Free Delaware forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
In Delaware, a will is signed before 212 Del. C. § 202Verified Sep 15, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony12 Del. C. § 202Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Delaware: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Delaware costs an estimated $33,96412 Del. C. § 2305 (fees "as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.5%12 Del. C. § 2305 (fees "as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.9%12 Del. C. § 2305 (fees "as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Settling an estate in Delaware: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysDel. Code tit. 12, §§ 1904, 1905, 1908, 1910Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 8 months12 Del. C. §§ 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 2109Verified Sep 15, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 9 months to 12 months.
Delaware pays executors reasonable compensation12 Del. C. § 2305 (commissions "as provided by rule of the Court of Chancery"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
In Delaware, estates with personal property of $50,000delcode.delaware.gov: 12 Del. C. § 2306Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Distribution Without Lettersdelcode.delaware.gov: 12 Del. C. § 2306Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysdelcode.delaware.gov: 12 Del. C. § 2306Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death.
In Delaware, creditors have 8 months12 Del. C. § 2102 (8 months from death for pre-death claims; 6 months for post-death claims)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source from the date of death to present claims; late claims are barred.
Delaware has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is available12 Del. C. §§ 1302, 1303, 1502, 1505 (Register of Wills proves the will and grants letters; proof taken without notice unless an interested person petitions the Court of Chancery)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
70 probate firms in Delaware, by county and firm type.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
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70 firms
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from Concord Pike in Wilmington. Works with executors and trustees on estate and trust administration, and handles estate and trust litigation, guardianship administration and Medicaid planning. Founded in 1990.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from the Wilmington office on North Market Street. Partner Denise D. Nordheimer advises guardians, executors and trustees on administration, establishes trusts and guardianships, and handles estate and trust disputes. In 2015 the New Castle County Register of Wills commended her for closing an estate open more than 14 years.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more
Solo PracticeNewark, DE
Serves Delaware from Newark and handles probate for estates of any size in all three counties. Works with personal representatives through the Register of Wills filing, the estate inventory and the eight-month creditor claims period to a first and final accounting. Brian F. Funk also prepares wills and durable powers of attorney and runs a real estate settlement practice.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal Estate
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties from offices in Wilmington, Hockessin, Greenville, Middletown, Rehoboth Beach and Milford. Guides executors and personal representatives through probate and estate administration, using mediation and negotiation to settle family disputes over an estate, alongside wills and trusts. Joseph Giordano and David Gagne lead the firm.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateFamily LawReal Estate
FirmGeorgetown, DE
Serves Sussex County from the Paynter House on The Circle in Georgetown, with offices in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Attorney William Schab drafts wills and settles estates, and the firm handles wills, trusts and probate after a death in the family alongside real estate settlements and land use matters.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateCriminal DefensePersonal InjuryReal Estate
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from its Greater Wilmington office on Kennett Pike, alongside offices in West Chester and Philadelphia. Trusts and estates attorney P. Kristen Bennett handles the probate of wills, the marshaling and inventory of assets, the administration of living and testamentary trusts, and estate tax returns and post-mortem tax planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planning
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves all three Delaware counties from offices in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown. Attorney Lisa Coggins focuses on probate, guardianship and estate planning, has represented executors, personal representatives and trustees, and often serves as a court-appointed attorney ad litem in adult guardianship matters.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipCriminal Defenseand 2 more
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from the Highlands neighborhood of Wilmington. Its Private Wealth group helps personal representatives and trustees administer estates and Delaware trusts, and represents fiduciaries in litigation in the Court of Chancery. Founded in 1994; ranked Band 1 in Private Wealth Law: Delaware in the 2026 Chambers High Net Worth Guide.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 3 more
Solo PracticeOcean View, DE
Serves Sussex County from Ocean View, near Bethany Beach, with a second office in Annapolis, Maryland, and sees clients from throughout Delaware. Guides personal representatives through estate administration with the Register of Wills, from inventory and creditor claims to final accounting, alongside Medicaid, special needs trust and estate planning. Founded in 1993 by attorney John F. Robbert.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planningand 3 more
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from Center Meeting Road in Centreville, outside Wilmington. Guides executors through estate administration, from Register of Wills filings to tax filings, and handles trust administration, adult guardianships and Court of Chancery estate and trust litigation. Also handles ancillary probate for non-Delaware decedents who owned Delaware real estate.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
FirmOdessa, DE
Serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties from Main Street in Odessa. Handles estate administration for probate and non-probate estates, including opening a probate estate at the Register of Wills, and guardianship issues alongside wills and powers of attorney. Partners Lacy E. Holly, III and Gene W. Morton are on the New Castle County Register of Wills probate attorney list.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipReal Estate
FirmDover, DE
Serves Kent and Sussex counties and clients throughout Delaware from offices on South State Street in Dover and Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. Provides probate, estate administration, fiduciary and beneficiary guidance alongside wills, trusts and incapacity planning. Founded on December 31, 1956, it is one of Southern Delaware's oldest law firms.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateBusiness LawCriminal Defenseand 3 more
Solo PracticeWilmington, DE
Serves clients throughout New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties from a Philadelphia Pike office in Wilmington. Handles probate and estate administration and guardianships alongside wills, powers of attorney and family law. Attorney John A. Macconi, Jr. is admitted in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and holds a bachelor's degree in finance.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipCriminal Defenseand 2 more
Solo PracticeWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from King Street in Wilmington. Administers small and large estates and represents clients in contested estates and complex estate matters, alongside wills, powers of attorney and real estate work. John H. Williams Jr., admitted in Delaware in 1977, formed the firm in 1995 and is on the New Castle County Register of Wills probate attorney list.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationBusiness LawReal Estate
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves New Castle County from a Concord Pike office in Wilmington. Lists estate planning and probate as a practice area, drafting wills, trusts and advance directives and planning for minor children, guardian nominations and charitable bequests. The firm also handles commercial and residential real estate, business law and litigation.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateBusiness LawReal Estate
FirmGreenville, DE
Serves clients throughout Delaware from a Greenville office, with a father-son team of Kevin and Paul O'Brien. Handles probate and estate administration, trust administration, small estate affidavits and federal estate tax returns, and drafts special needs trusts and Delaware asset protection trusts. Planning documents are quoted as a flat fee after the initial consultation.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
FirmCamden, DE
Serves Kent and Sussex counties from offices in Camden and Lewes, and clients throughout Delaware. Guides executors through probate and estate administration and closing, handles will contests, and files guardianships for adults and minors alongside Medicaid and long-term care planning. Bonnie M. Benson has practiced since 1983, and the firm prices its services on a flat-rate basis.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 4 more
FirmWilmington, DE
Serves clients across Delaware from a Pike Creek office at Linden Hill Station, in person or by Zoom. Handles estate administration and probate through the Register of Wills, trust settlement, uncontested guardianships, and Delaware Medicaid applications; the firm does not take contested estate, trust or probate cases. Family-owned since 1981 and focused on elder law and estate planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
FirmHockessin, DE
Serves families in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties from the Stone Mill building in Hockessin. Handles estate administration, trust administration for trustees, and guardianships of disabled adults, minor children and a minor's property, alongside Medicaid asset protection planning. Five attorneys also practice divorce, custody and family law.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
FirmDover, DE
Serves Kent County and clients throughout Delaware from an office on The Green in Dover. Handles probate administration and estate litigation, guardianships and conservatorships, estate tax filing, and elder law planning for long-term care and Medicaid. Founded in 2010 by Mitchell W. May and Adam M. Perza, the firm also practices family, real estate and small business law.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 7 more