Simplified route
$50,000
Distribution without grant of letters (small estate affidavit) (12 Del. C. 2306); usable 30 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsDelaware estate administration
Delaware probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $50,000
In Delaware, estates up to $50,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is whatever the court finds reasonable (Ct. Ch. R. 192); and claims arising before death close eight months after it, notice or not. Delaware probate is administered by the Register of Wills in each county as an arm of the Court of Chancery. A small estate of personal property under $50,000 may be distributed by affidavit without a grant of letters, and executor commissions are set by Court of Chancery rule rather than by statute.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Delaware simplified probate route
Up to $50,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: 12 Del. C. 2306.
Distribution without grant of letters (small estate affidavit) (12 Del. C. 2306)No combined Delaware probate total
The Court of Chancery (Register of Wills) where the estate is opened sets or collects the filing charge. Executor pay is reasonable compensation (Ct. Ch. R. 192), not a rate. Each side in full: Delaware probate filing cost and Delaware executor fees.
Screen a specific Delaware estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
Set locally; ask the receiving court.
Delaware sets no statewide statutory probate filing fee. The Register of Wills operates county by county (New Castle, Kent, Sussex) as an arm of the Court of Chancery, and each county Register of Wills publishes its own fee schedule; no single statewide operative figure is published in the Code. Where it is set: County Register of Wills fee schedules (courts.delaware.gov/rowills); 12 Del. C. Chapter 25 (Register of Wills).
Executor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: Ct. Ch. R. 192.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
12 Del. C. 2102 (State of Delaware (Delaware Code Online); reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Delaware
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Del. C. § 2102 | Delaware runs eight months from the death itself, whether or not anyone published notice — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| 12 Del. C. § 2306 | What Delaware’s $50,000 affidavit route actually requires — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| 12 Del. C. § 2305 | Delaware sets no statutory commission percentage — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Delaware decision map
The four facts that change the Delaware route
Each Delaware answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Delaware answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Distribution without grant of letters (small estate affidavit) (12 Del. C. 2306) |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- Delaware's probate filing fee is set by the Register of Wills in each county (New Castle, Kent and Sussex), and no statute fixes a statewide amount, so this page gives no single figure. Ask the Register of Wills in the county where the estate is opened.
- The value counted under § 2306 leaves out property described in 12 Del. C. § 1901(b) and (c). The calculator does not ask about that property, so a result for an estate close to the limit may not be conclusive.
- Court of Chancery Rule 192 sets a reasonable amount, judged by the factors it lists, not a percentage schedule; the quote is from the court's rules PDF.
Continue
What Delaware courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Forms indexDelaware Courts - Register of Wills FormsDelaware Judiciary
- Court resourceDelaware Courts - Register of WillsDelaware Judiciary
- Court resourceDelaware Courts - Locations & ContactsDelaware Judiciary
Limits on court material
- The Register of Wills is an arm of the Court of Chancery and operates separately in each county (New Castle, Kent, Sussex); fee schedules and some forms are county-published.
- No single statewide small-estate form governs the 2306 affidavit; the Register of Wills provides county-level forms and instructions.
Delaware primary sources
Each rule on the Delaware pages comes from one of these 4 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
12 Del. C. 2306, Distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters where estate assets do not exceed $50,000.
Executor compensation rule
12 Del. C. 2305, Allowance of commissions and attorneys' fees.
Creditor deadline rule
12 Del. C. 2102, Limitations on claims against estate.
Executor compensation rule
Ct. Ch. R. 192, Rules of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, Rule 192 (Commissions and Fees).
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Delaware source list · how sources are checked · report a correction