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Alabama route screening

Alabama small-estate limit: $47,000

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 28, 2026. This page last revised .

1. Where and when
2. What they left

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Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

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Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court charge$45The statewide statutory fee for a grant of letters of administration is $45.00 (Ala. Code § 12-19-90(a)(2)), including three certified copies and final settlement when not more than 10 pages. Ala. Code § 12-19-90(d) preserves county/local fee laws for judges of probate, so a particular county may add local charges on top of the statewide figure.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.Ala. Code § 43-2-848(a) allows reasonable compensation subject to a ceiling of two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the value of all property received and under the personal representative’s possession and control PLUS two and one-half percent (2.5%) of all disbursements. The ceiling therefore applies to receipts and disbursements, not to the whole estate value. Extraordinary services may be allowed additionally (§ 43-2-848(b)), and a will or written agreement can vary the amount (§ 43-2-848(c)–(d)).

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

Alabama allows summary distribution where the decedent owned no real property and the estate value does not exceed the "small estate amount" — a CPI-indexed sum of the homestead, exempt-property, and family allowances (Ala. Code § 43-2-691), adjusted every three years under § 43-8-116. Petition may proceed at least 30 days after publication of notice of its filing. On the State Treasurer's July 1, 2023 adjustment the three allowances add up to $47,000; the July 1, 2026 adjustment raises the sum to $51,175 for exemptions claimed from April 1, 2027.

Where the limit comes from

Is this the limit that applies?

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.

Controlling citation: Ala. State Treasurer CPI adjustments under Ala. Code § 43-8-116, Alabama State Treasurer - Consumer Price Index Law (adjusted exemption amounts) (Office of the Alabama State Treasurer; Dollar Amount (as of July 1, 2026).

The section’s own words
Homestead Exemption $15,500 $16,450 $18,800 $20,475 Family Allowance $15,500 $16,450 $18,800 $20,475 Personal Property Exemption $7,750 $8,225 $9,400 $10,225

How the Alabama screen is measured

ProcedureSummary distribution of small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692)
What countsPersonal property only; real property is outside this route
Value basisGross value less exempt property the worksheet cannot classify
Waiting period30 days after the notice of the petition is published and after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice of it

The Alabama caveats that can change this answer are listed once, on the Alabama overview.

The official Alabama path

What a small-estate screen can and cannot decide, and which assets never enter it, is explained once in small-estate affidavit or probate and what counts as a probate asset.

Controlling sources

Sources rechecked October 28, 2026: Alabama source list · how sources are checked · report a correction

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