Missouri Small Estate Affidavit

The affidavit track: section 473.097

Distributees of an estate of personal property, real property, or both have a defeasible right to the personal property and are entitled to the real property, without awaiting letters testamentary or of administration, if all four conditions in section 473.097(1) are met. The channel is court filing with a clerk's certificate. Do not describe Missouri as a present-the-affidavit-to-the-bank state.

First, the cap. The value of the entire estate, less liens, debt, and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. The cap is net and whole-estate, and real property is inside the cap. Never state a personal-property-only cap, a gross-value cap, or a real-property exclusion for Missouri. Those readings belong to other states.

Second, the wait and no-competing-case condition. Thirty days have elapsed since death, and no application for letters, for administration, or for refusal of letters under section 473.090 is pending or has been granted, except that a section 473.090 refusal that was granted and subsequently revoked does not block the affidavit.

Third, the bond. A bond in an amount not less than the value of the personal property, approved by the judge or clerk of the probate division, filed by the person making the affidavit, conditioned on payment of the decedent's debts, including debts to the State of Missouri, funeral and burial expenses, compliance with future court orders, and delivery of any property to which the distributee is not entitled to the persons entitled under the law. Surety liability terminates unless proceedings against the sureties are instituted within two years after the bond is filed. The bond condition is stated in both halves of this guide: the bond is a condition, and the court may dispense with the bond if it finds it is not necessary. Never state the bond as unconditional, and never drop the dispensation.

Fourth, the fee and publication cost. A fee in the amount prescribed in section 483.580(1) and, when required, the publication cost of the notice to creditors are paid, or proof of payment for publication is provided to the clerk of the probate division. Section 483.580(1) states no dollar amount. Court costs are in such amounts as are determined under sections 488.010 to 488.020. No fee figure is carried in this guide. Secondary $35 and $50 figures seen in search were not carried.

Who makes the affidavit, and what it must contain

Notwithstanding the section 473.050 limitation periods, the affidavit is made by the person designated as personal representative under the will, if a will was presented for probate within the section 473.050 periods. Otherwise it is made by any distributee entitled to receive property, at any time after 30 days after death.

The affidavit must contain six matters: whether there is no will, or a will was presented for probate within the section 473.050 periods; that all unpaid debts, claims and demands, and estate taxes due, if any, on the transfers have been or will be paid, with the affidavit maker's liability for unpaid claims and demands limited to the value of property received; an itemized description and valuation of the decedent's property, where "property of the decedent" excludes property held as tenant by the entirety or joint tenant at death; the names and addresses of persons having possession of the property; the names, addresses, and relationship to the decedent of the persons entitled to and who will receive the specific items remaining after payment of claims and debts; and facts establishing the right to the specific items as prescribed by the section.

The joint tenancy and tenancy-by-the-entirety exclusion lives only in the affidavit-description subdivision. It defines what the itemized description covers. Do not over-read it into the cap test.

The clerk's certificate is annexed to or endorsed on the affidavit. It shows the names and addresses of persons entitled to the described property under the stated facts, and recites that the will was probated or no will was presented, and that all estate taxes on the property, if any are due, have been paid. A copy of the affidavit and certificate shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the probate division, and copies are furnished by the clerk. Distributees establish the right to succeed to real estate by filing a copy of the affidavit and clerk's certificate in the recorder of deeds office of each county where the real property is situated.

Publication: only above $15,000 of listed property

When the value of the property listed in the affidavit is more than $15,000, the clerk causes a notice to creditors to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county qualifying under chapter 493, once a week for two consecutive weeks. Proof of publication is filed not later than 10 days after completion of publication. The statutory notice form notifies creditors that section 473.444 sets a limitation period barring claims one year after death, and that a creditor may request the estate be opened for administration. At or below $15,000 of listed property, no publication step appears in the section. Never impose one. Publication keys on the value of the property listed in the affidavit, not on the net estate value used in the cap test. Keep that distinction, and keep this $15,000 publication trigger labeled apart from the $15,000 figure in the refusal-of-letters track below.

Effect, discharge, and the affidavit maker's duties

On compliance, the personal property and real estate shall not thereafter be taken in execution for debts or claims against the decedent, and compliance has the same effect in establishing distributees' succession rights as if complete administration was had. Nothing in the section affects secured creditors' rights in the property.

The discharge and refusal rules in section 473.100 were read in a Justia republication of the 2021 code, not in the Revisor text, and are labeled secondary here. On that tier, a person paying, delivering, transferring, or issuing personal property or evidence thereof under the section 473.097 affidavit is discharged and released to the same extent as if made to an executor or administrator, and need not see to the application of the property or inquire into the truth of any affidavit statement made by any other person. If a person to whom the affidavit is delivered refuses, recovery or compulsion is available in an action by or on behalf of the persons entitled under section 473.097, on proof of the defeasible right. A recipient is answerable and accountable to any administrator or executor, to the surviving spouse or minor children proceeding under section 473.090 or section 473.093, or to any other person having a superior right.

The person making the affidavit collects the described property, liquidates it to the extent necessary to pay the decedent's debts, and, if property is insufficient, abatement of distributees' shares occurs under section 473.620, whose text was not opened. The affidavit maker distributes the remainder to the persons identified as entitled to the specific personal-property items, or has evidence of the property transferred to them, and may liquidate all or part to facilitate distribution. The probate division, in its discretion, may order appraisal of the property before a certificate under section 473.097 or before an order refusing letters, under section 473.107 as read in a republication. Appraisal is discretionary, not automatic. Never state an appraisal as a required step.

The other track: refusal of letters, section 473.090

Refusal of letters is a discretionary court track, and it must never be merged with the affidavit. The probate division, in its discretion, may at any time refuse to grant letters in two cases only.

Track A applies where the estate is not greater than the exempt property plus the surviving-spouse and unmarried-minor-children allowance under section 474.260. No dollar figure is carried for Track A, because section 474.260 was not opened.

Track B applies where the personal estate does not exceed $15,000 and there is no widower, widow, or unmarried minor children. Any creditor whose claim is not barred by section 473.444, or any creditor of the estate, may apply by giving bond of not less than the value of the estate, approved by the court, conditioned on paying the decedent's debts in preference order so far as assets permit and distributing the balance to persons entitled. Surety liability terminates unless proceedings are instituted within two years, and the court may dispense with the bond if it finds it is not necessary. This is the second $15,000 figure in Missouri law. Its job is the creditor-track cap. Label each use.

On proof of value and nature, if the court is satisfied no estate remains after exempt property and allowances, or the personal estate is $15,000 or less on a creditor application, the court may order no letters issue, unless other creditors or interested parties show other or further property. After the order, until revoked, the spouse, minor children, or creditor may collect and sue for all personal property as if appointed and qualified executor or administrator. Where real-estate value less liens and encumbrances plus personal property is not greater than exempt property and allowances, the spouse and minor children are entitled to the real property and make record title by filing a certified copy of the refusal order with the recorder of deeds in each county where the property is situated. The spouse and minor children may retain property received. A creditor recipient must apply proceeds to estate debts in classification and preference order and distribute the balance to persons entitled. Any person who paid funeral expenses or the decedent's debts is deemed a creditor for refusal-of-letters purposes and subrogated to the original creditor's rights.

What this guide does not state

No affidavit form name or number appears in section 473.097 as read, and none is stated here. A secondary form title was not carried. Sections 473.093, 473.620, 473.444, and 474.260 were not opened, and nothing sourced to them is stated beyond the cross-references above. No vehicle-specific transfer provision appears in the sections read, and no Department of Revenue vehicle step is imported. No fee figure is stated.

For small-estate procedures in other states, see the Small Estate Affidavits by State directory. For the questions each state's procedure answers, see Small Estate Affidavit Questions.

Source

Sources: Missouri Revisor of Statutes sections 473.097, 473.090, and 483.580, full texts read; sections 473.100 and 473.107 via Justia republications, secondary tier. Facts verified 2026-10-31. Open flags: (1) sections 473.100 and 473.107 were not re-read in the Revisor text; (2) sections 473.093, 473.620, 473.444, and 474.260 were not opened; (3) section 483.580(1) states no dollar amount, so no fee figure is stated; (4) no court affidavit form was located; (5) no vehicle title-transfer provision was opened.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the Missouri probate court or a lawyer.