Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (pursuant to a small estate proceeding under Idaho Code Sections 15-3-1201 and 15-3-1202)

Attached to this page is a Word.doc version of the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property that may be edited and filled in electronically before filing.

The attached form is available for free to seniors and low income Idaho residents collecting personal property of decedents who lived in Idaho and had no plans to go and make their primary residence somewhere else at the time of their deaths. It could be used by non-Idaho residents or to collect property of people who did not die in Idaho or live in Idaho when they died, but only in certain circumstances that might or might not apply in your case. In such a case, you should probably consult with an attorney before completing and using an Affidavit Collecting Property.

An Affidavit Collecting Property is only appropriate if the fair market value of the decedent’s entire estate (wherever the property might be)—after all liens and debts on the property are deducted—is no more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

The information you will need to complete the Affidavit Collecting Personal Property includes:

• A copy of the decedent’s death certificate to attach to the affidavit. This will provide most of the information you will need to generate this affidavit.
• The name of the county where the affidavit will be signed.
• The name of any person who will sign the affidavit. (These must be people entitled to receive the property under a will or Idaho’s intestacy statutes.)
• Names of those entitled to receive the personal property of the decedent and the proportion or amount of the property they are to receive.

Petition for Summary Administration of an Estate

Summary administration is a simplified and expedited method, under Idaho law, for distributing a decedent’s estate. 

Summary administration for a survivng spouse is available under Idaho Code § 15-3-1205. Once it establishes that the decedent and surviving spouse were married at the time of the decedent’s death and that no other heir or inheritor under a will is entitled to estate property, the court may make a decree distributing the property to the surviving spouse. Idaho Code § 15-3-1205(b). No closing statement, further order, or court supervision is necessary.

You may use the attached template to create your own petition for summary administration of an estate.

Probate is the procedure for transferring title of a deceased person's property to the proper survivors. If the person did not have a will, the laws of intestate succession set out who will inherit. If there is a valid will, the estate still must be probated, but it is distributed according to the will. Probate also arranges for payment of all debts and taxes.

Spanish Translation: La Convalidación es el proceso para transferir el título de la propiedad de una persona difunta a los sobrevivientes apropiados. Si la persona no tiene un testamento, las leyes de sucesión intestado dictan quien heredará. Si hay un testamento válido, la sucesión aún tiene que ser autenticada, pero es distribuida según el testamento. La convalidación hace arreglos para el pago de todas las deudas e impuestos.

Forms are available for free to low income individuals seeking to change ownership of property after a death. We currently have forms for An Affidavit Collecting Property and a Petition for Summary Administration of an Estate.

Please check the list below to make sure you will qualify to use the forms currently available:

• You are at least 18 years old.
• The deceased person lived in Idaho at the time of their death.
• A copy of the deceased's death certificate
• A copy of the deceased's will (if any)

If any of the statements above are false, check with an attorney for additional information about how to proceed.

• Affidavit Collecting Property - Use this form packet if the statements above are all true.

• Petition for Summary Administration of an Estate - Use this form if the statements above are all true.