Settle a small estate in Arkansas without probate

Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee (Ark. Code 28-41-101)

What counts toward the limit in Arkansas

Add up the value of everything the person owned at death, after subtracting loans and liens on each item. Do not count the homestead or the statutory allowances for a surviving spouse or minor children.

Law: Ark. Code Ann. 28-41-101(a)(1)(C) (Act 649 of 2017; Act 423 of 2021)

In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.

Source: Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Arkansas

If the person's estate has not been and will not be probated, the heirs can sign an Affidavit of Inheritance of a Motor Vehicle. All the heirs sign it, state that the estate has not been administered and that any will has not been and probably will not be probated, and name the person the vehicle should be titled to.

Law: DFA forms 10-306 and 'Request for Title or Watercraft Registration with Beneficiary'

Source: form 10-306

Agency

Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), Office of Motor Vehicle

Form

Affidavit of Inheritance of a Motor Vehicle (DFA form 10-306)

Fee

Ask the revenue office for current title fees.

Transfer-on-death title

An owner can ask DFA to put one individual beneficiary on a vehicle title (or watercraft registration) who becomes the owner at death. It cannot be added while the vehicle has a lien. Up to three owners can be on a title with a beneficiary.

Source: Official page

Bank accounts after a death in Arkansas

Accounts with a surviving joint owner or a payable-on-death beneficiary are paid by the bank to that person under the account terms. For an account in the person's name alone, the distributee presents the clerk-certified small estate affidavit. Under 'Carmack's Law' (2021), a distributee can also open a checking or savings account in an Arkansas bank in the name of the estate without a probate case.

Law: Ark. Code Ann. 28-41-101(a)(1)(E), (a)(2) (Act 423 of 2021)

Source: Official page

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Arkansas

Real estate (TOD deed)

Yes · Beneficiary deed

An owner can sign a beneficiary deed (also called a transfer-on-death deed) naming who gets real estate at death. It must be signed before a notary and recorded at the county courthouse before the owner dies, and it can be revoked during the owner's life.

Law: Ark. Code Ann. 18-12-608 (per Legal Aid of Arkansas)

Vehicle title (TOD)

Yes

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Arkansas

The surviving spouse's and minor children's statutory allowances, and the homestead, are not counted toward the $100,000 small estate limit. The spouse is listed with the other people entitled to the property in the affidavit.

Debts of the person in Arkansas

To use the small estate affidavit, the affiant swears there are no unpaid claims against the person or the estate, and that the Department of Human Services gave no benefits or has been repaid. When real estate is included, creditors get 3 months from the first newspaper notice to present claims; claims not presented in that time are barred, and if a claim is presented and not paid, a regular probate case must be opened.

Medicaid estate recovery in Arkansas

DHS must file a claim against the estate of a person who got Medicaid long-term care (nursing home, ICF/IID or home and community-based waiver) at age 55 or older, or who was permanently institutionalized before 55. DHS does not pursue a claim while a spouse is alive or when there is a child under 21 or a blind or disabled child. A home can be exempt when certain caregiving children or siblings live in it. DHS's guide says assets passing directly to a beneficiary outside probate, such as insurance, IRAs and pensions, are not collected. Heirs are not liable for any amount beyond the estate's value. A DHS Hardship Waiver Committee can waive the claim for undue hardship. The small estate affidavit itself requires a statement that DHS gave no benefits or has been repaid.

Law: Ark. Code 28-41-101(a)(1)(D)(i)

Agency

Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS), Medicaid Estate Recovery

Official page

Official page

Who inherits with no will in Arkansas

If there is no will, Arkansas inheritance law decides who inherits, starting with the person's children and other descendants, the surviving spouse, parents, and brothers and sisters. The small estate affidavit must list each person entitled to the property and their relationship; the Legal Aid of Arkansas forms are written for simple family situations.

Law: Ark. Code Title 28, Chapter 9; Ark. Code Ann. Title 28, Chapter 9

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Arkansas

The state office has death records since February 1914. A certified copy costs $10.00; extra copies ordered at the same time cost $8.00 each. A photo ID is required. Recorded fee line: (501) 661-2336.

Where to get it

Arkansas Department of Health, Vital Records Section

Official page

Official page

Where to file in Arkansas

File the small estate affidavit with the probate clerk of the circuit court in the county where the person lived (the county of proper venue for a probate case). The clerk files and numbers it and issues certified copies, which you give to banks and others holding property. If real estate is included, the newspaper notice is published in that county, and after the 3-month claim period the deed of distribution is recorded and the county assessor is notified. Vehicles are retitled at a state revenue office.

Good to know in Arkansas

• In Arkansas the small estate affidavit is filed with the probate clerk, and it can transfer real estate: after a newspaper notice and a 3-month claim period, the distributee issues a deed of distribution and notifies the county assessor.
• The home (homestead) is not counted toward the $100,000 limit, and the limit is measured after subtracting loans and liens.
• 'Carmack's Law' lets a distributee open an estate bank account without a probate case.

National rules that apply in every state

Federal estate tax

• For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
• Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.

Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)

The final income tax return

• Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
• Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
• To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).

Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)

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Social Security

• Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
• If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)

Savings bonds

• If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.

Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)

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Debts

• Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
• If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
• You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)

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A house with a mortgage

• For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
• Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
• Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/

Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31

FDIC insurance on bank accounts

• After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.

Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)

Medicaid estate recovery

• States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
• The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
• Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)

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Death certificates

• Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.

Questions about small estates in Arkansas