An Order Appointment Small Estate Affidavit is filed with either the Probate Court of your county or the County Court. The person who stands to be the sole distributee (heir) of the person who passed away will complete the form and file the document with the court. The court will determine, after some research and due diligence into possible heirs of the decent (person who has died) that the application was filed correctly, the court has jurisdiction over the case and that the distributee is the correct person to receive any distributions out of the estate of the person who has died.
Importantly, the Order Appointing Small Estate Affidavit notes several conditions that do not go into effect because of the judge signing the order. Among those conditions are that the order does not establish the separate or community nature of any property described in the affidavit and does not constitute a judicial determination of heirship. Once the affidavit is filed and reviewed the Court will issue a decision on whether to approve and sign the order. If you are filing an affidavit of heirship, you should have an Order drafted and attach it along with the affidavit when one is filed.
