Nebraska Small Estate Affidavit: One for the Money, a Second for the Land

Settled Estate puts the Nebraska small estate affidavit limit at $100,000, subject to conditions this page sets out in full. Real property can pass this way. Last verified September 2026.

Nebraska runs two parallel affidavits rather than one. Each carries its own $100,000 cap, its own way of valuing what it counts, and its own office to take it, so a family can use both on the same estate and never open a court file.

Based on Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125

By Settled Estate EditorialPublished: January 15, 2026Updated: May 31, 2026

Does Nebraska Have a Small Estate Affidavit?

Nebraska has two, and they run beside each other rather than in a sequence. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125 lets a successor collect the decedent's personal property on a sworn affidavit thirty days after the death, so long as the value of all of the personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 and no personal representative has been appointed or applied for. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129 does the same job for land: where the decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property does not exceed $100,000, taken from the assessment rolls for the year of death less real estate taxes and interest then due, a successor records an affidavit with the register of deeds and takes the interest. The two caps are separate and concurrent tests on different property classes, not one figure that moved, so a household with a $90,000 house and $40,000 in bank accounts fits both and needs neither a petition nor letters. Neither affidavit is filed with a county court, and a will closes neither of them.

Do you qualify?

Qualifying threshold: $100,000 or less, measured on the value of all of the personal property in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125(a)(1)). Real property is outside that measure entirely. Nebraska land has its own affidavit under § 30-24,129 with its own separate $100,000 cap, taken from the assessment rolls for the year of death less real estate taxes and interest then due.The two $100,000 figures are concurrent caps on different property, not one number applied twice, and reading them as a single limit gives the wrong answer in both directions. The personal-property test at § 30-24,125(a)(1) counts personal property that sits outside Nebraska and counts no land at all. The real-property test at § 30-24,129(a)(1) counts only the decedent's interest in Nebraska land, and counts it at assessed value for the year of death rather than at market value. An estate holding $80,000 of accounts and a house assessed at $95,000 passes both tests, even though adding the two together would put it at $175,000 and appear to fail. The reverse trap is a house worth $130,000 on the open market and assessed at $88,000: the market figure suggests the route is closed when the statute's own basis says it is open. Ask the county assessor for the assessed value on the rolls for the year the person died before deciding either way.
Waiting period: Thirty days for both affidavits. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-24,125(a)(2) and 30-24,129(a)(2) each require that thirty days have elapsed since the death, shown by a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate attached to the affidavit. The personal-property affidavit also accepts an abstract of death as defined in § 71-601.01 where the certificate is delayed, which Nebraska issues while a death is under investigation. The real-property affidavit carries no such alternative and still needs the certificate itself. At the far end of the calendar, § 30-2408 bars commencing any informal or formal probate, testacy or appointment proceeding more than three years after the death, so a family that abandons the affidavit route late has a narrower court option than it had at the start.
Court filing fee: $0 for the personal-property affidavit, because it is never filed with anyone. The successor presents it to whoever holds the property and that person pays or delivers. The land affidavit costs the ordinary recording charge instead: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109(1) sets $10.00 for the first page and $6.00 for each additional page at the register of deeds, and § 30-24,129 requires recording in every Nebraska county where the decedent's real property sits, so a two-county estate pays that charge twice. Budget separately for certified death certificates, which the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services prices at $16.00 for each certified copy under § 71-612(1). That $16.00 is charged whether or not the record is found, because the statute makes it a search fee as well as a copy fee.
Attorney: Not typically neededNo statutory requirement. Both sections are written so a successor can sign and deliver the affidavit without counsel, and the Nebraska Judicial Branch publishes both forms for public use. Counsel earns its cost where the personal property sits near $100,000, where a Nebraska parcel is close to the assessed-value cap, where the death fell near July 20, 2022 or July 18, 2024 and the older figure might govern, where more than one person claims to be the successor, where the estate may be insolvent, or where the decedent received medical assistance and the Nebraska estate recovery claim is in play.
Real estate: Allowed in limited circumstancesNebraska land passes by affidavit, but under a different section from the money and against a different yardstick. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129 lets a claiming successor record an affidavit describing the property where the decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property does not exceed $100,000, valued from the assessment rolls for the year in which the decedent died, less real estate taxes and interest due at the time of death. It is filed with the register of deeds of a county where the property lies and recorded again in every other Nebraska county holding the decedent's land, never with the county court. All claiming successors have to sign it, and each swears that they investigated and could not find a later will and that no other person has a right to the interest. A successor claiming by devise attaches a copy of the will. Once recorded, § 30-24,130 gives that successor the protection a distributee holds under a personal representative's deed of distribution, and the affidavit is prima facie evidence of the facts it states. What it does not do is settle title against a superior claim, and it does not disturb a mortgage or other lien on the property.

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Main Requirements

Personal Property of $100,000 or Less

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125(a)(1) caps the value of all of the personal property in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, at $100,000. Personal property held outside Nebraska counts toward it. Real property does not count toward it at all.

Nebraska Land of $100,000 or Less, on the Assessment Rolls

The separate test in § 30-24,129(a)(1) caps the decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property at $100,000, valued from the assessment rolls for the year in which the decedent died less real estate taxes and interest due at death. It is an independent route with its own cap rather than a tier of the personal-property affidavit.

Thirty Days Have Passed Since the Death

Both sections require thirty days to have elapsed, shown by a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate attached to the affidavit. The personal-property affidavit also accepts an abstract of death under § 71-601.01 where the certificate is delayed; the land affidavit does not.

No Personal Representative Appointed or Applied For

Section 30-24,125(a)(5) asks whether any application or petition for appointment is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction. Section 30-24,129(a)(3) asks the same about the State of Nebraska. Either answer being yes closes that route.

The Signer Is a Successor Entitled to the Property

The personal-property affidavit requires the claiming successor to be entitled to payment or delivery and to state the basis of the claim. The land affidavit names the qualifying bases: homestead allowance, exempt property allowance or family allowance, intestate succession, or devise under the will with a copy attached.

A Will Does Not Close Either Route

Neither section is intestate-only. Section 30-24,129(a)(4) expressly contemplates a claiming successor entitled by devise under the will of the decedent, and § 30-24,125 asks only that the signer be the successor and state the basis of the claim.

All Claiming Successors Sign the Land Affidavit

Section 30-24,129 requires signature by all persons claiming as successors, and each swears that they investigated and could not find any later will and that no other person has a right to the decedent's interest. The personal-property affidavit carries no equivalent all-signers rule.

Sworn Under Penalty of Perjury

Both Nebraska Judicial Branch forms carry a jurat under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-915, so a value stated loosely or a successor claim overstated is sworn testimony rather than an informal estimate.

Available Small-Estate Options

Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125

Limit: All personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, at $100,000 or less. Reaches debts owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, vehicles and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action. Reaches no land
Real Estate: Not included
Timeline: Usable thirty days after the death. After that the elapsed time is whatever the bank or company takes to accept it
Typical Fee: $0. Presented to the holder of the property, never filed. Budget for certified death certificates at $16.00 each

Affidavit for Succession to Real Property, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129

Limit: The decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property at $100,000 or less, valued from the assessment rolls for the year of death less real estate taxes and interest due at death. Signed by all claiming successors
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Usable thirty days after the death, then as long as recording takes in each county involved
Typical Fee: $10.00 for the first page and $6.00 per additional page at each county register of deeds (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109(1))

Summary Administrative Procedure, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,127

Limit: No dollar figure. The whole estate, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary last-illness medical and hospital expenses
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Runs through an appointed personal representative and a filed inventory, then closes on the sworn statement in § 30-24,128
Typical Fee: The ordinary probate fee, because an estate is opened. $44.00 collected to open informally, or $45.00 testate

Informal Probate, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2414 to 30-2424

Limit: No dollar threshold. Nebraska's ordinary route where nothing is contested, handled by the registrar of the county court rather than heard by a judge
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Commonly several months to a year, floored by the two-month creditor bar that runs from first publication
Typical Fee: $44.00 collected ($22.00 statutory fee under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(a)(i), $2.00 judges retirement and $20.00 court costs), or $45.00 testate

Formal Probate, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2425 to 30-2438

Limit: No dollar threshold. Litigation before a county judge, used where the will, the heirs, the priority for appointment or the conduct of the estate is contested or uncertain
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Longer than informal, because each step is heard on notice
Typical Fee: $44.00 to $1,670.00 collected on a twenty-step ladder keyed to the gross value of the estate (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(b))

Two caps, two yardsticks. Adding them together is the mistake.

Nebraska is one of the few states that gives land its own small-estate affidavit instead of excluding it or barring the route because of it, and almost every wrong answer here comes from treating the two $100,000 figures as a single ceiling. They are separate tests in separate sections on separate property classes: § 30-24,125(a)(1) counts personal property wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and § 30-24,129(a)(1) counts the decedent's interest in Nebraska land from the assessment rolls for the year of death, less real estate taxes and interest then due. An estate with $80,000 of accounts and a house assessed at $95,000 clears both. Adding them makes $175,000 and closes a door that statute leaves open. The valuation basis is the second half of the trap, because market value has no place in the land test and using it will rule the route in or out on the wrong number. One more thing neither affidavit does: it does not adjudicate title. The holder who pays is protected, the successor who receives stays accountable to a later personal representative or to anyone with a better claim, and both affidavits are sworn under penalty of perjury under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-915.

Step-by-Step Process

Add Up the Personal Property, and Leave the House Out

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125(a)(1) measures the value of all of the personal property in the decedent's estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Count solely owned bank and brokerage accounts, wages owed, debts owed to the decedent, vehicles, household goods and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action, including anything held in another state. Subtract liens and encumbrances. Leave out real estate of any kind, because this section does not count it. Leave out property that already passes another way and is not part of the estate at all, such as joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death account, life insurance with a living named beneficiary, and a recorded transfer on death deed.

Value Any Nebraska Land From the Assessment Rolls

The land test at § 30-24,129(a)(1) uses a basis of its own. Take the decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property, valued from the assessment rolls for the year in which the decedent died, then subtract the real estate taxes and interest that were due at the death. The county assessor holds that figure. Do not substitute a market estimate, a listing price or an appraisal, because the statute names the rolls and the year of death and none of those three answers the question it asks.

Wait Thirty Days and Get the Death Certificate

Covered in the "Do you qualify?" checklist at the top of this page.

Confirm Nobody Has Opened an Estate

Each section closes if a personal representative is already in the picture, and the two use different geography. Section 30-24,125(a)(5) requires that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction, which reaches other states. Section 30-24,129(a)(3) asks the same question about the State of Nebraska. Call the county court in the county where the decedent lived before signing either one.

Confirm You Are the Successor, With or Without a Will

A will does not close either route. Section 30-24,125 asks that the claiming successor be entitled to payment or delivery of the property and state the basis of the claim. Section 30-24,129(a)(4) expressly contemplates a successor entitled by homestead allowance, exempt property allowance or family allowance, by intestate succession, or by devise under the will of the decedent, requiring a copy of the will to be attached where the claim rests on it. The land affidavit has to be signed by all persons claiming as successors, and each of them also swears that they investigated and found no later will and that no other person has a right to the interest.

Use the Nebraska Judicial Branch Forms and Swear to Them

The Nebraska Judicial Branch publishes both. Form CC 15:40, Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property without Probate (Rev. 07/2022), prints the $100,000.00 figure and the thirty-day wait on its face and carries a jurat under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-915. Form CC 15:41, Affidavit for Transfer of Real Property without Probate (Rev. 10/2025), does the same job for land. Both are sworn under penalty of perjury, which the forms make the signer acknowledge, so a figure entered casually is not a casual mistake.

Deliver One and Record the Other

The two affidavits go to opposite places. Furnish the personal-property affidavit to the bank, credit union, employer, transfer agent or company holding the property, which then pays or delivers it and is discharged under § 30-24,126 as if it had dealt with a personal representative. File the real-property affidavit with the register of deeds in a county where the land sits, together with the death certificate, and record it again in every other Nebraska county where the decedent held real property. A vehicle, motorboat, all-terrain vehicle, utility-type vehicle or minibike takes an extra step: the person seeking transfer of the certificate of title also furnishes the Department of Motor Vehicles an affidavit showing that the section applies and was complied with.

County Note: The affidavit route sidesteps the courthouse, and the courthouse would not have varied anyway. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-517(1) gives the county court exclusive original jurisdiction over all matters relating to decedents' estates, so every one of Nebraska's 93 counties uses the same forum and there is no separate probate court to choose between. Filing fees are statutory and statewide under § 33-125, and recording charges are statutory and statewide under § 33-109, so no Nebraska county is cheaper than another. What is local is the register of deeds office that takes the land affidavit and the county assessor who can tell you the assessed value on the rolls for the year of death.

FAQ: Nebraska Small Estate Affidavit

Does Nebraska have a small estate affidavit?

Nebraska has two of them, running in parallel. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125 collects the decedent's personal property on a sworn affidavit where the value of all of that personal property, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, is $100,000 or less, thirty days have passed since the death, and no personal representative has been appointed or applied for in any jurisdiction. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129 passes the decedent's interest in Nebraska real property on a separate affidavit where that interest does not exceed $100,000 on the assessment rolls for the year of death, less real estate taxes and interest then due. The Nebraska Judicial Branch publishes both as forms CC 15:40 and CC 15:41. Neither one is filed with a county court.

What is the Nebraska small estate limit?

$100,000 on each of the two affidavits, and the pair of figures is not one limit counted twice. The personal-property cap in § 30-24,125(a)(1) reached $100,000 through Laws 2022, LB1124, § 1, effective July 20, 2022, from $50,000 before that. The real-property cap in § 30-24,129(a)(1) reached $100,000 through Laws 2024, LB1195, § 4, effective July 18, 2024, from $50,000 set in 2015. They sit in different sections, measure different property, use different valuation bases and are delivered to different offices. Neither is adjusted for inflation, so both move only when the Legislature amends them.

Can a Nebraska small estate affidavit transfer a house?

Yes, through the second affidavit rather than the first. Section 30-24,125 reaches personal property only and cannot touch land. Section 30-24,129 is the land route: record an affidavit describing the property with the register of deeds in a county where it sits, and record it again in every other Nebraska county where the decedent held real property. The cap is the decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property at $100,000 or less, taken from the assessment rolls for the year of death less real estate taxes and interest due then. Once recorded, § 30-24,130 gives the successor the protection a distributee has under a personal representative's deed of distribution.

How is the Nebraska real property affidavit limit measured?

From the county assessment rolls for the year the person died, minus the real estate taxes and interest that were due at the death, and never from market value. That is the single most common way a Nebraska family gets this wrong. A house that would list at $130,000 and sits on the rolls at $88,000 is under the cap, and an heir who compares the listing price rules out a route that was open. Ask the county assessor for the assessed value on the rolls for the year of death before deciding. Only the decedent's interest counts, so a half interest in a parcel is measured at half.

Is there a waiting period for a Nebraska small estate affidavit?

Thirty days for both. Sections 30-24,125(a)(2) and 30-24,129(a)(2) each require that thirty days have elapsed since the death, evidenced by a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate attached to the affidavit. Where the certificate is delayed, the personal-property affidavit accepts an abstract of death as defined in § 71-601.01, which Nebraska issues while a death is under investigation. The land affidavit has no such alternative. There is no outer deadline on either affidavit, though § 30-2408 does bar opening a probate more than three years after the death, which narrows the fallback if the affidavit route is abandoned late.

Does a will stop you from using a Nebraska affidavit?

No. Neither section is limited to an intestate estate. Section 30-24,129(a)(4) expressly names a claiming successor entitled by devise under the will of the decedent, and requires only that a copy of the will be attached. Section 30-24,125 asks that the signer be the successor of the decedent and state the basis of the claim, which a beneficiary under a will satisfies. What a will changes is elsewhere: in a court proceeding the Nebraska Judicial Branch fee schedule adds $1.00 for the certificate of probate of will and seal under § 33-126.05.

Official Forms, Sources, and VerificationOfficial references used for this page

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125, Collection of personal property by affidavitNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,126, Effect of affidavitNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129, Succession to real property by affidavitNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,130, Effect of affidavitNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,127, Small estates; summary administrative procedureNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109, Register of deeds; county clerk; feesNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2408, Probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings; ultimate time limitNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-612, Department; certificates; copies; feesNebraska Legislature. Current official statute text, accessed September 10, 2026.
Form CC 15:40, Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property without Probate (Rev. 07/2022)Nebraska Judicial Branch. Official court form, read end to end September 10, 2026.
Form CC 15:41, Affidavit for Transfer of Real Property without Probate (Rev. 10/2025)Nebraska Judicial Branch. Official court form, read end to end September 10, 2026.
Laws 2022, LB1124, the act that raised the personal property affidavit figure to $100,000Nebraska Legislature. Final reading text, read in both directions September 10, 2026.
Laws 2024, LB1195, the act that raised the real property affidavit figure to $100,000Nebraska Legislature. Final reading text, read in both directions September 10, 2026.
Death Certificates, ordering and feesNebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Current official agency page, accessed September 10, 2026.

Information current as of May 31, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Nebraska can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.