Is DC's small estate an affidavit or a petition?

A Petition for Administration of Small Estate, filed with the Probate Division, which appoints a personal representative. The 2024 amendment separately added an affidavit route for a small asset.

What does the petition have to list?

A statement of value, confirmation of a diligent search for property and debts, any legal proceedings, surviving relatives, heirs and beneficiaries, known creditors, and a list of property, debts and funeral expenses.

What is the new affidavit route?

The 2024 Act added a procedure where all known successors sign an affidavit for a small asset, requiring that the estate exceed its known liabilities but not the threshold, include no interest in real property, and that at least 60 days have elapsed.

Washington DC Small Estate: Which Figure Applies Now

General information, not legal advice. The District amended its probate statute recently and court materials may lag the change. Confirm which figure the Probate Division is applying before filing.

Two numbers are in play: the District's small estate figure was $40,000 for years and most court pages still say so, but the Strengthening Probate Administration Amendment Act of 2024 amended the section to $80,000. If your estate sits between those, that gap decides whether you file a small estate or a large one, so ask the Probate Division directly.

Check the DC figure ↓

What changed, and what has not caught up

D.C. Code 20-351 has long capped small estates at $40,000, and that is the figure the Superior Court's own materials and its estates pages continue to use, dividing filings between property worth $40,000 or less and everything above. The 2024 amendment act, however, struck the $40,000 phrase in section 20-351 and inserted $80,000 in its place. Court forms, fee schedules and instructional pages take time to follow a statutory change, which is why families near the line are getting inconsistent answers. Bring the amendment reference with you and let the Probate Division confirm which figure it is applying to your filing.

A house outside the District is fine

This is the District's most useful quirk and it surprises people. A small estate can be opened even where the only asset is real estate located outside the District of Columbia. What triggers the large estate track is real property within DC; property in Maryland, Virginia or anywhere else does not. So a DC resident who died owning a beach house in Delaware and a modest bank account may still qualify, where the same person owning a rowhouse in Petworth would not. One other structural limit worth knowing: a large estate can be opened for litigation purposes, and a small estate cannot.

It is a petition, and it asks for a lot

Despite the phrase small estate affidavit circulating widely, the District's route is a Petition for Administration of Small Estate filed with the Probate Division, and the petitioner asks to be appointed personal representative. The petition must include a statement that the total value does not exceed the threshold, a statement that the petitioner made a diligent search for all property and debts, a list of any legal proceedings involving the decedent or the estate, a list of surviving relatives, a list of heirs and beneficiaries, a list of all known creditors with the amount of each claim, and a list of property, values, debts and funeral expenses. A petitioner living outside the District must assign power of attorney to the Register of Wills.

The new affidavit for a small asset

The same 2024 act added something the District did not previously have: an affidavit procedure. Under it, any person holding a small asset must pay or deliver it to a designated successor on being presented an affidavit made by all of the known successors, stating that the entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, exceeds the estate's known liabilities but does not exceed the threshold and includes no interest in real property; that at least sixty days have elapsed, shown by an attached certified death certificate; that no application for a personal representative is pending or granted anywhere; and that the will, if any, was duly admitted to probate. The designated successor carries a fiduciary duty to safeguard and promptly deliver the asset.

DC small estate questions

What is the limit?: D.C. Code 20-351 long set $40,000, still shown in court materials, while the 2024 amendment act inserted $80,000. Confirm which the Probate Division applies.
Does real estate disqualify it?: Only property in the District. Real estate located outside DC does not, and can even be the only asset.
Affidavit or petition?: A Petition for Administration of Small Estate, which appoints a personal representative. The 2024 act separately added an affidavit route for a small asset.
What must the petition list?: Value, a diligent search statement, legal proceedings, surviving relatives, heirs and beneficiaries, known creditors, and property, debts and funeral expenses.
What is the affidavit route?: All known successors sign; the estate must exceed known liabilities but not the threshold, include no real property interest, and 60 days must have elapsed.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on D.C. Code 20-351 and D.C. Law 25-302. Court materials may lag the amendment; confirm with the Probate Division.