Arkansas Small Estates: the small estate affidavit
The short answer
Arkansas calls its simplified route the small estate affidavit, and it is set out in Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101. The home and some family allowances don't count toward the limit. The affidavit is filed with the probate clerk. You have to wait a set number of days after the death before using it. It can also cover real estate, which is unusual and worth knowing before you assume a house means full probate. The current limit and the date we last read the statute are on the card below.
Arkansas’ small estate affidavit
Arkansas sets this out in Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101. The home and some family allowances don't count toward the limit. The affidavit is filed with the probate clerk. The figure itself, and the date we last read that statute, are on the card below.[1]
Arkansas
- Procedure:
- small estate affidavit
- Limit:
- $100,000
- Wait:
- 45 days
- Real estate:
- covered
The home and some family allowances don't count toward the limit. The affidavit is filed with the probate clerk.
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101 — official page read September 18, 2026
It can also cover real estate, which is unusual and worth knowing before you assume a house means full probate.[1]
The small estate affidavit is one piece of settling an estate in Arkansas. Answer a few questions and Go Forward builds the rest of the list for your situation — the notifications, the accounts, the paperwork — in the order it needs doing.
Build my plan →Steps this page connects to: Check whether probate is required · Order certified death certificates · List what the estate holds
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Sources
- Ark. Code Ann. § 28-41-101 (small estate affidavit) — Arkansas — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
Each state above links to the statute or court page we read, with the date we read it.
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