Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: The District lets a successor collect a small asset by presenting an affidavit directly to whoever holds it — no court. The limit is $40,000 for the entire probate estate, you must wait 60 days, and it cannot include an interest in real property. One requirement is currently suspended by emergency legislation and returns on 28 August 2026; that is set out below.
The affidavit and what it must state
Any person having possession of a small asset shall pay or deliver the small asset to the designated successor of the decedent upon being presented an affidavit made by all of the known successors stating: (1) The value of the decedent’s entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, as of the date of the decedent’s death, wherever located, exceeds the estate’s known liabilities but does not exceed $40,000, and that such estate does not include an interest in real property; (2) At least 60 days have elapsed since the decedent’s death as shown in a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate attached to the affidavit; (3) No application for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction.
— D.C. Code § 20-361 (Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit)
The District has TWO small-estate routes, with different limits
This is the distinction that makes DC confusing, and getting it wrong sends people to the wrong door.
- Small estate administration — $80,000. D.C. Code § 20-351: “If the property of a decedent subject to administration in the District of Columbia has a value of $80,000 or less, the property may be administered as a small estate.” This is a court-supervised proceeding in the Probate Division, with a petition, a personal representative and notice to creditors.
- Small asset affidavit — $40,000. § 20-361, the section this page is about. No court. The affidavit is presented directly to whoever holds the asset, and they pay or deliver it.
So $40,000 is not the District’s small-estate limit — it is the limit for the no-court affidavit. An estate between $40,000 and $80,000 is too large for the affidavit but can still be administered as a small estate under § 20-351. Our by-state table lists the $80,000 administration figure, which is the right number for that comparison.
Three limits that decide whether this is available to you
1. It is the whole estate, not the one asset. The $40,000 test is the value of the decedent’s entire probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. A modest bank account belonging to a larger estate does not qualify.
2. No real property, at all. The affidavit requires that the estate does not include an interest in real property. This is stricter than the usual rule that the affidavit cannot transfer land — in the District, owning any interest in real property appears to take the estate outside this route entirely.
3. The estate must be solvent on its face. The value must exceed the estate’s known liabilities. An estate underwater does not qualify.
A requirement is suspended right now, and returns on 28 August 2026
This is the part no summary written before today will tell you, and it changes in three weeks.
The section as it currently reads carries a note that it “includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on August 27, 2026”. Under that emergency text, requirement (4) is marked “[Repealed]”. The permanent version of the same section — the text that resumes when the emergency lapses — reads:
(4) The decedent’s will, if any, was duly admitted to probate.
— D.C. Code § 20-361 (Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit)
So today, a successor can use this affidavit without the will having been admitted to probate first. From 28 August 2026, on the face of the permanent text, that requirement returns — and where there is a will, it would have to be admitted to probate before the affidavit route works.
We verified the $40,000 figure and the 60-day wait in both versions: they are the same in the emergency and permanent text, so those two numbers are not affected by the expiry. It is requirement (4) that differs.
If you are close to that date, check the section itself before relying on this. Emergency legislation in the District is frequently extended, and whether this one is extended again is not something this page can tell you.
What this does not do
- It does not transfer real estate — and an estate that includes any real property interest is outside the route altogether.
- It does not settle who inherits. The affidavit must be made by all of the known successors, so a disagreement ends this route.
- It does not extinguish creditors. The affidavit includes a list of known creditors and the amount of each claim.
Honest gaps
We quoted § 20-361 in its current form and the permanent version of subsection (a)(4). The remaining subsections, the small-estate proceeding under §§ 20-351 to 20-357 (which is a different, court-supervised route from this affidavit), and the rules on distribution and creditor claims are not reproduced here. We did not establish whether the emergency legislation has since been extended beyond 27 August 2026 — that is the single thing to check before acting near that date. This is the statute, not legal advice.
Source note. Read from the D.C. Code on 2026-08-04, via the code site’s own full-text endpoint, and the permanent version compared separately. The section pages themselves are rendered in the browser and carry no statutory text to a plain fetch.
Related: small estate limits by state · the District’s transfer on death deed.
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