California Small Estate Limits vs. Home Values by County (2026): Where the Shortcuts Still Work

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

This page compares the median home value in every one of California’s 58 counties to the two dollar limits that let a family skip formal probate for a small estate. Every figure on this page links to the primary source it came from: the Probate Code section on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, the Judicial Council’s published dollar-amount table, or the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. We review the underlying figures every three years, when the Judicial Council re-adjusts the dollar limits, and sooner if the Legislature changes the statutes.

Cite this page: Ridley Law, “California Small Estate Limits vs. Home Values by County (2026): Where the Shortcuts Still Work,” ridleylawoffices.com/small-estate-limits-home-values-california/, September 2026.

Key findings

• California’s statewide median home value is $734,700, under the $750,000 limit for the Probate Code section 13151 primary residence petition, according to the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimate (table B25077) and the Judicial Council’s dollar-amount table (form DE-300).
• Of California’s 58 counties, 41 (71 percent) have a median home value at or below the $750,000 primary residence limit, so a median-priced home in most counties can qualify for the section 13151 procedure on value alone.
• None of the 58 counties have a median home value at or below the $208,850 general limit under Probate Code section 13100. Even the least expensive county, Modoc County at $224,700, sits above it.
• A county median is not a prediction for any one house. A specific home in a county where most homes qualify can still be worth more than the limit, and a home in an expensive county can still be worth less.
• Both dollar limits are measured against gross value, not equity. Sections 13100, 13151, and 13200 each use the phrase “gross value,” with no reduction for a mortgage or other lien against the property.
• A home never counts toward either limit if it is held in a revocable trust, held in joint tenancy, or passes to a surviving spouse, regardless of what it is worth, because Probate Code section 13050 excludes that property from the calculation entirely.

Median home value vs. small estate limits, by county

Sorted from the highest median home value to the lowest. The margin of error is the range the Census Bureau publishes alongside each estimate. The two right-hand columns compare the county’s median home value only, not any specific property, to the current dollar limits: $750,000 for a decedent’s primary residence under section 13151, and $208,850 for the general small estate affidavit under section 13100.

County	Median home value	Margin of error	At or below $750,000 primary residence limit (§ 13151)	At or below $208,850 general limit (§ 13100)
San Mateo County	$1,559,600	± $16,159	No	No
Marin County	$1,507,300	± $27,346	No	No
Santa Clara County	$1,490,600	± $14,163	No	No
San Francisco County	$1,394,500	± $20,642	No	No
Alameda County	$1,090,100	± $6,313	No	No
Santa Cruz County	$1,027,500	± $15,133	No	No
Orange County	$962,600	± $4,214	No	No
Napa County	$869,500	± $15,451	No	No
Contra Costa County	$866,800	± $6,426	No	No
San Diego County	$854,700	± $3,996	No	No
Los Angeles County	$834,200	± $2,194	No	No
San Luis Obispo County	$824,700	± $12,237	No	No
Ventura County	$822,700	± $6,187	No	No
Sonoma County	$815,500	± $6,412	No	No
San Benito County	$793,400	± $17,094	No	No
Santa Barbara County	$790,700	± $17,571	No	No
Monterey County	$781,000	± $13,801	No	No
Placer County	$688,100	± $5,556	Yes	No
El Dorado County	$679,900	± $12,105	Yes	No
Mono County	$639,400	± $53,544	Yes	No
Nevada County	$621,800	± $12,667	Yes	No
Yolo County	$620,700	± $8,741	Yes	No
Solano County	$617,700	± $4,898	Yes	No
Alpine County	$590,200	± $75,193	Yes	No
Riverside County	$557,300	± $2,765	Yes	No
Sacramento County	$534,200	± $3,984	Yes	No
San Joaquin County	$530,700	± $6,613	Yes	No
Mendocino County	$512,200	± $19,774	Yes	No
San Bernardino County	$505,000	± $4,319	Yes	No
Calaveras County	$457,200	± $13,131	Yes	No
Stanislaus County	$450,100	± $3,186	Yes	No
Amador County	$449,800	± $13,374	Yes	No
Humboldt County	$446,900	± $8,723	Yes	No
Sutter County	$433,500	± $7,299	Yes	No
Tuolumne County	$433,200	± $14,328	Yes	No
Butte County	$424,700	± $6,679	Yes	No
Yuba County	$412,300	± $10,280	Yes	No
Colusa County	$393,400	± $24,633	Yes	No
Madera County	$393,200	± $7,593	Yes	No
Merced County	$391,800	± $5,618	Yes	No
Fresno County	$388,800	± $3,630	Yes	No
Mariposa County	$387,900	± $21,367	Yes	No
Shasta County	$366,400	± $6,326	Yes	No
Plumas County	$360,200	± $19,837	Yes	No
Glenn County	$352,400	± $16,119	Yes	No
Inyo County	$348,700	± $43,595	Yes	No
Del Norte County	$342,000	± $17,032	Yes	No
Tehama County	$339,600	± $9,607	Yes	No
Kern County	$338,300	± $2,944	Yes	No
Sierra County	$331,900	± $47,477	Yes	No
Tulare County	$330,100	± $4,959	Yes	No
Trinity County	$325,800	± $23,401	Yes	No
Kings County	$324,300	± $7,846	Yes	No
Lake County	$324,300	± $13,839	Yes	No
Imperial County	$309,600	± $8,398	Yes	No
Siskiyou County	$309,500	± $11,190	Yes	No
Lassen County	$265,300	± $12,020	Yes	No
Modoc County	$224,700	± $19,423	Yes	No

How the three small estate procedures work

California gives a decedent’s successor three separate shortcuts around formal probate, each with its own dollar limit and its own waiting period. All three are measured against gross value, and all three exclude the property described in section 13050 (see below) before the value is calculated.

The section 13100 affidavit, for personal property. If the gross value of the decedent’s remaining real and personal property in California does not exceed $208,850, and at least 40 days have passed since the death, a successor can use a signed affidavit under Probate Code section 13100 to collect money owed to the decedent, take possession of tangible personal property, or have a debt or other asset transferred, without going to court at all.

The section 13151 petition, for a primary residence. If the decedent’s primary residence in California has a gross value of $750,000 or less, and at least 40 days have passed since the death, a successor can file a petition under Probate Code section 13151 asking the superior court for an order determining that the petitioner succeeded to the property. This procedure needs a court order, not just an affidavit, and the successor must deliver notice of the petition to every heir and devisee named in it within five business days of filing. The Legislature raised this limit and rewrote the procedure through AB 2016 (Stats. 2024, ch. 331), operative January 1, 2025. Under Prob. Code, § 13152(f)(3), the $750,000 figure applies to deaths from April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2028; for later deaths it is adjusted under section 890.

The section 13200 affidavit, for real property under its own, lower limit. If the gross value of all the decedent’s real property in California does not exceed $69,625, a separate and much lower limit than the $208,850 figure above, and at least six months have passed since the death, a successor can record an affidavit under Probate Code section 13200, in the form the Judicial Council prescribes, along with a probate referee’s appraisal and a certified death certificate. This procedure has the longest waiting period of the three (six months, not 40 days) and no proceeding for the estate can already be pending unless the personal representative consents in writing.

What counts toward the limit, and what does not

Probate Code section 13050 excludes several categories of property from every one of these calculations, no matter what the property is worth. Property the decedent held in joint tenancy, or in which the decedent’s interest ended at death, is excluded, and the statute specifically includes property in a trust revocable by the decedent during their lifetime in that exclusion. Property that passed to a surviving spouse under section 13500 is excluded. Multiple-party bank accounts that pass to a surviving co-owner or a named beneficiary are excluded. Registered vehicles, vessels, and manufactured homes are excluded outright. Unpaid military service amounts are excluded, and unpaid salary or other compensation owed to the decedent is excluded up to $20,875. None of this excluded property has to fit under the dollar limits above. It simply never enters the calculation.

What this means in California

A county’s median home value is a starting point, not an answer for any particular family. Even in a county where most homes fall under the $750,000 primary residence limit, a family still has to add up the rest of the estate, in personal property, bank accounts, and any other real estate, before deciding which procedure fits. Because these limits count gross value, a paid-off $400,000 house and a $400,000 house with a $350,000 mortgage are treated the same for eligibility purposes, even though the equity is very different. And a house that was properly transferred into a revocable living trust during the decedent’s life is not part of this analysis at all, because it is not part of the probate estate.

For the mechanics of the affidavit itself, see our guide to the California small estate affidavit. For the primary residence petition, see our page on simplified probate for a California primary residence. For the full picture of small estate law in California, see our complete guide to California small estates law and our small estate playbook. For how these dollar limits fit into the rest of 2026’s changes, see California estate planning numbers for 2026. For quick definitions, see the glossary entries on the small estate affidavit and on trust funding, since a properly funded trust is what keeps a home out of this calculation in the first place.

Related pages on this site

• Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant in California
• Affidavit of Death of Trustee in California
• How Do I Avoid Probate Court in California?
• How Long Does Probate Take in California?
• Prop 19 and the Inherited House: Should You Keep It or Sell It?
• Inventorying Probate Assets CA?

Methodology

Home values and margins of error are the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25077 (median value of owner-occupied housing units), the most recent 5-year vintage available as of September 2026, released January 8, 2026, retrieved from data.census.gov for all 58 California counties and for the state as a whole.

Dollar limits come from Probate Code sections 13100, 13151, 13050, and 13200. The section 13100 and 13200 amounts are adjusted every three years under Probate Code section 890; the section 13151 amount is fixed at $750,000 through March 31, 2028 by section 13152(f)(3) and adjusted under section 890 after that. Sections 13100 and 13151 were last amended by AB 2016 (Stats. 2024, ch. 331), operative January 1, 2025. Sections 13050 and 13200 were last amended by AB 473 (Stats. 2019, ch. 122), operative January 1, 2020. The specific dollar figures for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 come from the Judicial Council’s published adjustment table (form DE-300, rev. April 28, 2025) and its companion notice of adjusted amounts. We did not use any figure from a law firm blog, legal directory, or other secondary source. One figure that circulates on other sites, $239,700 as a small estate limit, does not appear in the statute or in any Judicial Council document we could find, and we left it out.

This page does not cover the section 6600 small estate set-aside for a surviving spouse and minor children, or the section 13600 affidavit for a deceased spouse’s unpaid compensation, since neither turns on home value. Next scheduled review: when the Judicial Council next adjusts these dollar amounts, expected April 1, 2028, or sooner if the Legislature acts first. To report an error, email eric@ridleylawoffices.com.