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Delaware timeline

Delaware probate timeline: the 30-day wait and creditor deadlines

The simplified route starts 30 days after death.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in Delaware they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

The one date this page can source

The distribution without grant of letters (small estate affidavit) (12 del. c. 2306) route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.

(2) Thirty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent. (3) The value of the personal estate of the decedent other than property described in § 1901(b) and (c) of this title and other than jointly owned property, does not exceed $50,000.12 Del. C. 2306 — State of Delaware (Delaware Code Online); 85 Del. Laws, c. 281, § 1.

Creditor deadlines

Delaware does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

Outer limit, running from death
8 months from the decedent's death for claims arising before or at death, whether or not notice was given (12 Del. C. 2102(a)); 6 months for post-death claims (12 Del. C. 2102(b))

How these combine. Delaware's nonclaim bar under 12 Del. C. 2102(a) bars all claims arising before or at death unless presented within 8 months of the decedent's death, whether or not the 2101 notice was given. Claims arising after death are barred at 6 months (2102(b): contract-with-PR claims 6 months after PR performance is due; any other claim 6 months after it arises). Because pre-death and post-death claims carry distinct triggers, it is left unknown with the triggers itemized rather than collapsed.

are barred against the estate, the personal representative and the heirs and devisees of the decedent unless presented as provided in § 2104 of this title within 8 months of the decedent's death whether or not the notice referred to in § 2101 of this title has been given.12 Del. C. 2102 — State of Delaware (Delaware Code Online); 81 Del. Laws, c. 150, § 1.

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Court of Chancery (Register of Wills) before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

Delaware runs eight months from the death itself, whether or not anyone published notice

12 Del. C. § 2102(a) bars pre-death claims unless they are presented under § 2104 "within 8 months of the decedent’s death whether or not the notice referred to in § 2101 of this title has been given." That closing clause is the whole difference between Delaware and the uniform-code states covered elsewhere on this site. In Arizona, Montana, North Dakota and Idaho the creditor clock starts when notice is published; in Delaware it starts at the death, and a representative who never published still gets the benefit of the bar.

The exception named in the subsection points the other way. Debts "of which notice is presumed pursuant to § 2103" are outside the eight-month bar, so the reliability of the deadline depends on which category a given debt falls into rather than on the calendar alone.

Post-death claims run on a separate six-month clock under subsection (b): a claim based on a contract with the personal representative must be presented within six months after the representative’s performance is due, and any other claim within six months after it arises. These are not the eight-month period restarted; they are a different provision with a different trigger.

Subsection (c) then adds a third and much shorter clock that catches people out. A claim that survived (a) and (b) but was rejected by the executor or administrator "shall be barred forever unless an action or suit be commenced thereon within 3 months" after written notice of the rejection is delivered in person or mailed to the claimant’s last known address. The executor may consent to extend that three months, and the Court of Chancery may order an extension on petition "to avoid injustice," but "in no event shall the extension run beyond the applicable statute of limitations."

Two carve-outs are worth knowing before treating the eight months as a clean cut-off. Subsection (d) exempts claims for legacies or shares of the estate entirely — a beneficiary is not a creditor for these purposes. Subsection (e) bars a deficiency claim on a bond secured by a mortgage after eight months from the death, but expressly preserves the mortgage: the failure to present "shall not invalidate the bond so as to prevent the foreclosure of the mortgage on real estate at any time thereafter." And subsection (f) preserves proceedings against the decedent or representative "to the limits of the insurance protection only."

Source: 12 Del. C. § 2102, read from the enacting state’s own published code on 2026-09-17. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.

Delaware timeline decision map

What must be established before the Delaware clock matters

The Delaware waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

QuestionRecorded Delaware answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Distribution without grant of letters (small estate affidavit) (12 Del. C. 2306)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$50,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; Delaware's nonclaim bar under 12 Del. C. 2102(a) bars all claims arising before or at death unless presented within 8 months of the decedent's death, whether or not the 2101 notice was given. Claims arising after death are barred at 6 months (2102(b): contract-with-PR claims 6 months after PR performance is due; any other claim 6 months after it arises). Because pre-death and post-death claims carry distinct triggers, it is left unknown with the triggers itemized rather than collapsed.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule.Ask the Court of Chancery (Register of Wills) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?Court of Chancery Rule 192 governs: commissions of personal representatives, and the fees of the attorneys who represent them, shall be allowed in a reasonable amount. Rule 192(b) lists the factors used to fix a reasonable figure — time spent, risk and responsibility, novelty and difficulty of the questions, skill and experience, any will provision on compensation, comparable local rates, and the character and value of the estate assets — and provides that commissions and fees are not unreasonable merely because based on hourly rates, on the value of the probate estate, or on the value of assets. Delaware publishes no percentage schedule; the amount is set case-by-case by the court. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the Delaware deadlines into one date

The Delaware record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Outer limit from death8 months from the decedent's death for claims arising before or at death, whether or not notice was given (12 Del. C. 2102(a)); 6 months for post-death claims (12 Del. C. 2102(b))12 Del. C. 2102

How the periods combine: Delaware's nonclaim bar under 12 Del. C. 2102(a) bars all claims arising before or at death unless presented within 8 months of the decedent's death, whether or not the 2101 notice was given. Claims arising after death are barred at 6 months (2102(b): contract-with-PR claims 6 months after PR performance is due; any other claim 6 months after it arises). Because pre-death and post-death claims carry distinct triggers, it is left unknown with the triggers itemized rather than collapsed.

Case-file context

Keep the Delaware answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Delaware descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

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.

Under 12 Del. C. 2306 a qualifying successor (spouse, grandparent or a grandparent's lineal descendant, a licensed funeral director, or the named executor, among others) may take the decedent's personal estate for distribution without a grant of letters or probate by executing an affidavit that: no PR is pending or granted; thirty days have elapsed since death; the value of the personal estate (excluding property described in 12 Del. C. 1901(b) and (c) and jointly owned property) does not exceed $50,000; all known debts are paid or provided for; the surviving-spouse allowance under 2308 is satisfied; and the decedent did not own real estate in Delaware. It does not transfer real estate.

Cost context

Delaware probate filing fees are set at the county level by each Register of Wills (New Castle, Kent, Sussex) acting as an arm of the Court of Chancery; there is no statewide statutory opening-fee figure. Fees typically scale with estate value under each county's published schedule. Apply the county-variability doctrine: the statewide figure is an honest unknown with an official Register of Wills pointer.

No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule.

Compensation context

Court of Chancery Rule 192 governs: commissions of personal representatives, and the fees of the attorneys who represent them, shall be allowed in a reasonable amount. Rule 192(b) lists the factors used to fix a reasonable figure — time spent, risk and responsibility, novelty and difficulty of the questions, skill and experience, any will provision on compensation, comparable local rates, and the character and value of the estate assets — and provides that commissions and fees are not unreasonable merely because based on hourly rates, on the value of the probate estate, or on the value of assets. Delaware publishes no percentage schedule; the amount is set case-by-case by the court.

Court of Chancery Rule 192 governs: commissions of personal representatives, and the fees of the attorneys who represent them, shall be allowed in a reasonable amount. Rule 192(b) lists the factors used to fix a reasonable figure — time spent, risk and responsibility, novelty and difficulty of the questions, skill and experience, any will provision on compensation, comparable local rates, and the character and value of the estate assets — and provides that commissions and fees are not unreasonable merely because based on hourly rates, on the value of the probate estate, or on the value of assets. Delaware publishes no percentage schedule; the amount is set case-by-case by the court. The relevant base is the estate accounting.

Court-material note: 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.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Delaware amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Delaware ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the Delaware figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Delaware counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Delaware ceilingWhat it does not decide
$37,500Below $50,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$62,500Above $50,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official 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.

Source trail

Records used by this Delaware map

  • 12 Del. C. 230612 Del. C. 2306 - Distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters where estate assets do not exceed $50,000; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • 12 Del. C. 230512 Del. C. 2305 - Allowance of commissions and attorneys' fees; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • 12 Del. C. 210212 Del. C. 2102 - Limitations on claims against estate; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • Ct. Ch. R. 192Rules of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, Rule 192 (Commissions and Fees); reviewed August 9, 2026

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the Delaware periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

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