We are expanding this section into broader state-by-state guides that cover probate plus the other rules families usually need most. Start with the full guides below, or use the probate quick guides for all 50 states further down the page.
Arizona
Probate, community property, small-estate shortcuts, wills, advance directives, and key Arizona transfer rules.
Full GuideCalifornia
Probate, community property, Medi-Cal recovery, wills, directives, and common California-specific estate rules.
Full GuideFlorida
Summary administration, homestead, wills, directives, Medicaid recovery, and the estate rules families ask about most.
Full GuideIllinois
Probate, small-estate affidavits, Illinois estate tax, wills, directives, and transfer-on-death planning tools.
Full GuideNew York
Probate, small-estate rules, estate taxes, wills, directives, and the key steps families face after a death.
Full GuideNew Jersey
Probate, inheritance tax, wills, directives, small-estate shortcuts, and practical estate questions families face first.
Full GuideOhio
Probate Court procedures, release from administration, spouse-specific shortcuts, directives, and transfer-on-death tools.
Full GuidePennsylvania
Inheritance tax, probate timing, wills, directives, and the Pennsylvania rules that change estate planning most.
Full GuideTexas
Independent administration, community property, small-estate affidavits, Medicaid recovery, and key Texas estate rules.
Full GuideWashington
Nonintervention probate, community property, estate tax, small-estate affidavits, wills, and Washington-specific transfer rules.
Full GuideGeorgia
Probate Court, Year's Support for surviving spouses, small-estate rules, wills, advance directives, and key Georgia estate rules.
Full GuideMassachusetts
Probate, the $2 million state estate tax, voluntary administration, Health Care Proxy, and the rules families face most.
Full GuideMichigan
Probate Court, small-estate affidavit, assignment of estate, Patient Advocate Designation, spousal rights, and vehicle transfer.
Full GuideNorth Carolina
Clerk of Superior Court probate, small-estate affidavit, spousal elective share, advance directives, and vehicle transfer rules.
Full GuideTennessee
No state estate tax, $50,000 small-estate affidavit, Chancery Court probate, advance care plan, and Tennessee transfer rules.
Full GuideVirginia
Circuit Court probate, $50,000 small-estate affidavit, TOD deeds, Virginia AMD, spousal elective share, and Medicaid recovery.
Full GuideColorado
UPC-based informal probate, $86,000 small-estate threshold, TOD deeds, Medical POA, spousal rights, and Medicaid recovery rules.
Full GuideIndiana
No estate or inheritance tax, $50,000 small-estate affidavit, TOD deeds, health care representative, and Medicaid recovery.
Full GuideMaryland
Orphans' Court probate, state estate tax over $5M, 10% inheritance tax on non-lineal heirs, Maryland AMD, and Medicaid recovery.
Full GuideMinnesota
UPC probate, $3 million state estate tax, $75,000 small-estate threshold, Health Care Directive, and expanded Medicaid recovery.
Full GuideMissouri
Probate Court, $40,000 threshold, refusal to administer shortcut, DPAHC + Declaration, TOD deeds, and Medicaid recovery rules.
Full GuideWisconsin
Marital property state, $50,000 small-estate affidavit, survivorship marital property, POA for Health Care, and expanded Medicaid recovery.