Dakota County Court Guide

Not a court proceeding, and nothing is filed with the Dakota County Court. Thirty days after the death, a successor who signs an affidavit may collect the decedent's personal property from whoever holds it, if the value of ALL the personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. THE CAP COVERS PERSONAL PROPERTY ONLY. Nebraska real estate has its own separate affidavit with its own separate $100,000 cap measured a different way, so the two are concurrent routes and not one figure. There is no court filing fee because nothing is filed.

• Wait thirty days after the death
• Swear that the value of all personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars
• Attach a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate, or an abstract of death under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-601.01 if a certified copy is delayed
• State the claiming successor's relationship to the decedent, or the basis of the claim if there is no relationship
• Swear that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction
• Present the affidavit to the person or institution holding the property

Qualifies:

$100,000

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

A false statement in the affidavit exposes the signer to perjury penalties under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-915, which the section says in terms. A transfer agent must re-register a security on presentation of the affidavit, and a financial institution that accepts a check or other negotiable instrument endorsed under it is discharged. Transferring the title of a motor vehicle, motorboat, all-terrain vehicle, utility-type vehicle or minibike needs a further affidavit to the Department of Motor Vehicles; after ten years from the closing of an estate the department waives the no-personal-representative requirement on proof the estate is closed. The $100,000 ceiling was set by Laws 2025, LB85, so any source saying $50,000 is stale.

Filed with the REGISTER OF DEEDS, not with the Dakota County Court. Thirty days after the death, a successor to the decedent's interest in Nebraska real property may record an affidavit describing the property, if the value of the decedent's interest in ALL Nebraska real property in the estate does not exceed $100,000. READ HOW THAT VALUE IS MEASURED: it comes from the value shown on the ASSESSMENT ROLLS for the year the decedent died, less real estate taxes and any interest due at the time of death. It is not market value and it is not an appraisal.

• Wait thirty days after the death
• Swear that the value of the decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property in the estate does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars, valued from the assessment rolls for the year of death less real estate taxes and interest then due
• Attach a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate
• Swear that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in Nebraska
• State the basis of entitlement: homestead allowance, exempt property allowance, family allowance, intestate succession, or devise under the will, attaching a copy of the will if claiming by devise
• Swear that an investigation found no subsequent will and that no other person has a right to the decedent's interest
• Have every claiming successor sign it, and record it with the register of deeds of each Nebraska county where the property lies

Qualifies:

$100,000

Filing fee:

$10

source

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

THE $10.00 IS A RECORDING FEE, NOT A COURT FILING FEE. Nothing is filed with the county court on this route. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109 charges $10.00 for the first page and $6.00 for each additional page, statewide, so a multi-page affidavit costs more. The recorded affidavit is prima facie evidence of the facts in it, and under § 30-24,130 the successor gets the same protection as a distributee who received a deed of distribution from a personal representative. Where the decedent owned real property in more than one Nebraska county, record the affidavit and the death certificate in each of them.

A shortcut INSIDE an ordinary administration, not an alternative to one. A personal representative must already have been appointed and an inventory and appraisal filed. If the inventory shows the estate does not exceed the allowances and expenses listed above, the personal representative may disburse and distribute the estate immediately, WITHOUT GIVING NOTICE TO CREDITORS, and close with a sworn statement under § 30-24,128. There is no dollar threshold to test against, which is why this route cannot be assessed from an estate value alone.

• A personal representative must be appointed by the Dakota County Court
• File the inventory and appraisal
• The inventory must show that the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness
• Disburse and distribute to the persons entitled, then file the closing statement under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,128

Qualifies:

No dollar figure exists. The test compares the estate against the allowances and the costs of settling it: the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the decedent's last illness.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Whether an estate qualifies turns on figures a family usually cannot compute in advance, because the comparison includes the costs and expenses of administration and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness. Ask the clerk of the county court or an attorney rather than assuming from the estate's size.

A petition for formal probate goes to the Dakota County Court itself, asks for a judicial order after notice and hearing, and requests an order as to the testacy of the decedent and a determination of the heirs (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2426). THE FILING FEE IS NOT ONE NUMBER: § 33-125(1)(b) charges it on a twenty-step scale keyed to the gross value of the estate, meaning the real and personal property in Nebraska at the time of death less liens and joint tenancy property. What the clerk collects runs from $44.00 on an estate of $1,000 or less to $1,670.00 on an estate over $5,000,000. The full bracket table is in the fee notes on this page.

• Petition the Dakota County Court itself, not the registrar
• Request an order as to testacy and a determination of the heirs
• State whether the original will is with the court, accompanies the petition, or was filed electronically and will be delivered within ten days
• Give notice and attend the hearing the court sets
• Pay the bracket fee for the gross value of the estate under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(b)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. The gate is whether a judge has to decide something: a contest, a question of testacy, a lost or disputed will, or a request for supervised administration.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The Nebraska Judicial Branch's own Self-Help Center says that because estates differ so much, filing one 'will most often require the help of an attorney', while the law does allow you to represent yourself. An objection to the probate of a will, a petition to set aside an informal filing, or a petition to prevent informal probate costs $103.00 under § 30-2429.01.

Nebraska is a Uniform Probate Code state and informal probate is the usual way an estate is opened. The application goes to the REGISTRAR of the Dakota County Court rather than to a judge, is verified by the applicant as accurate and complete to the best of that person's knowledge, and names the decedent, the date of death, the age, the county and state of domicile at death, and the spouse, children, heirs and devisees so far as they can be found with reasonable diligence (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2414). There is no hearing. The statutory fee is $22.00 and the amount collected at filing is $44.00 once the judges retirement charge and the six statutory court costs are added, or $45.00 in a testate case.

• Apply to the registrar of the Dakota County Court, verified by the applicant
• State the decedent's name, date of death, age, and county and state of domicile at death
• Name the spouse, children, heirs and devisees, and the ages of any who are minors, so far as known or ascertainable with reasonable diligence
• Deliver the original will to the court where one exists (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2356)
• After a personal representative is appointed the clerk publishes the notice to creditors, and the party or the attorney mails it under § 25-520.01

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. Nebraska's ordinary route, used where nobody objects and the will, if there is one, is not in dispute.

Filing fee:

$44

source

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

$44.00 is what the clerk collects to open an informal probate: the $22.00 fee of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(a)(i), plus $2.00 under § 24-703(3)(a) (ten percent of the § 33-125 fee), plus $20.00 in six statutory court costs charged once per case. Each later petition or application inside the same informal proceeding is another $24.00, and § 33-125(1)(a) caps the total so informal fees can never exceed what the same estate would have cost administered formally.