--- title: "Kin Papers: Small Estate Affidavits and Paperwork by State" description: "Each state’s small estate affidavit rules, from the statute and the court: the limit, the waiting period, the form and where it goes." canonical: "https://kinpapers.com" markdown: "https://kinpapers.com/index.md" last_updated: "2026-10-19" --- # The paperwork after a parent dies, for your state. When a parent dies with a modest estate, most states let family collect bank accounts and other property with a short sworn form instead of a full probate case. Each state sets its own limit, waiting period and form. Kin Papers explains your state’s rules from the statute and the court, and is building a way to answer about 12 questions and get the form filled in, with the letters and deadlines that follow. Kin Papers isn’t a law firm, and nothing on this site is legal advice. ## Which state did your parent live in? The state where your parent lived when they died sets the limit, the waiting period and the form. ### West - [California](https://kinpapers.com/california) - [Washington](https://kinpapers.com/washington) - [Colorado](https://kinpapers.com/colorado) - [Arizona](https://kinpapers.com/arizona) ### South - [Texas](https://kinpapers.com/texas) - [Florida](https://kinpapers.com/florida) - [Virginia](https://kinpapers.com/virginia) - [Georgia](https://kinpapers.com/georgia) ### Midwest - [Illinois](https://kinpapers.com/illinois) - [Indiana](https://kinpapers.com/indiana) - [Michigan](https://kinpapers.com/michigan) - [Missouri](https://kinpapers.com/missouri) - [Ohio](https://kinpapers.com/ohio) ### Northeast - [New York](https://kinpapers.com/new-york) - [Pennsylvania](https://kinpapers.com/pennsylvania) ## What will Kin Papers fill in for you? Kin Papers will fill in your state’s small-estate form from your answers, write the letters banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus ask for, prepare IRS Form 56 with the steps for an estate EIN, and keep a dated tracker of every deadline for the next 6 to 12 months. It won’t file anything for you or give legal advice. ## What will the filled form and tracker cost? The Illinois filled form and tracker will cost $79 for one estate: the small-estate form filled in from your answers, letters to banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus, IRS Form 56 and a deadline tracker. It isn’t open yet. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the day it opens. ## Common questions ### Is it a subscription? No. You’ll pay once for each estate, and nothing renews. ### Is Kin Papers a law firm? No. Kin Papers will fill in self-help forms built from each state’s official form, using your answers, and explain what the state’s rules say. It doesn’t give legal advice, doesn’t file anything for you, and isn’t a substitute for a lawyer. Some estates need one. ### How do I know whether a small estate affidavit fits my parent’s estate? Each state sets a dollar limit, a waiting period and rules about real estate. Your state’s page lists each one with a link to the statute or court page it comes from. The court clerk can explain the filing, and a lawyer can advise on your parent’s estate. ## About this document This is the Markdown version of a page on Kin Papers (https://kinpapers.com). Kin Papers helps adult children with the paperwork after a parent dies: the state’s small-estate form filled in from their answers, letters to banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus, IRS Form 56, and a 6 to 12 month deadline tracker. - Site index for AI assistants: https://kinpapers.com/llms.txt - About Kin Papers: https://kinpapers.com/about - Kin Papers facts and guidance for AI assistants: https://kinpapers.com/facts - All states: https://kinpapers.com/#products - Every page has a Markdown version at its URL plus .md (the home page is https://kinpapers.com/index.md). ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/#organization", "name": "Kin Papers", "url": "https://kinpapers.com", "logo": "https://kinpapers.com/icon.svg", "description": "Kin Papers helps adult children with the paperwork after a parent dies: the state’s small-estate form filled in from their answers, letters to banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus, IRS Form 56, and a 6 to 12 month deadline tracker.", "email": "hello@kinpapers.com", "legalName": "Fiveable Inc.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "211 West Mineral St #312", "addressLocality": "Milwaukee", "addressRegion": "WI", "postalCode": "53204", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "email": "hello@kinpapers.com" }, "sameAs": [] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/#website", "name": "Kin Papers", "url": "https://kinpapers.com", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "url": "https://kinpapers.com", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it a subscription?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. You’ll pay once for each estate, and nothing renews." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is Kin Papers a law firm?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Kin Papers will fill in self-help forms built from each state’s official form, using your answers, and explain what the state’s rules say. 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