A significant shift in California probate law is on the horizon, promising to make estate transfers more accessible for many homeowners. In this episode of Absolute Trust Talk, host Kirsten Howe and associate attorney Jessica Colbert delve into a game-changing legislation effective April 1, 2025. This new law allows for a simplified transfer of primary residences valued up to $750,000 to heirs—without the need for probate or a formal estate plan. They discuss how this expansion of the small estate affidavit and petition procedures can ease the burden on families, making property transitions faster and less complicated. Tune in to learn how these upcoming changes might impact you and your loved ones.
Time-stamped Show Notes:
0:00 Introduction
0:58 Discover how the 2025 revisions to the small estate affidavit could benefit you and streamline estate transfers.
3:10 Navigating Estate Transfers Under the New Law: Listen as we break down the process of how estate transfers will work with this legislative change.
4:00 Even with increased limits, a small estate affidavit option may not suit everyone.
5:20 Thank you for listening. We look forward to connecting with you in our next episode!
Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Absolute Trust Talk. I am Kirsten Howe, and I’m here with Jessica Colbert, one of our associate attorneys at Absolute Trust Counsel. This episode today is the end in a series we’ve been doing about alternatives to probate—ways to get a decedent’s property to the living people who are entitled to have it without having to do a full probate.
In our most recent episode, we discussed a procedure for getting low-value real estate to the living without probate. Today, we’re talking about a change in the law coming next year that will enable a lot more people to avoid probate, even if they haven’t done a trust or an estate plan.
Jessica, could you walk us through what this new law will do?
Yes, this new law will take effect on April 1, 2025, and it will only be available for deaths after that date. If your family member died this year, you can’t just wait and use the new process next year—it won’t apply to you.
Yeah, you’ll unfortunately have to—if it means a probate, it means a probate, unfortunately. So, hang on, grandma!
The first big change in this law is regarding the small estate affidavit procedure. We talked about this a few episodes ago. It can be used when a decedent has less than the probate threshold of $184,500 in personal property. The living person entitled to that property could sign this affidavit, a declaration saying they’re entitled to it, and receive it without going through any court process.
The change coming next year is that there will be a carve-out for up to $750,000 for a decedent’s primary residence. This means the decedent could have died owning a primary residence up to $750,000 plus $184,500 in other property, and the living person could still use this procedure to access that property.
Got it. Right now, the small estate affidavit has to say, “Not only am I entitled to this property, but there doesn’t have to be a probate because the decedent didn’t have more than $184,000.” It basically has to say that. But now, starting next year, you can say the decedent didn’t have more than $184,000 or a primary residence up to $750,000. I guess that would just be another sentence on the small estate affidavit. Got it.
That small estate affidavit is used for personal property. That’s what we use it for. So, how can we access that in this situation where we have a primary residence worth less than $750,000? How do we transfer that?
That will be done with a petition determining succession to property. We talked about this last time. Previously, it was only used if the decedent had personal property over a very small value of $61,500, but all the property in the estate was less than $184,500. Now, this petition, which is a bit more streamlined than probate—it’s only one—can be used for up to $750,000 for that primary residence.
This process currently is only available when you have real estate that doesn’t bring the total probate estate above $184,500. Now, we can use this petition process to get that primary residence up to $750,000. It’s not a simple, quick affidavit—you do have to go through that court process, but it’s only one hearing. Ideally, that’s it—there are no objections, everybody’s cool, then the judge signs it. So, it’s much shorter than a probate.
It’s great, and it’s going to be nice for a lot of people. Not everybody, though.
For example, according to Zillow, the average home price in Walnut Creek, where our office is, is well over $1 million. That’s not going to help a lot of people. It will depend on where you live because, as they say about real estate, location, location. However, many people have a primary residence worth $750,000 or less. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
We’re happy we could share this exciting news with you, and we hope you got a lot out of it. We look forward to connecting with you again.
Resources Related to This Episode:
- Absolute Trust Talk Episode 156: Probate Alternatives: Real Estate Affidavits and Succession Petitions Explained https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/156-probate-alternatives-real-estate-affidavits-and-succession-petitions-explained/
- Absolute Trust Talk Episode 155: Spousal Property Petitions: An Easier Alternative to Probate https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/155-spousal-property-petitions-an-easier-alternative-to-probate/
- Absolute Trust Talk Episode 154: Unlocking Assets Without Probate: The Benefits of Using a Small Estate Affidavit https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/154-unlocking-assets-without-probate-the-benefits-of-using-a-small-estate-affidavit/
- A Will is Not Enough – Securing Your Legacy with Estate Planning Life can change in an instant. A will is not enough to be prepared. Get free access to our actionable E-book Guidebook #1 and start protecting your legacy today. https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/guidebooks/
- Learn how to comfortably define gray areas and assess your own unique needs to effortlessly build a secure future now. Check out Guidebook #2, Estate Planning Beyond the Basics, here > https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/guidebooks/
- Get our free introductory guide to the most used estate planning tool, family trusts, and understand how we plan to help protect your family. Guidebook #3: https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/guidebooks/
- Absolute Trust Counsel would love to offer access to our Incapacity Planning resource page: https://AbsoluteTrustCounsel.com/Incapacity-Planning/. We’ve collected our top planning information all in one place so listeners can find videos, guidebooks, blog posts, and a host of information with tips and strategies on implementing, planning, and protecting themselves and their loved ones.
- We’re pleased to provide a library of e-books to address common estate planning questions and concerns in practical, easy-to-understand language. https://AbsoluteTrustCounsel.com/Resources/.
- ASK KIRSTEN: If you’d like Kirsten to answer your question on the air, please email her at Info@AbsoluteTrustCounsel.com.
[AD] Estate planning addresses many vital factors about your future and legacy. Where do you get started if you don’t have an estate plan? If you do, how have new laws and life transitions changed? Will your plan still protect you? Regardless, you deserve to have control over your wants, needs, goals, and hopes for the future. We can help you understand your options and, legally, how you will best be protected at all touchpoints. Get started today by scheduling a free discovery call so we can discuss your needs. Visit https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/scheduling/ or call us at (925) 943-2740.