Simplified route
$75,000
Collection of personal property by affidavit; usable 30 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsMinnesota estate administration
Minnesota probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $75,000
In Minnesota, estates up to $75,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is whatever the court finds reasonable (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-719); and claims are due four months after first publication, or one month after served notice if later; all but state cost-of-care and public-assistance claims close a year after death at most. Minnesota’s affidavit route collects qualifying personal property without a personal representative appointment; probate proceedings themselves are in District Court.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Minnesota simplified probate route
Up to $75,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: Minn. Stat. § 524.3-1201.
Collection of personal property by affidavitNo combined Minnesota probate total
The District Court filing charge is statewide: $310 (Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(1)). Executor pay is reasonable compensation (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-719), not a rate. Each side in full: Minnesota probate filing cost and Minnesota executor fees.
Screen a specific Minnesota 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
$310
1 published schedule, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: Minn. Stat. § 524.3-719.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
Minn. Stat. § 524.3-801 (Minnesota Revisor of Statutes; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Minnesota
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Minn. Stat. § 524.3-803 (limitations on presentation of claims) | Minnesota sets a different deadline for each kind of creditor, and how the creditor was told decides which one applies — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| Minn. Stat. § 524.3-719 | Minnesota tells the court which three things it must consider — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Minnesota decision map
The four facts that change the Minnesota route
Each Minnesota answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Minnesota answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Collection of personal property by affidavit |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. |
| What is the amount screen? | $75,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | $310 is the recorded statewide amount. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- The $310 statute does not price county law-library charges or other case-specific costs.
- No Minnesota Judicial Branch page is linked: none had been confirmed as current as of August 9, 2026.
Continue
What Minnesota courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
No Minnesota court document is linked here. The notes below state why, rather than leaving the absence unexplained.
Limits on court material
- The Minnesota Judicial Branch's probate, forms, fee and court-locator pages on mncourts.gov are not linked: none had been confirmed as current as of August 9, 2026.
- The Minnesota State Law Library’s official probate guide and forms guide are linked.
- Minnesota's official court forms and probate help live at mncourts.gov. No Minnesota court link is published here because this site had not confirmed those pages as of August 9, 2026, and it does not substitute a copy hosted by a third party. Search mncourts.gov directly for probate forms.
Minnesota primary sources
Each rule on the Minnesota pages comes from one of these 5 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
Minn. Stat. § 524.3-1201, Minnesota Statutes, Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit.
Court cost rule
Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(1), Minnesota Statutes, District Court Fees.
Executor compensation rule
Minn. Stat. § 524.3-719, Minnesota Statutes, Compensation of Personal Representative.
Creditor deadline rule
Minn. Stat. § 524.3-801, Minnesota Statutes, Notice to Creditors.
Creditor deadline rule
Minn. Stat. § 524.3-803, Minnesota Statutes, Limitations on Presentation of Claims.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Minnesota source list · how sources are checked · report a correction