Assets That Skip Probate and How States Count Them
Probate only deals with property the person owned in their own name with no beneficiary or surviving co-owner. Everything else passes by contract or title — and small-estate statutes usually count only what is left.
The usual non-probate categories
- Named beneficiaries: life insurance, retirement accounts and annuities pay the person named on the form.
- Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death registrations on bank and brokerage accounts.
- Joint ownership with survivorship: the surviving owner takes the whole.
- Living trust assets: the trustee, not the court, distributes them.
How the statutes measure the estate
| State | What the limit is measured against |
|---|---|
| Alabama | value of the personal property of a decedent who owned no real property, not counting property whose title passes by operation of law |
| Alaska | personal property other than registered vehicles, less liens and encumbrances (registered vehicles are tested separately) |
| Arizona | value of all personal property in the estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Arkansas | value of the decedent's property, less encumbrances, excluding the homestead and statutory allowances for a spouse or minor children |
| California | gross value of the decedent's real and personal property in California, excluding property described in Probate Code § 13050 |
| Colorado | fair market value of all property subject to will or intestate succession, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, for a death in 2026 |
| Connecticut | solely owned personal property, excluding property that passes outside probate by operation of law |
| Delaware | personal estate, excluding jointly owned property and property described in 12 Del. C. § 1901(b) and (c) |
| District of Columbia | property of the decedent subject to administration in the District |
| Florida | value of the entire estate subject to administration, less exempt property |
| Hawaii | total value of the decedent's property in Hawaii |
| Idaho | fair market value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Illinois | personal estate passing by will or intestacy, not counting motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State |
| Indiana | gross probate estate, for a death after June 30, 2022 |
| Iowa | gross value of the decedent's personal property that would pass by will or intestacy |
| Kansas | total assets of the estate subject to probate |
| Louisiana | gross value of the property of a person who died domiciled in Louisiana, valued as of the date of death |
| Maine | value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Maryland | fair market value of the decedent's Maryland property, less debts of record secured by that property |
| Massachusetts | personal property other than one motor vehicle |
| Michigan | value of the estate |
| Minnesota | value of the entire probate estate at the date of death, less liens and encumbrances |
| Mississippi | value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Missouri | value of the entire estate, less liens, debts and encumbrances |
| Montana | value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Nebraska | value of the personal property in the estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Nevada | gross value of the decedent's property in Nevada, not counting motor vehicles registered to the decedent or amounts owed for Armed Forces service |
| New Jersey | total value of the estate's real and personal assets, for a person who died without a will |
| New Mexico | value of the estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| New York | gross value of personal property, not counting property set off to the family under EPTL 5-3.1(a) |
| North Carolina | personal property of a person who died without a will |
| North Dakota | value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Ohio | value of the assets of the estate |
| Oklahoma | fair market value of the decedent's Oklahoma property subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, less liens and encumbrances |
| Oregon | fair market value of the estate attributable to personal property (and, separately, to real property) |
| Pennsylvania | gross value of the decedent's property, not counting real estate and payments under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101 |
| Rhode Island | value of the estate, not counting tangible personal property |
| South Carolina | value of the entire probate estate (property passing by will plus property passing by intestacy), wherever located, less liens and encumbrances |
| South Dakota | value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances |
| Tennessee | value of the probate property (personal property only) |
| Texas | value of the estate assets on the date of the affidavit, excluding homestead and exempt property |
| Utah | value of the estate, less liens and encumbrances, not counting up to four boats, motor vehicles, trailers or semitrailers |
| Vermont | fair market value of an estate made up entirely of personal property (a time-share may be included) |
| Virginia | value of the entire personal probate estate at the date of death |
| Washington | entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, not counting the surviving spouse's or domestic partner's community property interest |
| West Virginia | fair market value of probate personal property (real estate is tested separately) |
| Wisconsin | value of the estate, as stated on the Wisconsin court system's form page |
| Wyoming | value of the Wyoming estate, less liens and encumbrances |
Real estate
In 32 jurisdictions the small-estate route does not take real property: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington. In 11 it can pass real estate: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia. Arizona, California and Wyoming have a separate real-property procedure.
Worked example
A widow in Nevada inherits a $140,000 estate: a car registered to her husband and $140,000 in a solely owned account. The car does not count (NRS 146.080), and as surviving spouse she may use the affidavit up to $150,000, so the account fits; another relative would face the $25,000 limit instead.
Sources
Each measure is quoted from the statute linked on the state's page, checked 2026-10-20. See the small estate limits and the methodology.
Questions
What assets do not go through probate?
Generally: accounts and policies with a named beneficiary, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and assets held in a living trust.
Does a car count toward the small estate limit?
In some states it does not. Nevada leaves registered vehicles out of the count and Massachusetts allows one vehicle on top of its limit; most others count it.