Delaware guide

Delaware estate administration starts with the Register of Wills in the appropriate county. Small-estate affidavit eligibility is separate from opening a full estate. Joint property and property in another county can require their own documentation even if they are not probate assets.

Ask the Register of Wills which assets must be reported and whether an affidavit or an estate opening is appropriate.

The Delaware Register of Wills administers estate filings at county level. A small-estate affidavit and opening an estate for letters are separate choices, with real-property ownership among the facts to disclose. A surviving owner or designated beneficiary may need evidence of death without a full administration for that asset. Keep those nonprobate transfers separate from the inventory and obligations of property passing through the decedent's estate.

Delaware does not currently impose a state estate tax for 2026 deaths and does not currently impose a separate inheritance tax for 2026 deaths. This does not mean the inheritance or its future earnings are exempt from federal estate, income, or capital gains tax. Property and a decedent connected to another state can require another state's review. Older deaths can have different rules.

Delaware Revenue's archived tax-form guidance explicitly confirms estate-tax repeal for deaths on or after January 1, 2018. That repeal does not cancel a decedent's income-tax debt.

Legal authority, tax reporting, and investing are different tasks. In Delaware, ask the estate attorney to confirm the transfer route and notices, the CPA to review state and federal returns, and the financial advisor to discuss your own cash flow, retirement income, and risk. A simplified estate process is not a tax exemption or an investment recommendation.

The Dover guide identifies a local starting point. It does not establish venue for everyone in the state and does not represent an SBC office.