Probate Code section 890, enacted in 2019 by AB 473, requires the Judicial Council to adjust the dollar amounts to qualify for the various small estate procedures under Division 8 of the Probate Code (Probate Code sections 13000 et seq.) based on changes to the CPI for “All Urban Consumers” published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those inflation adjustments are to occur every three years, and the first such adjustment took effect on April 1, 2022. As part of its “Spring Cycle” of proposals, the Judicial Council recently published SPR 22-16 setting forth the amount of those inflation adjustments as follows:
| Deaths before April 1, 2022 | Deaths on or after April 1, 2022 | |
| Affidavit for Collection, Receipt, or Transfer of Personal Property (Prob. Code § 13100) | $166,250 | $184,500 |
| Court Order Determining Succession to Property (Prob. Code § 13150) | $166,250 | $184,500 |
| Affidavit for Succession to Real Property of Small Value (Prob. Code § 13200) | $55,425 | $61,500 |
| Affidavit for Collection of Compensation Owed to Deceased Spouse (Prob. Code § 13600) | $16,625 | $18,450 |
Subdivision (c) of Probate Code section 890 requires the Judicial Council to publish the inflation-adjusted dollar amounts, together with the date of the next scheduled adjustment. In accordance with that statutory mandate, SPR 22-16 introduces a new Judicial Council form – DE 300 – which lists the dollar limitations for the various small estate procedures both before and after April 1, 2022, and notes that the next scheduled adjustment will occur on April 1, 2025.
Of particular note, for deaths occurring on or after April 1, 2022, Judicial Council form DE-300 must be attached to any affidavit, declaration or petition under any of the small estate procedures under Division 8, including an affidavit under Probate Code section 13100. (See Prob. Code §§ 13101(f), 13152(e), 13200(f), and 13601(e)(2).)
Author: John M. Andersen, Ferguson Case Orr Paterson LLP
Date: April 28, 2022