District of Columbia Small Estate Affidavit

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: District of Columbia lets a small estate be settled with two separate tracks — an affidavit and a court petition, usable 60 days after death, and it is either route, depending on which track you use. Real estate: no — personal property only.

The verdicts

What the statute actually says

If the property of a decedent subject to administration in the District of Columbia has a value of $80,000 or less [20-351]… Any person eligible for appointment as the personal representative of an estate…may file a verified petition for administration of a small estate [20-352]… ‘small asset’ [is] any indebtedness owed to or any asset belonging or presently distributable to the decedent, other than real property… At least 60 days have elapsed since the decedent’s death [20-361].

— D.C. Code 20-351 to 20-352 (Small Estates, petition track); D.C. Code 20-360 to 20-361 (Transfers by Affidavit track)

The dollar limit

$80,000 — small estate administration, D.C. Code §20-351, as amended by D.C. Law 25-302 (Strengthening Probate Administration Amendment Act of 2024), effective March 21, 2025 (previously $40,000).

All 51 limits, compared.

The form

We did not locate an official free state form. That does not mean none exists — many states publish forms through individual county or probate offices rather than a single statewide page, and several court websites blocked automated access entirely. Ask the probate court or register of wills in the county where the person lived before paying anyone for a form.

The waiting period is the part that voids transfers

Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.

A requirement is suspended right now, and returns on 28 March 2027

D.C. Code § 20-361 as it currently reads carries a note that it “includes amendments by temporary legislation that will expire on March 27, 2027”. Under that temporary text, requirement (4) is marked “[Repealed]”. The permanent version of the same section — the text that resumes when the temporary legislation lapses — reads:

(4) The decedent’s will, if any, was duly admitted to probate.

— D.C. Code § 20-361(Perm)

So today, a successor can use the affidavit without the will having been admitted to probate first. From 28 March 2027, on the face of the permanent text, that requirement returns.

We compared both versions directly: the $40,000 figure and the 60-day wait are identical in each, so those are not affected by the expiry. It is requirement (4) that differs. The suspension was extended past the original 27 August 2026 date — § 20-361 now carries amendments by the Strengthening Probate Administration Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (D.C. Law 26-164, 73 DCR 9213), and the section’s own note gives the new expiry as March 27, 2027. D.C. frequently extends these, so check the section itself before relying on this near that date.

What could not be verified

DC actually has two distinct tracks: a court-filed ‘Small Estates’ petition (Subchapter VI, §§20-351 to 356, $80,000 threshold, no stated waiting period or real-property rule confirmed in the text read) and a direct-to-holder ‘Transfers by Affidavit’ route (Subchapter VII, §§20-360 to 362, $40,000 threshold, 60-day wait, real property explicitly excluded) — hence we record both routes, and the waiting period given here is the affidavit track’s specifically. Notarization not addressed in either subchapter’s text reviewed (affidavit under penalty of perjury only). §20-357, initially checked, is repealed. Official form URL not attempted/verified.

When this route is the wrong one

• The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
• There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
• Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
• Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.

Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.

General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.