Probate in Arkansas usually runs six to nine months, sometimes stretching past a year when assets are complicated or heirs disagree. Arkansas probate laws route the case through the circuit court sitting in probate, where a personal representative gathers the decedent’s assets, pays valid debts in a set order, and distributes whatever remains under the will or, if there is no will, under the state’s intestacy rules. Estates worth $100,000 or less may skip most of that through a sworn affidavit procedure.
Does the Estate Actually Need Probate
Before opening a case, look at what the decedent owned and how it was titled. A lot of property moves outside probate on its own.
- Real estate held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes directly to the surviving co-owner. Any two or more people in Arkansas can hold property this way, regardless of their relationship.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 18-12-106 – Joint Tenants With Right of Survivorship
- Securities registered with a transfer-on-death beneficiary move by operation of law, not through the estate.2Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-14-109 – Nontestamentary Transfer on Death
- Payable-on-death bank accounts go straight to the named beneficiary.
- Life insurance and retirement accounts pay the person listed on the beneficiary form.
Beneficiary designations override the will. An outdated form naming an ex-spouse controls, no matter what the will says.
The Small-Estate Affidavit
If the property left over after subtracting the homestead and statutory allowances for the surviving spouse or minor children comes to $100,000 or less, the estate qualifies for a simplified affidavit procedure. At least 45 days must have passed since the death, and no petition to appoint a personal representative can be pending or already granted.3Arkansas Judiciary. Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate
The affiant swears under oath that no debts remain unpaid and that any benefits from the Department of Human Services have been reimbursed. The affidavit lists every item of property with a value and identifies each person entitled to a share. Once the court approves it, banks, title companies, and government agencies accept it as authority to release assets. If heirs disagree or unknown creditors appear, the court can push the matter back into full probate.
Appointing a Personal Representative
When there is a will, the executor named in it (or another interested party) petitions the circuit court to admit the will and confirm the appointment.4Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-40-107 – Petition for Probate and Appointment of Personal Representative A person cannot serve if they are under 18, of unsound mind, a convicted and unpardoned felon, or someone the court finds unsuitable. Nonresidents can serve but must appoint a local agent to receive legal papers.5Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-48-101 – Persons Entitled to Domiciliary Letters
Without a will, the court appoints an administrator by statutory priority, with the surviving spouse and next of kin at the front of the line.5Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-48-101 – Persons Entitled to Domiciliary Letters The appointment produces letters testamentary or letters of administration, the credential banks and agencies require before they will deal with the estate.
Bond and Compensation
The court may require a bond to protect beneficiaries and creditors. A 2023 amendment made the bond discretionary rather than mandatory in many situations.6Arkansas State Legislature. Act 326 of the Regular Session, 2023 Courts waive it when the will directs no bond, or when all adult, competent beneficiaries file written waivers and no known unsecured claims exist. Any interested party can later demand a bond or a larger one.
Compensation for the personal representative is capped at 10% of the first $1,000 of personal property passing through their hands, 5% of the next $4,000, and 3% of everything above that.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-48-108 – Compensation of Personal Representative – Employment of Attorneys, Etc The court can approve additional reasonable compensation for substantial work on real property, and can also reduce or eliminate the fee if the representative neglects the job.
Inventory, Creditors, and Debt Priority
Within two months of qualifying, the personal representative files a detailed inventory with the probate court, unless the court waives the requirement.8Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-49-110 – Inventory The inventory covers real estate, bank and investment accounts, vehicles, business interests, and valuable personal property, with enough description and valuation for each item. Bank balances and publicly traded stocks value themselves. Real estate, closely held businesses, and collectibles usually need appraisals. Anything discovered later goes on a supplemental inventory.
Notifying Creditors
Before any distribution, the representative must give creditors a chance to file. Arkansas requires publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.9Arkansas Judiciary. Probate Benchbook 2022 – Section: Claims Against the Estate Claims not filed within six months of the first publication date are barred.10Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-50-101 – Limitations on Filing of Claims Known or reasonably identifiable creditors also need direct notice, and they operate under a shorter deadline.
Paying Debts in Order
If the estate cannot cover everything, Arkansas ranks claims strictly:
- First, costs and expenses of administering the estate.
- Second, reasonable funeral expenses, final medical bills, and wages owed to the decedent’s employees.
- Third, state tax debts assessed against the decedent or triggered by their death.
- Fourth, all other allowed claims.
Within a class, no claim jumps ahead of another, and a debt already due does not outrank one not yet mature if both sit in the same tier.11Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-50-106 – Classification and Payment of Claims A representative who pays a lower-priority creditor before a higher one can be held personally liable.
Who Inherits
What Makes a Will Valid
Any Arkansan at least 18 and of sound mind can make a will.12Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-25-101 – Who May Make Wills It has to be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone at their direction and in their presence), and signed by at least two attesting witnesses who watch the testator sign and sign at the testator’s request.13Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-25-103 – Execution Generally
A holographic will, written entirely in the testator’s own hand, is valid but requires three credible, disinterested witnesses to verify the handwriting and signature at probate.14Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-25-104 – Holographic Wills Generally Families often assume a handwritten will proves itself; it does not. Divorce automatically revokes any provisions favoring the former spouse, and the statute treats this as a blanket rule, not a default the will can override.15Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-25-109 – Revocation of Wills
Spousal Protections
Arkansas gives surviving spouses protections that override the will. When the decedent leaves children, the surviving spouse takes a life estate in one-third of all real property the decedent owned during the marriage.16Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-11-301 – Land Generally That is use and income, not the right to sell free and clear. When there are no children, the spousal share depends on whether the property is newly acquired or ancestral, with fractions varying accordingly.17Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-11-307 – Dower or Curtesy When No Children
One rule catches people off guard. If there is no will and no descendants, the surviving spouse normally inherits the entire heritable estate, but if the marriage lasted less than three years, the surviving spouse takes only 50%, with the rest passing to the decedent’s parents, siblings, or more distant relatives.18Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-9-214 – Tables of Descents
Intestate Succession
Without a valid will, the estate passes first to the decedent’s children and their descendants.18Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-9-214 – Tables of Descents If no descendants survive, the surviving spouse takes (subject to the three-year rule). Beyond that, the estate moves to parents, then siblings, then more distant bloodlines. Property escheats to the state only when no legal heirs can be found.
When a beneficiary is a minor or legally incapacitated, the court may require a guardian or trustee to manage their share. The representative documents every transfer and collects receipts from beneficiaries confirming delivery.
Estate Taxes
Arkansas has no state estate or inheritance tax. The only exposure is federal, and for deaths in 2026 the federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person, a figure raised by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill signed into law in July 2025.19Internal Revenue Service. What’s New — Estate and Gift Tax Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax and generally do not need to file Form 706. Most Arkansas estates fall well under the line, but confirm total values early since the exemption can change.
Closing the Estate
The personal representative files a verified account of the entire administration as part of the petition for final settlement, and the court can also demand one at other points along the way.20Justia Law. Arkansas Code 28-52-103 – Filing of Accounts The accounting details every debt paid, every asset sold or transferred, and every administrative expense, along with proof of any tax filings.
Once the court approves the account, it issues an order discharging the representative. That discharge cuts off future claims tied to the administration, provided the representative acted in good faith and followed the law. Objections from beneficiaries or creditors trigger a hearing before the court signs off. When everyone agrees and no claims remain outstanding, closing goes quickly and the beneficiaries receive what is theirs.