Guarantee Sign Small Estate Affidavit For Free

NOTE: Filing of an Affidavit To Establish Title of Distributee To Property In Estate of Less than $40,000 ? Small Estate ? Intestate (Without Will) cannot be done pro se (without an attorney).

An Illinois small estate affidavit provides a streamlined way for an heir to gather and distribute the assets of a person who died, provided that the estate does not exceed $100,000. This form allows an heir to collect the personal property of the decedent without going to court.

You can only use a small estate affidavit if the estate has no more than $100,000 in it. You cannot use a small estate affidavit to transfer real property, such as a house.

Figure out if the decedent had a small estate The collection of the decedent's assets may need to be worth less than $50,000 to be considered small or may be able to be worth as much as $150,000, depending on the state law and what assets are counted. Generally, only probate assets are counted.

To use a small estate affidavit, all of the following must be true: The total amount of property in the estate is worth $100,000 or less; The person who died did not own any real estate, or they owned real estate that went to someone else when they died.

Though the affiant is not legally required to have a lawyer, it is wise for the affiant to hire one. It may seem wasteful to hire a lawyer when an estate is small, but many of the same rules that govern the full blown Illinois probate process apply to the affidavit.

Since the affidavit does not need to be filed with the court, there are no filing or court fees. The only cost is likely to be paying to have signatures notarized. However, a notary's services typically cost $20 or less. Illinois lays out the requirements of a small estate affidavit on its legislative website.

Small Estate Affidavit: Missouri Requirements Time After Death: 30 days. Small estate limit: $40,000 (as of 2022-2023) Notarization: Obligatory.

The affiant should fill out the form in the presence of a notary public, and file it with the surrogate court in the county where the decedent resided at the time of death.

Another option is to get the form from the Illinois Secretary of State online or in person at your local circuit county clerk's office. After you complete the form, make a copy of your affidavit. The state laws require notarizing the document, so you should not sign it until you can do so before a notary public.