Missouri Small Estates: the small estate affidavit
The short answer
Missouri calls its simplified route the small estate affidavit, and it is set out in RSMo § 473.097. The whole estate counts, after subtracting debts and loans against it. For real estate, a copy is filed with the county recorder. 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.
Missouri’s small estate affidavit
Missouri sets this out in RSMo § 473.097. The whole estate counts, after subtracting debts and loans against it. For real estate, a copy is filed with the county recorder. The figure itself, and the date we last read that statute, are on the card below.[1]
Missouri
- Procedure:
- small estate affidavit
- Limit:
- $40,000
- Wait:
- 30 days
- Real estate:
- covered
The whole estate counts, after subtracting debts and loans against it. For real estate, a copy is filed with the county recorder.
RSMo § 473.097 — 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 Missouri. 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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Creditor claims under RSMo §§ 473.033, 473.360
Above the limit it is a regular Missouri probate case, and whoever the court appoints has to publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. The window for claims is 6 months after the notice is first published. All claims are cut off 1 year after the death.. Paying anyone out before that window closes can leave the person who paid personally liable.[2]
Missouri
- Published notice:
- required
- Claim window:
- 6 months after the notice is first published. All claims are cut off 1 year after the death.
RSMo §§ 473.033, 473.360 — official page read September 18, 2026
Sources
- RSMo § 473.097 (small estate affidavit) — Missouri — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
- RSMo §§ 473.033, 473.360 (notice to creditors) — Missouri — 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.
How we source and review these pages, and how to tell us about a mistake: our editorial policy.