July 2026 Newsletter
By: Catherine B. ("Kylee") Read, Esquire, CELA*
Delaware Probate Exemption Increased to $50,000
The Delaware probate process takes time, effort, and cost. Our statute exempts small estates from the probate process. For small estates, a small estate affidavit procedure is available for a decedent’s personal representative to claim the decedent’s assets, instead of going through the full probate process. Since 2005, that probate exemption has been $30,000. This means that for a decedent who owns no real estate in his or her own name, but owns individually titled non-beneficiary designated assets totaling less than $30,000, no probate is required. This helps families of modest means by avoiding probate and maximizing assets to pass on to heirs.
The $30,000 threshold established over 20 years ago was due for an adjustment to today’s dollars, as many decedents of modest means exceeded it.
HB 333, signed into law on June 10, 2026, raises the probate exemption from $30,000 to $50,000 for small estates in Delaware.
Following is a Press Release by New Castle County Register of Wills Ciro Poppiti III on the new law:...