Alabama Small Estate Affidavit

The $47,000 limit, and what actually counts

No waiting period

Critical: Alabama has no waiting period measured from the date of death. There is no analogue to California's 40 days or Texas's 30 days. The petition may be filed immediately. The 30-day clocks run from post-filing events, per Ala. Code § 43-2-692(d): the probate court shall not enter an order directing summary distribution unless (d)(1) at least 30 days have elapsed since notice of the filing of the petition was published as provided in subsection (c), and (d)(2) at least 30 days have elapsed since the Alabama Medicaid Agency received notice of the filing of the petition, and (d)(3) the court finds all conditions met. The two 30-day periods run in parallel but start on different trigger dates (date of publication vs. date of Medicaid's receipt), so the effective wait is 30 days from the later trigger. Publication mechanics, § 43-2-692(c)(1): notice published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the decedent's domicile; if there is no such newspaper in the county, notice is posted at the county courthouse for one week. Under the pre-October 1, 2025 law the equivalent 30-day-after-publication condition sat in old § 43-2-692(b)(4); it now sits in § 43-2-692(d)(1). Practical planning figure for a consumer product: expect roughly 45-75 days from filing to order, driven by newspaper publication scheduling and Medicaid response time, not 30 days flat.

Who can sign the affidavit

Ala. Code § 43-2-692(a) as amended by Act 2025-431: "A person, or a person duly authorized to act for the person, entitled to an interest in a small estate under this division may initiate a proceeding for summary distribution." This broadened the old rule (which limited filing to the surviving spouse, and only if none, the distributees). The petition must be verified (sworn). Distribution priority under § 43-2-691.1(b): (1) surviving spouse; (2) if no surviving spouse and there is a self-proved will, the persons entitled under the will (with any undisposed portion to intestate heirs); (3) if no surviving spouse and no self-proved will, the intestate heirs. A person claiming to be a common-law spouse is excluded from "surviving spouse" status for this division, whether the claimed common-law marriage arose before or after January 1, 2017 (§ 43-2-691(9)).

Either testate or intestate, but with a sharp testate restriction. Testate: § 43-2-692(a) requires that if the decedent died with a self-proved will, 'the self-proved will shall be filed with the petition,' and § 43-2-691(5) defines self-proved will by reference to Ala. Code § 43-8-132 or § 43-8-133. § 43-2-691.1(b)(2) directs distribution under a self-proved will only. A will that is not self-proved has no clear path through Division 10 and will in practice require ordinary probate. Note this is a change: the pre-Act-2025-431 text (old § 43-2-692(b)(7)) accepted 'a document purporting to be his or her will, which on its face, is properly executed, witnessed, and attested in compliance with Alabama law' filed in the probate office - a looser standard. The will is filed with the petition; it is not separately admitted to probate in the ordinary sense, and the summary distribution order rather than letters testamentary is the operative instrument. Intestate: distribution runs to the surviving spouse, or if none, to those entitled under Alabama's descent and distribution statutes (§ 43-2-691.1(b)(1), (3)). Ala. Code § 43-8-40 was amended to carve small estates in summary distribution out of the ordinary intestacy flow, and new § 43-8-23 confirms summary distribution is available where the estate qualifies.

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in Alabama?

No. Real property cannot pass under this procedure, and its mere existence is a hard bar rather than a value cap. Ala. Code § 43-2-691(2) defines estate as 'All the personal property of a decedent who owns no real property at the time of his or her death for which title does not pass by operation of law.' So if the decedent owned any real property that does not pass automatically (survivorship joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, life estate remainder, transfer-on-death arrangement), the estate is not an 'estate' under Division 10 and summary distribution is unavailable regardless of value. Mobile County Probate Court's public page confirms the act reaches only personal property. There is no companion real-property affidavit. Alabama has nothing equivalent to Cal. Prob. Code § 13200 (affidavit re real property of small value) or § 13150 (petition to determine succession to real property), and no small-estate real-property deed statute. To move Alabama real property out of a decedent's name the options are: (1) probate the will within 5 years of death (Ala. Code § 43-8-161) or open administration and obtain letters, then a personal representative's deed or an order of distribution; (2) if the 5-year window to probate a will has closed or heirs are unclear, a quiet title action (Ala. Code § 6-6-540 et seq.); (3) partition among heirs under Alabama's Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act; (4) a deed signed by every heir, which requires that the heirs be correctly and completely identified. Recording an affidavit under §§ 35-4-69 to 35-4-71 does not accomplish any of these (see affidavitOfHeirshipNotes).

Affidavit of heirship in Alabama

Yes, an affidavit as to heirship can be recorded in Alabama, but it is evidence only - it does not transfer title. This is the highest-liability misconception in Alabama practice and the product copy must be unambiguous. Statutes: Ala. Code § 35-4-69 (Affidavits - record as notice of facts recited; by whom made) allows an affidavit to recite the relationship of parties or other persons to conveyances of land, marital status at the time of a conveyance, ages, homestead status, possession history, identity, adverse possession, dower, and 'any other fact or circumstance affecting title to land'; the affidavit 'may be made by any person whether connected with the chain of title or not'; and once recorded 'the record of said affidavits shall be notice of the facts therein recited.' Ala. Code § 35-4-71 (Affidavits - filing and recordation by probate judge) requires the judge of probate to file and record such affidavits. Ala. Code § 35-4-70 (Affidavits - admissibility as evidence) makes the affidavit or a certified copy 'admissible as evidence of the facts therein recited and sufficient to prima facie establish such facts' in litigation over the described land - but only where the affiant is deceased, is a nonresident of the state, has an unknown residence, or is too old, infirm, or sick to attend court. Legal effect: constructive notice plus a conditional, rebuttable evidentiary presumption. It creates no ownership, conveys nothing, is not a muniment of title, and is not an adjudication of heirship. Alabama has no Texas-style affidavit-of-heirship statute (no analogue to Tex. Est. Code § 203.001 and no five-year-of-record presumption), and no standalone 'determination of heirship' or 'determination of descent' proceeding of the kind found in UPC and community-property states - heirs are determined inside an administration, or by quiet title, or by a partition action. Witnesses: Alabama's §§ 35-4-69 to 35-4-71 do not impose the two-disinterested-witnesses requirement that form mills advertise; the widely copied 'must be signed by two witnesses who knew the Decedent and his family history but do not stand to gain anything financially' language is imported from Texas practice and is not Alabama law. Numerous commercial form sites (heirship.com, affidavitofheirship.com and similar) sell an 'Alabama Affidavit of Heirship' claiming it 'attaches the Decedent's real estate to his heirs' - that claim is legally false in Alabama. In practice some title insurers will accept a recorded heirship affidavit as supporting evidence in a chain of title while others require probate, a quiet title action, or a deed from all heirs; acceptance is an underwriting decision, not a legal entitlement. Product recommendation: market this document only as a title-chain evidence/notice instrument, never as a transfer instrument, and never as a probate substitute.

How to use a small estate affidavit in Alabama

1. 1

   Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

   Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $47,000 ceiling. Gross value of the entire estate, counting only personal property for which title does not pass by operation of law (Ala. Code § 43-2-691(2) "Estate"). The decedent must have owned no real property at death (other than real property whose title passes by operation of law, e.g. survivorship). The dollar figure is not a fixed statutory number: § 43-2-696.02 sets the "small estate amount" equal at all times to the combined maximum of the homestead allowance (§ 43-8-110), exempt property (§ 43-8-111), and family allowance (§§ 43-8-112, 43-8-113) as CPI-adjusted under § 43-8-116. Current published components (State Treasurer, adjustment date July 1, 2023, applicable to exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2024): homestead allowance $18,800 + family allowance $18,800 + exempt/personal property $9,400 = $47,000.

2. 2

   Gather the documents

   You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

3. 3

   Complete the affidavit

   Fill in Summary Distribution of a Small Estate under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-696.02). Note: this is a court petition, not an out-of-court small estate affidavit. Act 2025-431 (HB164), effective October 1, 2025, expressly deleted the affidavit-based collection route formerly in § 43-2-694/§ 43-2-696. As of that date Alabama has no self-executing affidavit an heir can hand to a bank; a probate judge must enter an order directing summary distribution., listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values, and the known debts.

4. 4

   Sign it in front of a notary

   Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

5. 5

   File it with the probate court

   Filing is mandatory and jurisdictional. Court: the office of the judge of probate of the Alabama County in which the decedent was domiciled at death (Ala. Code § 43-2-692(a)). Alabama probate courts are county-level and their practice, local forms, and fees vary county by county; there is no statewide clerk system. Instrument: a verified petition (sworn/notarized), not an affidavit. No bond is required (§ 43-2-692(a) expressly). If the decedent died with a self-proved will, the self-proved will must be filed with the petition (§ 43-2-692(a)). An order does issue: under § 43-2-693(a) the judge of probate, upon finding the requirements met, 'shall enter an order directing a summary distribution of the estate delineating the portion of the small estate that each person identified in the order is entitled.' Under § 43-2-693(b) that order 'shall be final and conclusive as to all items and matters shown,' with appeal in the same manner as any other final decree in decedents' estate administration. The order - not any affidavit - is the instrument delivered to banks and other holders under § 43-2-694. Petitioner must also file proof of the Alabama Medicaid Agency notice with the court (§ 43-2-692(c)(2)). Fees: no statewide statutory fee for summary distribution; probate judges' fees and charges incurred in the proceeding are a priority payment class out of the estate (old § 43-2-692(b)(9)b. priority scheme, carried into practice). County examples reported in secondary sources run roughly $50-$100 (e.g. approximately $62 in Lee County), plus the cost of newspaper publication, which the petitioner bears (Mobile County Probate expressly states publication costs are incurred by the petitioner). Verify the fee with the specific county probate office before filing.

6. 6

   Present it to whoever holds the property

   Obligation to pay/transfer: Ala. Code § 43-2-694 (as amended) - 'Upon delivering a copy of the judge's order directing summary distribution, the persons entitled to summary distribution of the decedent's estate under this division shall be entitled to have the decedent's property or the evidence of the decedent's ownership in such property transferred to them by any person owing any money to the decedent's estate, having custody of any personal property of the decedent or acting as a registrar or transfer agent of any evidence of interest, indebtedness, property, or right of the deceased therein.' The trigger document is now the court order; Act 2025-431 struck the alternative trigger ('an affidavit executed by any person having knowledge of the fact and alleging the concurrence of the conditions listed in subsection (b) of section 43-2-692'). Safe harbor: Ala. Code § 43-2-696 - the person making payment, delivery, transfer, or issuance 'pursuant to an order for summary distribution issued under this division' (the words 'the affidavit prescribed in section 43-2-694' were struck) 'shall be discharged and released to the same extent as if made to a personal representative of the decedent,' and that person 'shall not be required to see the petition or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the petition if made by any other person.' Refusal remedy: if the holder refuses to pay, deliver, transfer, or issue, the personal property may be recovered, or payment/delivery/transfer/issuance compelled, in an action brought by or on behalf of the person entitled under §§ 43-2-691.1, 43-2-692 and 43-2-695, upon proof of the defeasible right. Coverage extends to banks and credit unions holding deposits, employers owing final wages, debtors of the decedent, and stock transfer agents and registrars. It does not reach the vehicle title process, which runs on its own track (MVT 5-6 / letters), and does not reach real property.

Where to take the signed affidavit

Debts and your personal liability

Debts must be resolved before the order issues, and the affiant/petitioner carries exposure. § 43-2-692(b)(10): the petition must allege that all funeral expenses have been paid, or that arrangements for their payment out of the estate have been made by or on behalf of the petitioner. § 43-2-692(b)(11): the petition must allege that all claims against the estate have been paid, or that arrangements for payment out of the estate have been made by the petitioner. There is no separate creditor claim window and no published notice to creditors of the kind used in full administration - the single § 43-2-692(c)(1) publication of the petition is the only public notice. The statutory payment priority (carried from the pre-amendment § 43-2-692(b)(9)) runs: (a) funeral expenses; (b) probate judge's fees and charges for the summary distribution proceeding; (c) expenses of last illness; (d) taxes owed to the State of Alabama, the county, and any municipality assessed before death; (e) secured creditors; (f) unsecured lienholders; (g) remaining general unsecured creditors; (h) surviving spouse, children, or other distributees/devisees. Alabama Medicaid: § 43-2-692(c)(2) obliges the petitioner to notify the Alabama Medicaid Agency of the filing and file proof with the court, and § 43-2-692(d)(2) blocks the order for 30 days after Medicaid receives it - this is an estate-recovery gate and is the single most commonly missed step. Recipient liability: § 43-2-696 provides that any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer, or issuance is made 'shall be answerable and accountable therefor to any personal representative of the estate or to the surviving spouse or minor children of the decedent who shall proceed against such person, or to any other person having a superior right to the decedent's estate.' § 43-2-695 makes the right defeasible - subject to preexisting rights to administer the estate or probate the will and to superior rights of others. Fraud: § 43-2-696.01 (added by Act 2025-431) gives any injured person relief against the perpetrator of fraud in connection with a Division 10 proceeding or statement, and restitution from anyone other than a bona fide purchaser who benefited from the fraud, innocent or not; suit within 1 year after discovery (or when it should have been discovered), and in no event against a non-perpetrator more than 5 years after commission.

When you can’t use it

Alabama takes the affidavit route off the table when:

• Decedent owned real property at death for which title does not pass by operation of law - the estate then falls outside the definition of estate in § 43-2-691(2) and summary distribution is unavailable at any dollar value
• Decedent was survived by a minor child who is not the child of the surviving spouse - such a person is excluded from the definition of decedent in § 43-2-691(1)
• Total personal-property value exceeds the small estate amount ($47,000 currently)
• Decedent was not domiciled in Alabama (§ 43-2-692(b)(1) requires domicile in this state and in the county of filing)
• A petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has already been granted (§ 43-2-692(b)(4))
• Funeral expenses unpaid and no arrangement made for payment out of the estate (§ 43-2-692(b)(10))
• Claims against the estate unpaid and no arrangement made for payment out of the estate (§ 43-2-692(b)(11))
• Testate decedent whose will is not self-proved under § 43-8-132 or § 43-8-133 - § 43-2-692(a) requires a self-proved will to be filed with the petition, and § 43-2-691.1(b)(2)-(3) keys distribution to a self-proved will; a non-self-proved will realistically requires ordinary probate
• Any person with a preexisting right to administer the estate or probate the will, or with a superior right to the personal property, asserts that right (§ 43-2-695)
• Practical: Alabama Medicaid Agency asserts an estate-recovery claim in response to the § 43-2-692(c)(2) notice

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

Alabama small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. Major rewrite - Act 2025-431 (HB164, Rep. Faulkner, 2025 Regular Session), passed the House February 18, 2025, amended and passed the Senate May 7, 2025, House concurred May 7, 2025; § 3 of the act: 'This act shall become effective on October 1, 2025.' The act amended §§ 43-2-690, 43-2-691, 43-2-692, 43-2-693, 43-2-694, 43-2-695, 43-2-696, 43-8-40 and 43-8-252, and added §§ 43-2-691.1, 43-2-697, 43-2-698 and 43-8-23 (the added §§ 43-2-697 and 43-2-698 were codified as §§ 43-2-696.01 and 43-2-696.02 respectively). Substantive changes: (1) renamed the division the 'Revised Alabama Small Estates Act'; (2) repealed the $25,000 base figure and the annual CPI adjustment by the State Finance Director, replacing them with the 'small estate amount' pegged to homestead + exempt property + family allowance as adjusted by the State Treasurer under § 43-8-116 - raising the threshold from $37,075 to $47,000; (3) eliminated the out-of-court affidavit route in §§ 43-2-694 and 43-2-696, so only a probate court order now compels transfer; (4) broadened standing from 'surviving spouse, otherwise the distributees' to any person entitled to an interest in the small estate, or their authorized agent; (5) added a mandatory Alabama Medicaid Agency notice and an independent 30-day Medicaid waiting period in § 43-2-692(c)(2) and (d)(2); (6) added the requirement that a testate decedent's will be self-proved and filed with the petition; (7) codified in § 43-2-691(1) that a decedent survived by a minor child who is not the child of the surviving spouse is outside the division; (8) added a fraud remedy with 1-year/5-year limitations (§ 43-2-696.01); (9) added § 43-2-691.1 for allowances during pendency and an express distribution waterfall; (10) excluded claimed common-law spouses from 'surviving spouse' status regardless of the alleged date of the common-law marriage. Administrative: Alabama Department of Finance memorandum to all probate judges, January 6, 2026 (Bill Poole, Director of Finance), publishing the $47,000 small estate amount under Act 2025-431 and § 43-2-696.02. Related: 2024 HB392 (Rep. Robbins) addressed the ADOR next-of-kin vehicle-title affidavit; confirm its enacted status and any added heir-notice requirement with ADOR. The $47,000 figure derives from the July 1, 2023 CPI adjustment date and applies to exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2024; the next adjustment date is July 1, 2026 with the resulting amounts applying only on or after April 1, 2027.

• Ala. Code § 43-2-690 (short title: Revised Alabama Small Estates Act)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-691 (definitions: decedent, estate, small estate, small estate amount, self-proved will, surviving spouse)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-691.1 (allowances during pendency; order of distribution of remainder)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-692(a) (verified petition in probate court of county of domicile; no bond; self-proved will filed with petition)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-692(b)(1)-(11) (required allegations)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-692(c)(1) (publication once in newspaper of general circulation, or courthouse posting one week)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-692(c)(2) (petitioner must notify the Alabama Medicaid Agency and file proof)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-692(d)(1)-(3) (30 days after publication; 30 days after Medicaid receives notice; all conditions met)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-693 (probate judge enters order directing summary distribution; order final and conclusive, appealable)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-694 (delivery of a copy of the judge's order compels transfer by banks, custodians, registrars, transfer agents)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-695 (right subject to preexisting rights to administer/probate and superior rights of others)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-696 (payor safe harbor: discharged as if paid to a personal representative; recipient accountable)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-696.01 (relief against fraud; 1-year/5-year limitations)
• Ala. Code § 43-2-696.02 (small estate amount = combined maximum homestead allowance + exempt property + family allowance under §§ 43-8-110 to 43-8-113, as adjusted under § 43-8-116)
• Ala. Code § 43-8-116 (CPI-U adjustment of exemption values by the State Treasurer; 3-year cycle; rounded to nearest $25; applies to exemptions claimed on or after April 1 following the adjustment date)
• Ala. Code §§ 43-8-110, 43-8-111, 43-8-112, 43-8-113 (homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance)
• Ala. Code § 43-8-23 (summary distribution available if estate qualifies as small estate)
• Ala. Code § 43-8-40 (intestate succession; carve-out for small estates in summary distribution)
• Ala. Code § 43-8-252(b) (who is not a surviving spouse)
• Act 2025-431 (HB164, 2025 Reg. Sess.), § 3 (effective October 1, 2025)
• Ala. Code §§ 35-4-69, 35-4-70, 35-4-71 (recorded affidavits as to land titles - notice/evidence only, not a transfer)
• Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-5-75-.09 (transfer of vehicle title from a deceased owner)

• alison.legislature.state.al.us(opens in a new tab)
• morgancountyprobate.com(opens in a new tab)
• comptroller.alabama.gov(opens in a new tab)
• treasury.alabama.gov(opens in a new tab)
• probate.mobilecountyal.gov(opens in a new tab)
• revenue.alabama.gov(opens in a new tab)
• revenue.alabama.gov(opens in a new tab)
• law.onecle.com(opens in a new tab)

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