Delaware Probate Without a Lawyer

Delaware never makes a lawyer a condition of settling an estate, and the office you deal with is not a courtroom. 12 Del. C. § 2501 says that in performing the functions of the office, "the Register of Wills of each county shall act only as a Clerk of the Court of Chancery." One of Delaware's two routes needs no petition at all. The other is opened at a counter, by appointment, in one of three county offices.

Here is what a self-filer should know before deciding. Delaware hands you a genuinely workable do-it-yourself state and one rule that pushes back. The workable part is that bond is not required by default, the Register places the creditor notice for you, and each county publishes its own forms free. The rule that pushes back is Court of Chancery Rule 190, which excuses a personal representative from appearing only when an attorney is on the file. This page is general information about Delaware law rather than advice about one estate, and it says nothing about whether any particular estate can be settled without counsel, which is a question for a licensed Delaware attorney. Start with the process you would be filing into if you have not picked a route yet.

Nothing in Title 12 conditions any of those on counsel. What decides the answer is what the decedent owned and how much of the work you are willing to do at a counter.

The Rule That Keeps a Self-Filer at the Counter

Court of Chancery Rule 190 is titled "Appearance of Personal Representative not Required," and reading only the title gets it backwards.

Rule 190(a) says the personal appearance of a personal representative at the Office of the Register of Wills is not required at the time of grant of letters, or at the time of filing an interim or final accounting, "if upon written application to the Register of Wills it is shown that the personal representative is represented in the probate proceedings by an attorney admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware," or is serving as co-fiduciary with someone who will appear or who is so represented. Rule 190(b) then requires an affidavit attached to the petition or accounting.

A person filing alone satisfies neither condition. That is why all three fee schedules price the Rule 190 petition as a service you buy: New Castle charges $5 per representative for "Filing Rule 190 Petition and Affidavit," and Sussex prices "Petition (Rule 190)" at $5.00 per personal representative. The appointment, not the paperwork, is the transaction for everyone else.

Each office runs that appointment differently, and the differences are the ones that cost a day off work:

• New Castle County. An appointment is necessary to open an estate. In-person hours run Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Friday to 3:00 p.m., closed for lunch daily from noon to 1:00 p.m., with the phones answered until 4:00 p.m. No small estate affidavit is issued after 3:00 p.m. because the office closes at 3:30. Evening appointments are offered one hour a month at the Appoquinimink and Hockessin public libraries, and walk-ins there are not served. Call 302-395-7800.
• Kent County. Appointments are necessary to open and to close. Opening documents may be sent by mail first, and once a deputy has reviewed them you are contacted to schedule the appointment and told the fees. Payment is by cash, check or money order only. Walk-in hours run Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Friday to 3:30 p.m. Call 302-744-2330.
• Sussex County. Appointments are required to open a probated estate, to close one, for ancillary estates, and to deposit a will for safekeeping. The office requires all original documentation to be submitted for review before an appointment is assigned. It closes to the public at 3:00 p.m. on the last Monday of the month, and the building locks at 4:00 p.m. daily. Call 302-855-7875.

Take addresses and current hours from the three Registers of Wills rather than from a neighbouring county's practice.

One Route Skips the Counter Entirely

12 Del. C. § 2306 is the reason Delaware is a plausible do-it-yourself state for a modest estate. It transfers the personal estate on a sworn affidavit, with no petition, no letters and no personal representative.

Seven conditions all have to hold. No petition for appointment is pending or granted. Thirty days have passed since the death. The personal estate, excluding the § 1901(b) and (c) items and jointly owned property, does not exceed the statutory figure. Known debts are paid or provided for. The surviving spouse's allowance under § 2308 is paid, provided for, waived, or expired. The decedent "did not own real estate in Delaware, either solely or as tenants in common." And the affidavit is furnished to whoever holds the money or property.

Read the sixth one twice. Real estate is a disqualifier, not a deduction. Any Delaware real estate the decedent held solely or as a tenant in common closes this route at any value, so a $9,000 bank account plus a quarter share of a family cottage is a full estate.

The figure itself moved three months before this page was written. 85 Del. Laws, c. 281 (House Bill No. 333), approved June 10, 2026, struck $30,000 from § 2306 and wrote in $50,000. The act carries no separate effective-date section and no transition clause. What the three offices publish about it differs, and one of them will cost a reader money:

A Kent reader with a $40,000 personal estate is told by their own Register that an estate must be opened. Ask the office that will issue the affidavit which figure it is applying to your date of death, and bring the act if you have to. The Delaware small estate affidavit guide works through the rest of the conditions.

What the Three Counties Charge, and Why They Differ

12 Del. C. § 2510 is one sentence long: "The governing body of each county shall determine the fees which shall be charged by the Register of Wills of that county." 12 Del. C. § 2511 adds that every Register "shall keep for public inspection in the Register's office a printed or written list of the fees then in effect." So there is no statewide probate filing fee, and no statewide source for one. The county schedule is the operative document even where Title 12 prints a dollar figure of its own.

Two figures in that table are worth pausing on. The $40,000 row is not a rounding difference: New Castle raised its first bracket to match the amended § 2306, and the other two schedules still break at $29,999, so the same estate pays double at two of the three counters. And the closing charge is where the money actually is. It is collected when the final account passes rather than at opening, so an opening bill of $75 on a $400,000 estate says nothing about the roughly $8,000 that arrives at the end in New Castle. Budget it from the start, and see the account you will have to file for how the net personal estate is computed.

Record the revision string beside any fee you copy. Kent dates its schedule in the file itself, Rev. 2.5.2026. New Castle's PDF carries no printed date and was last modified June 17, 2026. Sussex's fee page serves no last-modified header at all, so it is the one schedule that has to be re-read rather than re-checked.

The Forms Are Free, and Which Ones You Get Depends on Your County

Delaware publishes no statewide probate form set. The Delaware Judiciary's forms library carries a "Wills and Estates" category, and on September 10, 2026 that category held one form: a Family Court Petition for Specific Performance Under Separation Agreement, revised 11/26/2025. The judiciary's Self-Help index for civil matters lists abandoned personal property, name changes, judgments, mechanics liens and guardianship, and no probate topic at all. Everything a self-filer needs comes from the county.

• New Castle County publishes an Opening Petition form and a completed sample, probate instructions, a list of documents for opening and another for closing, fillable inventory and accounting forms with samples and instructions, beneficiary waiver forms, and a renunciation.
• Kent County publishes an Opening Petition with a dated revision and a sample, an estate opening checklist and a closing checklist, a fillable inventory with a sample, a renunciation, and a request form for a small estate affidavit by mail with its own checklist.
• Sussex County publishes a downloadable probate pack with a probate timeline and directions, a letter to personal representatives, inventory and accounting forms with instructions, and the beneficiary waiver and notice forms. Its Petition for Authority to Act as Personal Representative, its case information sheet and its Forms 650 and 651 are labelled for attorney use only.

The asymmetry matters when you are working from a neighbour's advice. The same document is public in two counties and marked attorney-only in the third, so a Sussex filer whose opening petition is drawn up at the appointment is not doing anything wrong. Compare what each source actually publishes on the Delaware probate forms page.

Where a Self-Filed Delaware Estate Gets Easier

Three defaults do real work for someone filing alone.

Bond is not required. 12 Del. C. § 1522 says no bond shall be required of a personal representative before receiving letters, with two exceptions: a will containing an express requirement of bond, and an order of the Court of Chancery under § 1524. Even a bond the will demands may be dispensed with if the Court decides it is not necessary or desirable. The Delaware bond requirements guide covers how § 1523 fixes an amount when one is ordered.

The Register places the creditor notice. 12 Del. C. § 2101(a) puts the duty to give notice of the granting of letters on the Register of Wills, by posting within 40 days on the designated county website or in the county courthouse, and by publication in one or more approved newspapers at least three times within the same period. You do not choose the paper or watch the calendar. Subsection (c) lets the Register require the actual costs of posting and publication to be advanced before letters are granted, which is why an advertising line lands on your opening bill.

A self-proved will keeps the witnesses at home. 12 Del. C. § 1305 makes a will self-proved on the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Without that page, two witnesses to the will have to come to the Register's office and swear to it, and if they are gone § 1304 sends you looking for disinterested people who can identify the handwriting. All three schedules price the witness oath, and Sussex prices a commission sent out of the county at a flat $25.00. The Delaware will requirements guide covers what makes the affidavit page valid.

Agreement also shortens the ending. 12 Del. C. § 2302(c) lets any beneficiary entitled to share waive notice of the filing of an account in writing and consent to its approval, and Court of Chancery Rule 195(a) then lets the account go to the Court before the three-month window runs, once every beneficiary has signed. Rule 194(a) tells you what to bring: the notice goes out over your name, and the stamped, addressed, unsealed envelopes are supplied by the personal representative at the time the accounting is filed.

The Clocks That Cost a Self-Filer Money

Five dated rules do more damage to a self-filed Delaware estate than any drafting mistake.

12 Del. C. § 2102(a) bars every claim arising before or at the death unless presented within 8 months of the decedent's death, "whether or not the notice referred to in § 2101 of this title has been given." Delaware has no publication-triggered claim window, so the clock starts at the death and the Register's advertisement does not move it. Section 2107 gives you cover for paying in the meantime: after 3 months from the grant of letters, paying a claim of lower preference before a higher one has been presented "shall be allowed." The Delaware creditor claims guide walks the presentation rules.

12 Del. C. § 1905(a) gives you 3 months from the granting of letters to file the inventory and appraisal, with a copy in every other county where the decedent owned real estate. 12 Del. C. § 1906(a) then charges the late filer, "personally and individually," a penalty of $1.00 per day for each day delinquent, starting one month after the Register's notice of the delinquency. New Castle also prices a late fee of $100 for every 12-month period of delinquency, and both New Castle and Kent charge $25 for a missed appointment.

12 Del. C. § 2301(a) requires an account of your administration to the Court of Chancery, in money, every year from the date of your letters until a final account passes. Subsection (b) is blunt about what happens if you do not: the Court "shall issue process of attachment" and may enforce compliance by imprisonment. That is a contempt power rather than a crime, and § 2301(c) lets the Register extend the time by up to 6 months for sufficient cause, or dispense with an account for a year in which nothing happened.

12 Del. C. § 2308(b) gives a surviving spouse a $7,500 allowance that is of no effect unless demanded in writing from both the Register and the personal representative within 9 months from the death or 6 months from the grant of letters, whichever is shorter. It sits first in the § 2105 order of preference, ahead of funeral expenses, so it changes who gets paid in a thin estate. See Delaware surviving spouse rights for how it interacts with the elective share.

12 Del. C. § 1309(a) leaves the will open for 6 months after the order of probate to anyone interested who neither appeared at the taking of the proof nor was served under § 1303. On review the Court may affirm the will or reject it and revoke the letters. Distribution inside that window is a judgment call worth talking through.

Two Filings Delaware Adds That Catch People Out

An out-of-state personal representative files a power of attorney first. 12 Del. C. § 1506 requires a nondomiciliary executor or administrator to file, before letters issue, an irrevocable power of attorney naming the Register and the Register's successors as the person on whom notices and process may be served. All three counties price it, from $2.00 in Sussex to $5 in New Castle and Kent. Miss it and the letters do not issue.

The original will goes in within 10 days. 12 Del. C. § 1301(a) requires anyone holding a document purporting to be a will to deliver it to the Register of Wills for the county where that person resides within 10 days of learning of the death, whether or not an estate is being opened. Willful failure carries liability to anyone harmed, and contempt after a Court order.

When to Stop and Hire a Delaware Attorney

Four situations turn paperwork into litigation, and each is worth an hour of a Delaware attorney's time before it turns into a year of yours.

A caveat. 12 Del. C. § 1308 sends a caveat against the allowance of an instrument as a will to the Court of Chancery, at any time before the order of probate, with a hearing and citations to interested parties. Delaware will contests covers the procedure.

An estate that cannot pay everyone. 12 Del. C. § 2105 ranks claims in 12 classes after administration expenses, and pays no preference within a class. Getting the order wrong is the mistake a personal representative answers for personally. The Delaware debt payment priority guide sets out the ranking.

Real estate that has to be sold or retitled. The Kent County office states that the Register of Wills does not prepare or record deeds and sends filers to a lawyer or to the Recorder of Deeds for the county where the land sits. Sussex says its jointly held property affidavit removes the decedent's name for tax purposes only, and that taking the name off the deed itself means hiring an attorney. Read that beside selling inherited Delaware property.

Commissions worth arguing about. 12 Del. C. § 2305(a) delegates entirely: "Commissions and attorneys' fees shall be allowed as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery." Court of Chancery Rule 192(a) allows both in a reasonable amount, Rule 192(b) lists eleven considerations, and Delaware publishes no percentage. Rule 192(d) presumes both reasonable unless a beneficiary files an exception under 12 Del. C. § 2302(d).

Where Delaware Sends a Self-Filer for Help

Set expectations before you count on any of these.

The Judicial Law Libraries run one library in each of the three counties and say their support extends to "the general public, legal scholars, and those representing themselves in the Delaware Court system." An Ask a Law Librarian service runs from the same site. A librarian can find you the statute and the rule. Nobody there will tell you which one applies to your estate.

The Register of Wills counter answers procedure, not law. The Kent office's own answers send you to seek professional advice for a power of attorney and for a dispute with a personal representative, and the New Castle brochure states on its cover that it "is not intended as a substitute for consulting with an attorney." New Castle publishes a list of attorneys who frequently handle estates and says in terms that the list is an aid rather than an endorsement.

What Self-Filers Run Into

1. The route gets chosen before the facts are checked. Any Delaware real estate, solely owned or held as a tenant in common, closes the § 2306 affidavit at any value.
2. The appointment is the filing. Chancery Rule 190 waives an appearance only where a Delaware attorney is on the file, so book early and bring originals.
3. Two counties still publish the old small estate figure in their brackets, and one publishes it as the limit. Ask which figure your office applies to your date of death.
4. The opening bill is not the bill. The closing charge on the net personal estate is 1.25% to 2.00% depending on the county, and it lands at the end.
5. The inventory is due in 3 months, and the penalty is personal. $1.00 per day under § 1906(a), plus whatever late fee the county schedule adds.
6. The creditor clock starts at the death. 8 months under § 2102(a), whether or not notice was given.
7. A will that is not self-proved drags two witnesses to a counter. Check for the notarized affidavit page before you make the appointment.
8. Kent takes cash, check or money order only. Confirm the payment method with your own office before the appointment.

Common Questions

Do you need a lawyer for probate in Delaware?

No Delaware statute conditions a probate filing on hiring counsel, and one of the two routes never reaches a courtroom at all. Under 12 Del. C. § 2306 a qualifying relative or named executor takes the personal estate on a sworn affidavit, with no petition and no letters, when the personal estate is under the statutory figure and the decedent owned no Delaware real estate. A full estate is opened at the Register of Wills, which 12 Del. C. § 2501 says acts only as a Clerk of the Court of Chancery. Whether you should open one alone turns on the shape of the estate rather than on a filing rule.

Can a Delaware executor file the paperwork by mail instead of appearing?

Usually not, and the rule that decides it is written for attorneys. Court of Chancery Rule 190(a) says the personal appearance of a personal representative at the Office of the Register of Wills is not required at the grant of letters or at the filing of an accounting if a written application shows that the personal representative is represented by an attorney admitted to practice before the Delaware Supreme Court, or is serving with a co-fiduciary who will appear or is so represented. A self-filer meets neither condition, so the appointment is the transaction. Kent County lets you mail the opening documents in first, then contacts you to schedule the appointment once a deputy has reviewed them.

How much does it cost to open a Delaware estate without a lawyer?

It depends on which of the three counties holds the file, because 12 Del. C. § 2510 gives the fee-setting power to each county's governing body and § 2511 only requires each Register to keep a printed or written list of its current fees available for public inspection. There is no statewide probate fee schedule. On a $40,000 personal estate the granting-letters charge is $25 in New Castle County, which brackets its first tier at under $50,000, and $50 in Kent and Sussex, whose first tier still ends at $29,999. The larger charge arrives at the end: New Castle takes 1.75% of the net personal estate plus a 0.25% technology cost, Kent 1.75%, Sussex 1.25%.

Does Delaware publish free probate forms for people filing on their own?

The counties do, and the state does not. New Castle County publishes an Opening Petition form with a completed sample, probate instructions, and opening and closing checklists. Kent County publishes an Opening Petition with a dated revision and a sample. Sussex County publishes a downloadable probate pack with inventory and accounting forms and instructions, but marks its Petition for Authority to Act as Personal Representative for attorney use only. Read against that, the Delaware Judiciary's own Wills and Estates forms category held exactly one form on September 10, 2026, and it is a Family Court petition unrelated to probate.

Does a Delaware self-filer have to post bond or publish the creditor notice?

Neither one by default. 12 Del. C. § 1522 says no bond shall be required of a personal representative before receiving letters, except where the will expressly requires one or the Court of Chancery orders one under § 1524. Creditor notice belongs to the office rather than to you: 12 Del. C. § 2101(a) puts the duty to give notice of the granting of letters on the Register of Wills, within 40 days, by posting and by newspaper publication once a week for three successive weeks. Subsection (c) lets the Register require that the actual costs of posting and publication be advanced before letters are granted, which is why an advertising line appears on your opening bill.

What makes a Delaware estate too much to handle alone?

A caveat is the clearest signal, because 12 Del. C. § 1308 sends it to the Court of Chancery rather than to the Register, with a hearing and citations to interested parties. A petition for review under § 1309 is the second, since anyone interested who did not appear at the taking of the proof may ask the Court to reopen the will within 6 months of the order of probate. An estate that cannot pay everyone is the third, because the 12 classes in 12 Del. C. § 2105 decide who goes short. Real estate that has to be sold is the fourth, and the Kent County office states plainly that the Register of Wills does not prepare or record deeds.

Related Guides

• Delaware Probate Guide
• Delaware Registers of Wills by County
• Delaware Probate Forms
• Delaware Small Estate Affidavit
• Delaware Probate Timeline
• Delaware Probate Accounting
• Delaware Creditor Claims
• Delaware Executor Duties
• Delaware Bond Requirements
• Delaware Debt Payment Priority
• Delaware Intestate Succession
• Delaware Ancillary Probate

Before You Book the Appointment

Every statute on this page was read at the Delaware Code Online on September 10, 2026, and every fee was taken from the county schedule that publishes it on the same day. Two figures are moving. The § 2306 small estate limit was raised from $30,000 to $50,000 by 85 Del. Laws, c. 281, approved June 10, 2026, and two of the three county fee schedules still bracket their first tier at the old number. Fees themselves are county law under § 2510 rather than state law, so a schedule can change without any statute changing, and only Kent dates its own. Confirm the counter total and the small estate figure with the Register holding your file before you write a check. Take a caveat, a petition for review, an insolvent estate or real estate that has to be sold to a licensed Delaware attorney. The Delaware probate hub collects the rest of the settlement work.

Sources:

• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1301, Production of will; liability. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c013/index.html#1301
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1304, Unavailability of witnesses. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c013/index.html#1304
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1305, Self-proved will. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c013/index.html#1305
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1308, Caveat against allowance of instrument as will; procedure. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 76 Del. Laws, c. 90, § 18; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c013/index.html#1308
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1309, Review of proof of will; procedure. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 75 Del. Laws, c. 97, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c013/index.html#1309
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1502, Grant of letters testamentary. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 65 Del. Laws, c. 422, § 4; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1502
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1504, Grant of letters of administration. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 59 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1504
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1505, Persons entitled to letters of administration. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1505
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1506, Power of attorney by nondomiciliary executor or administrator. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1506
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1508, Persons not qualified to receive letters testamentary or of administration. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1508
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1509, Oath of executor or administrator. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1509
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1521, Requirement. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 63 Del. Laws, c. 282, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc02/index.html#1521
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1522, Exception to bond requirement. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 63 Del. Laws, c. 282, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc02/index.html#1522
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1523, Amount; security; execution; excusing requirement. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 63 Del. Laws, c. 282, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc02/index.html#1523
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1905, Inventory and appraisal; filing requirements, form, contents and supporting affidavits; notice of action affecting title. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 85 Del. Laws, c. 212, § 3; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c019/index.html#1905
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1906, Failure to file inventory; civil and criminal penalties. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 64 Del. Laws, c. 252, § 4; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c019/index.html#1906
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2101, Notice to creditors to present claims; publication. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 77 Del. Laws, c. 229, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c021/index.html#2101
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2102, Limitations on claims against estate. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 81 Del. Laws, c. 150, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c021/index.html#2102
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2105, Order of preference of claims against estate. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 70 Del. Laws, c. 288, § 6; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c021/index.html#2105
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2107, Payment of claims after 3 months without notice of claim of higher priority. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 59 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c021/index.html#2107
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2301, Rendering of accounts; extension of time; appeal; authority of Register of Wills and Court of Chancery. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 74 Del. Laws, c. 227, § 4; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc01/index.html#2301
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2302, Notice of filing of account; waiver; exceptions. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 60 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc01/index.html#2302
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2305, Allowance of commissions and attorneys' fees. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 59 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc01/index.html#2305
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2306, Distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters where estate assets do not exceed $50,000. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 85 Del. Laws, c. 281, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc01/index.html#2306
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2308, Surviving spouse's allowance. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 75 Del. Laws, c. 189, § 2; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc01/index.html#2308
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2311, Time for settling estate; accounting for interest or earnings pending settlement. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 59 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc02/index.html#2311
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2501, Register of Wills is a Clerk of Court of Chancery. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 59 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c025/index.html#2501
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2502, Powers. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 64 Del. Laws, c. 252, § 8; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c025/index.html#2502
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2510, Fees. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 64 Del. Laws, c. 76, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c025/index.html#2510
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2511, Posting of fee list. Publisher: State of Delaware, The Delaware Code Online, Title 12. Publication Date: 59 Del. Laws, c. 384, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c025/index.html#2511
• Title: 85 Del. Laws, c. 281, House Bill No. 333, An Act to Amend Title 12 of the Delaware Code Relating to Distribution of Decedent's Property Without Grant of Letters of Administration. Publisher: State of Delaware, 153rd General Assembly, Laws of Delaware. Publication Date: Approved June 10, 2026; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws?volume=85&chapter=281
• Title: Rules of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, Rules 190, 192, 194 and 195. Publisher: The Delaware Judiciary, Court of Chancery. Publication Date: Rule 190 amended Dec. 15, 2014, effective Jan. 1, 2015; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=160908
• Title: Forms, Wills and Estates category. Publisher: The Delaware Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://courts.delaware.gov/forms/list.aspx?sec=Forms&sub=Wills%20and%20Estates
• Title: Self-Help. Publisher: The Delaware Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://courts.delaware.gov/help/
• Title: Judicial Law Libraries. Publisher: The Delaware Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://courts.delaware.gov/lawlibraries/
• Title: Ask a Law Librarian. Publisher: The Delaware Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://courts.delaware.gov/lawlibraries/chat.aspx
• Title: Register of Wills. Publisher: New Castle County, Delaware. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.newcastlede.gov/152/Register-of-Wills
• Title: Small Estates. Publisher: New Castle County, Delaware, Register of Wills. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.newcastlede.gov/156/Small-Estates
• Title: Forms, Register of Wills. Publisher: New Castle County, Delaware. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.newcastlede.gov/681/Forms
• Title: Fee Schedule, Register of Wills. Publisher: New Castle County, Delaware. Publication Date: Not printed on the document; file last modified June 17, 2026; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.newcastlede.gov/DocumentCenter/View/153/Fee-Schedule
• Title: Your Will and the Delaware Probate Code, Register of Wills Brochure. Publisher: New Castle County, Delaware, Register of Wills. Publication Date: 5th version, printed July 2021; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.newcastlede.gov/DocumentCenter/View/167/Register-of-Wills-Brochure
• Title: Wills and Estates. Publisher: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court, Register of Wills Office. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.kentcountyde.gov/Residents/Wills-Estates
• Title: Frequently Asked Questions, Register of Wills. Publisher: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.kentcountyde.gov/Residents/Wills-Estates/Frequently-Asked-Questions
• Title: Register of Wills Forms Library. Publisher: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.kentcountyde.gov/Residents/Wills-Estates/Register-of-Wills-Forms-Library
• Title: Register of Wills Fees, Kent County, Rev. 2.5.2026. Publisher: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court. Publication Date: Rev. 2.5.2026; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.kentcountyde.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/content-publishers/wills/wills-pdf/schedule-of-fees-rev.-2.5.2026.pdf
• Title: Register of Wills. Publisher: Sussex County, Delaware. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://sussexcountyde.gov/register-wills
• Title: Probated Estates. Publisher: Sussex County, Delaware, Register of Wills. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://sussexcountyde.gov/probated-estates
• Title: Steps in Probating an Estate. Publisher: Sussex County, Delaware, Register of Wills. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://sussexcountyde.gov/steps-probating-estate
• Title: Various Fees, Register of Wills. Publisher: Sussex County, Delaware. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://sussexcountyde.gov/various-fees
• Title: Register of Wills Forms. Publisher: Sussex County, Delaware. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://sussexcountyde.gov/register-will-forms

This guide is general information about opening and settling a Delaware estate without a lawyer. Whether you should file for yourself turns on your own facts, and Delaware Register of Wills fees are set county by county and change without any statute changing, so confirm the current figures with the Register holding your file or with a licensed Delaware attorney before you rely on anything here. It is not legal advice.