What is the small estate limit in Arkansas?

The value of all property owned at death, less encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000, and the homestead plus statutory allowances for a spouse or minor children are excluded from that count under Ark. Code 28-41-101.

How long do I have to wait in Arkansas?

Forty-five days must have elapsed since the death before the affidavit can be filed, and no petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted.

Where is the Arkansas affidavit filed?

With the probate clerk of the circuit court in the county of proper venue. The clerk assigns it a number and indexes it, and no court order, hearing or other proceeding is necessary.

What does it cost to file?

The statute sets a $25 filing fee plus a few dollars for each certified copy, and no additional fee is charged if a will is attached to the affidavit.

Can it include real property?

Yes. When the estate collected includes real property, the distributee must publish notice of the death and the filing, and claims are barred three months after the first publication.

Arkansas Small Estate Affidavit (Form 23): How It Works

General information, not legal advice. County circuit clerks differ in how they handle these filings and fees change. Confirm the current requirements with the clerk in the county of proper venue.

Arkansas sits between the two models: the affidavit is filed with the court, yet no judge ever rules on it. A distributee files Form 23 with the circuit clerk once 45 days have passed and the estate, less encumbrances, is $100,000 or under. The clerk numbers and indexes it, charges about $25, and that is the whole proceeding.

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How the Arkansas affidavit works

Ark. Code 28-41-101 lets a distributee take an estate without a personal representative being appointed at all. You prepare the Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee, officially Form 23, and file it with the probate clerk of the circuit court in the county of proper venue. The affidavit must state that there are no unpaid claims or demands against the decedent or the estate, that the Department of Human Services furnished no federal or state benefits or has been reimbursed, and it must contain an itemized description and valuation of the personal property plus a legal description and valuation of any real property. Every affiant signs before a notary; an unsworn form is defective.

What the $100,000 leaves out

The ceiling is more generous than it first appears because of two exclusions. You measure the value, less encumbrances, of all property the decedent owned at death, but you exclude the homestead and the statutory allowances for the benefit of a surviving spouse or minor children. For a family whose main asset is the house, that carve-out often decides eligibility on its own. Encumbrances also come off, so a financed vehicle counts at its equity rather than its sticker value. Note the counting includes real property that is not the homestead, which places Arkansas alongside Missouri and apart from the many states that wall real estate off entirely.

Filed with the court, decided by nobody

This is the structural quirk worth understanding. The statute directs the clerk to file the affidavit, assign it a number, and index it, and then says plainly that an order of the court or other proceeding is not necessary. So there is no hearing, no judge's signature, and no waiting for a ruling; the filing itself is the event. The fee structure is equally modest: $25 to file, a few dollars per certified copy, and no additional charge if a will is attached. Those certified copies are what you then present to banks and transfer agents. Leave the case number blank when you prepare the form, since the clerk assigns it on filing.

Real property adds a publication step

If the estate you are collecting contains real property, one further obligation attaches. The distributee must publish a notice of the decedent's death and of the affidavit's filing, and the statutory notice tells creditors they have three months from the first publication to present verified claims or be forever barred. That publication is generally handled promptly after filing, within thirty days. It is the mechanism that lets Arkansas allow real property through a shortcut without leaving creditors without recourse. Where the estate is purely personal property, no publication is required and the process finishes considerably faster.

Arkansas small estate questions

What is the limit?: All property owned at death, less encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000, excluding the homestead and statutory allowances for a spouse or minor children.
How long do I wait?: Forty-five days since the death, with no petition for a personal representative pending or granted.
Where is it filed?: With the probate clerk of the circuit court in the county of proper venue. No court order, hearing or other proceeding is necessary.
What does it cost?: About $25 to file plus a few dollars per certified copy, with no extra charge if a will is attached.
Can it include real property?: Yes, but then you publish notice, and claims are barred three months after the first publication.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on Ark. Code Ann. 28-41-101 and Arkansas Probate Division Form 23. County clerk practice varies; confirm locally.