House committee advances bill to raise small-estate probate threshold to $50,000

Summary

A Delaware House committee voted to release legislation that would raise the probate small-estate threshold from $30,000 to $50,000, citing a threshold unchanged since 2005 and the benefit to surviving spouses and lower-income residents. The measure won bipartisan committee approval and will be posted on the legislative website and sent to the House floor.

Representative Morrison introduced House Bill 333 during a committee hearing and said the measure would raise Delawares smallest-state probate threshold from $30,000 to $50,000, noting the current limit "was established in 2005 and has not kept up with the cost of living."

Morrison said the change would ease the probate process for surviving spouses and people with lower incomes and that all three registers of wills and the Estates and Trusts Section of the Delaware State Bar Association support the bill. The sponsor also identified Gina Cook as an expert witness, describing Cook as the chief deputy registrar of wills for New Castle County.

There were no in-person or virtual public comments on the bill. A committee member moved to release the measure; after a roll-call vote the clerk announced the bill "is released," saying it had received the required number of votes to be reported out of committee. The clerk noted the bill will be offered for signatures by absent committee members and will be posted on the General Assembly website and announced on the House floor when released.

The bill advances next to the House floor and will be visible on the legislative website when signatures are collected.