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Arkansas estate administration

Arkansas probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: procedure-specific

This guide explains probate in Arkansas: 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 statutory value ceiling, the 45-day waiting period, the general § 21-6-403 administration filing fee, and the § 28-48-108 compensation schedule remain honest UNKNOWNs because they live only in the LexisNexis-contracted Arkansas Code and were never restated by a text-extractable enacted Act.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Answer first

Arkansas simplified probate route

Arkansas provides a small-estate affidavit under Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101. The affidavit filing fee ($25.00, plus $5.00 per certified copy) and the three-month small-estate creditor bar are substantiated from enacted Acts (289/2011 and 526/2015). The dollar value ceiling and the statutory 45-day waiting period live in subsection (a), which was not reachable via any enacted Act and is otherwise only in the LexisNexis-contracted code; both are recorded as honest UNKNOWNs rather than guessed.

Affidavit for collection of small estate (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101)
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

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

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

Arkansas estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

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 chargeMore information neededSmall-estate affidavit (§ 28-41-101)2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.Ark. Code Ann. § 28-48-108 fixes personal-representative compensation as a statutory percentage schedule on personal property. No Arkansas Act in the text-extractable era (2001–2025) amended or restated § 28-48-108 (zero hits 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 recorded as UNKNOWN rather than reproduced from memory.

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.

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

procedure-specific

Arkansas provides a small-estate affidavit under Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101. The affidavit filing fee ($25.00, plus $5.00 per certified copy) and the three-month small-estate creditor bar are substantiated from enacted Acts (289/2011 and 526/2015). The dollar value ceiling and the statutory 45-day waiting period live in subsection (a), which was not reachable via any enacted Act and is otherwise only in the LexisNexis-contracted code; both are recorded as honest UNKNOWNs rather than guessed.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

$25

The small-estate affidavit filing charge is a flat $25.00; certified copies are $5.00 each per copy requested and are not part of the base filing (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101(b)(1)(B), as set by Act 289/2011). The general decedent-estate opening filing fee for a full administration is the circuit-clerk fee under Ark. Code Ann. § 21-6-403, which was only cross-referenced - never restated - by any harvestable enacted Act and is therefore recorded as UNKNOWN below.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Court-reviewed

Ark. Code Ann. § 28-48-108 fixes personal-representative compensation as a statutory percentage schedule on personal property. No Arkansas Act in the text-extractable era (2001–2025) amended or restated § 28-48-108 (zero hits 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 recorded as UNKNOWN rather than reproduced from memory.

Compensation detail

Creditor deadline

Multiple triggers

Arkansas runs separate, trigger-specific creditor deadlines. For a full administration, claims are barred unless filed within six (6) months of the first publication of notice (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-111(a)(1)(A), Act 217/2009), and the statute of nonclaim independently bars claims not presented within six (6) months of first publication (§ 28-50-101(c), Act 217/2009). A small-estate affidavit proceeding uses a shorter three (3)-month bar from first publication (§ 28-41-101, Act 526/2015).

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 details

Arkansas decision map

The four facts that change the Arkansas route

Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Arkansas amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.

QuestionRecorded Arkansas answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Affidavit for collection of small estate (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?No numeric ceiling verifiedUse the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?No waiting-period number verified; Arkansas runs separate, trigger-specific creditor deadlines. For a full administration, claims are barred unless filed within six (6) months of the first publication of notice (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-111(a)(1)(A), Act 217/2009), and the statute of nonclaim independently bars claims not presented within six (6) months of first publication (§ 28-50-101(c), Act 217/2009). A small-estate affidavit proceeding uses a shorter three (3)-month bar from first publication (§ 28-41-101, Act 526/2015).Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$25 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the Circuit Court (Probate Division) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?No compensation amount is recorded here: Ark. Code Ann. § 28-48-108 fixes personal-representative compensation as a statutory percentage schedule on personal property. No Arkansas Act in the text-extractable era (2001–2025) amended or restated § 28-48-108 (zero hits 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 recorded as UNKNOWN rather than reproduced from memory.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

No numeric shortcut is available for Arkansas

This registry does not establish a numeric Arkansas ceiling from an accepted primary source. The safe next step is to follow the reason and source lane on this page, then ask the Circuit Court (Probate Division) for the current rule rather than importing a neighboring state\'s amount.

Next evidence to collect

Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official 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.

Source trail

Records used by this Arkansas map

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Small-estate value ceiling and 45-day waiting period (§ 28-41-101(a)) are UNKNOWN — Lexis-locked, never restated by a harvestable Act.
  • General administration filing fee (§ 21-6-403) is UNKNOWN — only cross-referenced, never restated.
  • Executor compensation percentage schedule (§ 28-48-108) is UNKNOWN — zero Act hits, Lexis-locked.
  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue

What Arkansas courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

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.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.