Simplified route
$47,000
Summary distribution of small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692); usable 30 days after the notice of the petition is published and after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice of it.
Eligibility and caveatsAlabama estate administration
Alabama probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $47,000
In Alabama, estates up to $47,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is capped at 2.5% of the property received plus 2.5% of disbursements (Ala. Code § 43-2-848); and claims close six months after letters or five months after first publication, whichever is later; a creditor owed actual notice gets 30 days after it. Alabama offers summary distribution of a small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692) for personal-property-only estates whose value does not exceed a CPI-indexed "small estate amount" (§ 43-2-691), $47,000 on the State Treasurer's current adjustment, heard in the county Probate Court. The statewide grant-of-letters fee is $45.00, executor compensation is capped at 2.5% of receipts plus 2.5% of disbursements, and creditor claims run six months from the grant of letters (or five months from first publication, whichever is later).
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 28, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Alabama simplified probate route
Up to $47,000; usable 30 days after the notice of the petition is published and after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice of it. Source: Ala. State Treasurer CPI adjustments under Ala. Code § 43-8-116.
Summary distribution of small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692)No combined Alabama probate total
The Probate Court filing charge is statewide: $45 (Ala. Code § 12-19-90). Ala. Code § 43-2-848 caps executor pay without fixing it. Each side in full: Alabama probate filing cost and Alabama executor fees.
Screen a specific Alabama estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
$45
One statewide amount.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
The statute caps compensation; the court sets the amount within it. Source: Ala. Code § 43-2-848.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
Ala. Code § 43-2-350 (Alabama Legislature (Code of Alabama 1975); reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Alabama
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Ala. Code § 43-2-848 | Alabama caps the fee on money moved, not on what the estate is worth — representative pay note | 2026-10-13 |
| Ala. Code §§ 43-2-350, 43-2-692 | Alabama claims are filed with the probate judge, on the later of two clocks — creditor deadline note | 2026-10-13 |
Alabama decision map
The four facts that change the Alabama route
Each Alabama answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Alabama answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Summary distribution of small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692) |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. |
| What is the amount screen? | $47,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after the notice of the petition is published and after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice of it; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | $45 is the recorded statewide amount. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory ceiling, measured on money received and paid out during administration. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- Alabama's small-estate limit moves every three years: it is the sum of the homestead, exempt-property and family allowances, adjusted for inflation under § 43-8-116. The Code prints base amounts ($15,000 homestead allowance, $7,500 exempt property, a $15,000 lump-sum family allowance); the State Treasurer's Consumer Price Index Law page lists the adjusted amounts, and each adjustment applies from the April 1 after it ($47,000 now, $51,175 for exemptions claimed from April 1, 2027). Confirm with the probate court which adjusted amounts it applies to your petition before you file.
- Filing fee $45.00 is the statewide floor; § 12-19-90(d) lets counties add local charges, so a county-specific total may exceed $45.00.
Continue
What Alabama courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Forms indexAlabama Judicial System — eFormsAlabama Administrative Office of Courts
Limits on court material
- Probate is heard in the county Probate Court. Filing fees for the grant of letters are a $45.00 statewide figure (§ 12-19-90) but § 12-19-90(d) expressly preserves local fee laws, so individual counties may add charges.
- Alabama publishes no single statewide small-estate affidavit. The summary-distribution petition is filed with the Probate Court of the county of residence, and each probate court issues its own form, so the county court is the place to obtain it.
Alabama primary sources
Each rule on the Alabama pages comes from one of these 8 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 28, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
Ala. Code § 43-2-692, Petition for Summary Distribution.
Simplified-procedure rule
Ala. Code § 43-2-691, Definitions (small estate amount).
Simplified-procedure rule
Ala. Code § 43-8-116, Adjustments to Exemption Values (CPI).
Simplified-procedure rule
Ala. Code § 43-8-110, Homestead Allowance.
Simplified-procedure rule
Ala. State Treasurer CPI adjustments under Ala. Code § 43-8-116, Alabama State Treasurer - Consumer Price Index Law (adjusted exemption amounts).
Executor compensation rule
Ala. Code § 43-2-848, Compensation of Personal Representative.
Court cost rule
Ala. Code § 12-19-90, Judge of Probate; Schedule of Fees.
Creditor deadline rule
Ala. Code § 43-2-350, Time and Manner of Filing Claims.
Sources rechecked October 28, 2026: Alabama source list · how sources are checked · report a correction