Simplified route
procedure-specific
Affidavit for collection of small estate (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101); waiting period not verified.
Eligibility and caveatsArkansas estate administration
Arkansas probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: procedure-specific
In Arkansas, claims are barred six months after first publication of the notice to creditors. Arkansas offers a small-estate affidavit under Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101, filed in the Circuit Court, Probate Division of the county of the decedent's residence. The affidavit filing fee is $25.00 ($5.00 per certified copy). Creditors of a full administration are barred six months after first publication of notice; a small-estate proceeding uses a three-month bar. The value ceiling, the 45-day waiting period, the general § 21-6-403 administration filing fee and the § 28-48-108 compensation schedule are set in sections the state publishes only through LexisNexis, so this page gives no figures for them; read those sections there or ask the circuit clerk.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Arkansas simplified probate route
No single dollar limit; waiting period not verified.
Affidavit for collection of small estate (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101)No combined Arkansas probate total
The Circuit Court (Probate Division) filing charge is statewide: $25 (Act 289, § 1, 2011 Ark. Acts (Reg. Sess.) (amending Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101(b)(1)(B))). No executor-pay statute is verified for Arkansas. Each side in full: Arkansas probate filing cost and Arkansas executor fees.
Screen a specific Arkansas estate with the calculators on the small-estate page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
$25
1 published schedule, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No verified rule is published here.
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-48-108 fixes personal-representative compensation as a statutory percentage schedule on personal property. No Arkansas Act published as searchable text (2001–2025) amended or restated § 28-48-108 (no results in the full-text Act search at www.arkleg.state.ar.us), and the codified section is served only through the LexisNexis contract. The percentage schedule is therefore not reproduced here from memory.
Creditor deadline
Multiple triggers
Act 217, §§ 1–2, 2009 Ark. Acts (Reg. Sess.) (amending Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-111(a)(1)(A) and § 28-50-101(c)) (Arkansas General Assembly / Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsArkansas decision map
The four facts that change the Arkansas route
Each Arkansas answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Arkansas answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Affidavit for collection of small estate (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101) |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. |
| What is the amount screen? | No numeric ceiling verified |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | $25 is the recorded statewide amount. |
| What does compensation use? | No verified rule. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- The value ceiling and the waiting period for Arkansas's small-estate affidavit are set in Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101(a), which the state publishes only through LexisNexis, so this page gives no ceiling. Read that section there, or ask the circuit clerk, before you rely on the affidavit.
- The fee to open a full administration is the circuit clerk's fee under Ark. Code Ann. § 21-6-403. No published act restates the amount, so this page gives none; ask the circuit clerk.
- Arkansas sets executor compensation percentages in Ark. Code Ann. § 28-48-108. That section is published only through LexisNexis and no published act restates it, so this page gives no percentages; read the section there or ask the court.
Continue
What Arkansas courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Forms indexArkansas Judiciary — Forms and PublicationsArkansas Administrative Office of the Courts
- Court resourceArkansas Circuit Courts (probate jurisdiction)Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts
Limits on court material
- Arkansas probate is heard in the Circuit Court, Probate Division (confirmed from the statutory small-estate notice caption in Act 526/2015). There is no single statewide small-estate form or statewide filing-fee dollar schedule reproduced here; the affidavit is filed with the county circuit clerk, whose administration filing fee is set by Ark. Code Ann. § 21-6-403.
Arkansas primary sources
Each rule on the Arkansas pages comes from one of these 4 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Court cost rule
Act 289, § 1, 2011 Ark. Acts (Reg. Sess.) (amending Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101(b)(1)(B)), Arkansas Act 289 of 2011 (88th General Assembly, Regular Session) — amending Ark. Code § 28-41-101.
Court and venue rule
Act 526, § 1, 2015 Ark. Acts (Reg. Sess.) (amending Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101(b)(2)(B)), Arkansas Act 526 of 2015 (90th General Assembly, Regular Session) — amending Ark. Code § 28-41-101(b)(2)(B) (small-estate affidavit / notice).
Creditor deadline rule
Act 217, §§ 1–2, 2009 Ark. Acts (Reg. Sess.) (amending Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-111(a)(1)(A) and § 28-50-101(c)), Arkansas Act 217 of 2009 (87th General Assembly, Regular Session) — amending Ark. Code § 28-40-111 and § 28-50-101.
Creditor deadline rule
Act 217, § 2, 2009 Ark. Acts (Reg. Sess.) (amending Ark. Code Ann. § 28-50-101(c)), Arkansas Act 217 of 2009 — Section 2 amending Ark. Code § 28-50-101(c) (statute of nonclaim).
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Arkansas source list · how sources are checked · report a correction