varies by county	2–6 weeks	If you can decode it alone	Not until you act
Bank/DMV/clerk pushback script	Yes	Sometimes	No	n/a
Statute citations	Yes	n/a	n/a	n/a
Delivery time	Instant download	After consult + retainer	Instant	n/a

Attorney costs reflect typical California probate-attorney retainers for this kind of filing.

The most-searched sticking point

What to do when a bank, DMV, or clerk pushes back

A facially valid filing still gets rejected on the first try more often than it should — usually because front-line staff have never processed one before, not because anything is actually wrong. This is the single biggest gap in every free state resource: none of them tell you what to actually say. The kit's Section 5 gives you the exact script and citation for each of these:

Heirs disagree about entitlement to the property
Estate value is close to the $69,625 cap and it's unclear whether liens/mortgages reduce it

Each one has a specific script and statutory citation behind it — not just "you're right, they're wrong," but exactly what to say and what document to hand over. That's in the kit.

What you're actually paying for (and what we don't touch)

Settling an estate is a magnet for services that overpromise. Here is exactly what we do, what we don't, and what stays in your control:

You file the affidavit yourself. We don't act as your representative, contact the court or a bank on your behalf, or hold any estate funds. You stay in full control of the process from start to finish.
We don't collect the decedent's personal information. We don't ask for the decedent's Social Security number, account numbers, or any other sensitive detail. The only data we hold is the email you give us at checkout.
Your email is never sold or shared. Not to attorneys, not to probate-lead outfits, not to lead-generation firms. Read the privacy policy.
We earn no kickbacks. No attorney referral fees, no affiliate links, no advertising. Our only revenue is what you pay for the kit.
Every claim cites Probate Code § 13200 directly. If you find anything on this page that doesn't match what the statute says, email support@estateaffidavitguide.com and we'll correct it within five business days.
Money back if your filing is rejected for a reason traceable to following the kit — full refund within one business day of hearing the stated reason, reported within 30 days of purchase — or for any other reason within 7 days, no questions asked. Full refund policy.

If a bank, DMV, title company, or court clerk rejects your filing for a reason traceable to following this kit, you get a full refund.

Email the stated rejection reason to support@estateaffidavitguide.com within 30 days of purchase and we refund the full purchase price within one business day. No phone tag, no forms, no fight. Not covered: an estate that turns out to be over the dollar limit, a dispute among heirs, or a missing document unrelated to the filing itself. Changed your mind for any other reason? You have 7 days, no questions asked. Full refund policy.

Avoid these

4 common reasons filings get rejected

Real property's gross value exceeds $69,625

The cap applies to the gross value of the decedent's California real property, adjusted every 3 years under Probate Code § 890 — this is a separate, much lower cap than the personal-property affidavit's $208,850, and gross value (not equity after a mortgage) is what's tested. — Probate Code § 13200

Filed before 6 months have passed since the date of death

Unlike the personal-property affidavit's 40-day wait, this mechanism requires at least 6 months to have passed since death before filing. — Probate Code § 13200

Heirs disagree, or funeral/last-illness expenses and unsecured debts aren't yet paid

This procedure has no hearing to resolve a dispute among heirs. It also requires the affiant to attest that funeral expenses, last-illness expenses, and known unsecured debts are already paid — the form itself warns that a successor may be personally liable for the decedent's unsecured debts up to the property's fair market value. — Judicial Council Form DE-305, Item 9

A guardian or conservator existed and wasn't served, or a probate proceeding is open without the personal representative's consent

If a guardian or conservator existed for the decedent's estate, they must be served a copy of the affidavit. If a California probate proceeding is already open, the personal representative must consent in writing (with that consent and letters of administration attached) for this procedure to be used instead. — Judicial Council Form DE-305, Items 6, 8

Before you present the California Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value

Most rejected-on-the-first-try filings are a front-line-staff problem, not an eligibility problem. This free one-pager has what to bring and what to say the first time you hand it to a bank, DMV, or clerk — emailed now. We'll also send a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks (why most pushback is unfamiliarity not law, the exact citation to point to, when to call an attorney) — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between California's Small Estate Affidavit and the Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value?

They're split by asset type, not by whether a will exists. The Small Estate Affidavit covers personal property only (bank accounts, vehicles) up to $208,850, presented directly to the bank with no court involvement. This affidavit (Form DE-305) covers real property only, up to a separate, much lower cap ($69,625), and is filed with the Superior Court, then recorded with the county recorder. An estate with both a bank account and a house may need both instruments.

Does this affidavit require a will?

No — it works either way. The form itself has separate checkboxes for successors under a will and for intestate heirs, so it applies whether or not the decedent left a valid will.

Is this affidavit filed with a court or recorded with the county recorder?

Both, in sequence. It's filed with the Superior Court, which has no hearing but reviews the affidavit for completeness. Once approved, the clerk issues a certified copy, and that certified copy is what actually gets recorded with the county recorder to complete the property's title record.

What if the heirs disagree about who's entitled to the property?

This procedure has no mechanism for resolving disputes — there's no hearing or judge's order, just a clerk's completeness review. If heirs genuinely disagree, this affidavit isn't suitable, and full estate administration is the correct path instead.

Does this affidavit permanently settle the property's ownership?

Not entirely — Probate Code § 13203(b) is explicit that using this procedure does not prevent a later full estate administration proceeding if one becomes necessary. It's a practical, faster path for a straightforward estate, not an absolute, unchallengeable final word.

Which California mechanism applies to my situation?

As a rule of thumb: a bank account or other personal property under $208,850 points to the Small Estate Affidavit, presented directly to the bank with no court involvement. A house or other real property under $69,625 gross value, at least 6 months after death, points to the Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value (DE-305) — filed with the court, then recorded with the county recorder. The decedent's primary residence specifically, up to $750,000 gross value, points to the Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence — a full court petition requiring a probate referee appraisal. Some estates (a non-primary-residence property over $69,625, or any estate over the applicable cap) qualify for neither and need full probate instead. This is informational only, not legal advice or a determination of which mechanism applies to your specific estate.

Does California have an 'Affidavit of Heirship' the way Texas does?

No — California has no standalone nonjudicial heirship-affidavit statute. Content online claiming otherwise typically cites Probate Code § 13101, which actually governs California's unrelated personal-property Small Estate Affidavit, not heirship. California's closest real equivalent is the court-filed Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence, a materially different, more formal process than Texas's walk-in recorded affidavit, and scoped specifically to a primary residence rather than real property generally.

Ready to start?

$37, one time. Instant download. Money-back if your filing is rejected for a reason traceable to following the kit, or for any other reason within 7 days.

No waiting room, no retainer. The 180-day wait after death is fixed, but most of the remaining delay families hit is an avoidable rejection or a second trip back to the same bank, DMV, or clerk — this kit is built to help you avoid both on the first visit.

One last step — confirm below and it's instant from there.

Secure checkout by Stripe · Instant download · Money-back guarantee

Want a sibling or co-executor caught up? Send them what you just read.

Email This

Not ready to buy yet?

5 short, plain-English emails over the following weeks — the eligibility math, the affidavit re real property of small value presentation moment, why most rejections are paperwork not eligibility, and when to call an attorney instead. Then we stop. No ongoing newsletter, no sales list. Unsubscribe anytime.

Primary sources

State sources

Every claim here cites the actual statute or an official publication — see them

Statute: Probate Code § 13200 . The primary source behind every requirement, cap, and deadline described above.
Official form: Official Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value form Judicial Council Form DE-305, rev. January 1, 2026 — requires a probate referee's Inventory and Appraisal (Forms DE-160/DE-161) before filing. Filed with the Superior Court in the county of the decedent's domicile (or, if not California-domiciled, the county where the property sits); the clerk then issues a certified copy that gets recorded with the county recorder.
State self-help resource: California Superior Court, Probate Division