Affidavit of Small Estate: Small Estate Affidavit form – Affidavit of Small Estate Purpose

Death is a bitter reality and every living thing has to taste it at some stage of life. Being superior to all creatures, the death of human beings is mourned by close relatives and friends. After this demise, many problems related to the settlement of assets of the departed soul arise. All the governments have set up a process to go through this settlement.

What is an Affidavit of Small Estate?

Affidavit of Small Estate: In America, Affidavit of Small Estate is used to settle the property left by a deceased person without a will. A small estate affidavit is a legal document to speed up the settlement process of the property of such a person who has died without giving his will and the value of the property left is less than $150,000. Small Estate Affidavit is signed by an affiant to help the probate court to assess that the property fulfills the requirements of a small estate. It also requests the court to initiate the transfer process of that property in the name of the heirs.

How do I Get an Affidavit of Small Estate?

The process to get a small estate affidavit is not difficult. You will have to visit the court to get this document or you can download it at the end of this page. Here, one thing noteworthy is that some courts provide an affidavit of the small estate free of cost while the others charge a minimal fee. You will have to check the court’s limits before submitting the affidavit for the settlement of the property. This is because the courts do not accept the document if the value of the real estate of the deceased person is greater than its jurisdiction limits. Also, try to get the affidavit from the court where the property is located because there are small differences between the affidavits of different states. The affidavit of the small estate properly filled and signed in the presence of notary should be submitted to the same court.

Purpose of the Small Estate Affidavit

Affidavit of Small Estate contains all the information about the deceased owner of the property and its heirs. The main objective of the submission of a small estate affidavit is to inform the probate court that the particular property has never been submitted earlier because of its size. Small Estate Affidavit document also informs the court that the property meets all the requirements of being a small estate. The affiant who wants to submit real estate affidavit should also submit the consent of the other heirs. For this, he or she has to submit the proof of sending legal notices to the other heirs. After writing all the details of the deceased and the descendants, the affidavit should be submitted to the concerned court.

How long it takes to submit an Affidavit of Small Estate?

Usually, the real estate settlement takes a week a two. There are also some states where these types of cases are settled at top priority. Normally, we cannot guess the time required for the submission of an affidavit. This is because the judicial procedure is usually different from state to state and country to country. The submission of real estate affidavit does not take much time if the affidavit of a small estate form is available with the court. Otherwise, you have to get it printed from the legal press that may take a little longer time. It is also mandatory that the affidavit of a small estate should be filled in the presence of the notary. This takes only a few hours if the form is readily available. After submission, it depends on the probate court because the courts decide the cases in order of submission. It may take a long time if there are many pending cases.

Does an Affidavit of Small Estate need to be notarized?

Most of the legal experts are of the view that affidavit of small estate does not need any notarization. However, there are also many who are of the view that notarization of small estate affidavit depends on the use of the affidavit. Here, one of the most important points to mention that the form is actually notarized when you fill and sign it in the presence of a notary. This filled and signed affidavit of small estate form should be accepted by all the institutions of the state.

To sum up, we can easily say that small estate affidavit is a very useful document that saves people from the hurdles of transferring property of the deceased. The only thing to keep in mind is the achievement of the proper form and filling within the jurisdiction of the court that has powers of settlement.

Affidavit of Small Estate forms for these US States can be downloaded of filled online:

• Washington Affidavit of Small Estate
• Texas Affidavit of Small Estate
• Florida Affidavit of Small Estate
• Illinois Affidavit of Small Estate
• California Affidavit of Small Estate
• South Carolina Affidavit of Small Estate
• Arkansas Affidavit of Small Estate
• Indiana Affidavit of Small Estate
• Kanas Affidavit of Small Estate
• Georgia Affidavit of Small Estate
• Oregon Affidavit of Small Estate

Affidavit of Small Estate Preview

Affidavit of Small Estate Template

County of: ___________
State of: ____________

This Affidavit of small estate is executed for the purpose of establishing [AFFIANT NAME] as a legal heir for the herein mentioned estate of the Decedent.

1.     The decedent [DECEDENT NAME], has died on [DATE OF DEATH], in the county of [COUNTY] and State of [STATE].
2.     The decedent passed away [days elapsed] days ago.
3.     An attested copy of the death certificate of the decedent is attached to this document.
4.     I [HEIR’S NAME], am an heir to the decedent’s estate which has no will attributed to it and is not under administration by any court of [STATE].
5.     There is no other individual who has been deemed eligible for the transfer of decedent’s estate mentioned herein.
6.   List of all Property Included in the estate

DESCRIPTION OF DECEDENT’S ESTATE:

The overall value of all estate combined is: ____________________

AFFIANT DETAILS

I reside at ___________________ , ________________ , _________________. [RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS]

I can be contacted through my Phone number: [PHONE NUMBER] or email address: [EMAIL ADDRESS].

Affiant’s Signature______________________
Date_________________________________

Notary Signature_______________________
Date_________________________________
My commission Expires:__________________

(Notary Seal)__________________________