Estate size
All states have guidelines for settling “Small Estates”. Small estates with minimal assets or expenses can be settled quickly and easily. The break points in New York and New Jersey is $30,000, Connecticut is $20,000. That is after taking into effect exemptions for family support.
Larger estates have both internal dynamics and external (federal and State tax authorities) requirements that need closer attention and administration.
Organization
Determining if the estate has a will or trust is key when determining the work load. The existence of either of these documents makes the Administrator/executor’s job much easier as they (usually) clarify the distribution of assets. This minimizes the work and expense of going through probate administration. A will or trust still needs to be probated but there is depending upon the wording used, there is usually little discussion around distribution. As a reminder neither Prince or Tony Hsieh (Zappos Ceo) had a will or any formal estate plans when they died.