How Long Does California's Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value Take?
California requires a 180-day waiting period after death before Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value can be filed. After that, most families complete the process in a few more weeks — far faster than full probate, which commonly takes well over a year. This is informational only and is not legal advice.
Last reviewed
The short answer
California requires a fixed 180-day waiting period after death before Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value can even be filed — that part never moves, no matter how fast you gather documents. After that, most straightforward estates finish within a few more weeks. What actually stretches the timeline is presenting the approved filing to a bank, DMV, or title company that's never processed one before — see what to say when that happens.
What slows families down
- The court's own docket. California requires affidavit re real property of small value to be filed with and approved by the court, so local scheduling — which varies by county — sets the floor on how fast this can move, independent of anything you control.
- 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.
- 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.
Why the delay matters: a probate attorney typically charges $1,500–$4,200+ to handle this instead, and every week spent re-filing after an avoidable rejection is a week the estate's accounts stay frozen. The next step is the step-by-step filing sequence.
The asset holder is why this takes longer than it should
It's the #1 reason a quick process turns into a multi-week one. Free one-pager: what to bring and say before you present it, so a first visit doesn't turn into a second — emailed now. Then a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks — then we stop.