Quick answer: personal property within the current combined-allowance threshold, no real estate, 30 days passed, no pending probate — summary distribution. Any real property requiring probate — formal probate, no matter the value. Check your own numbers with the Alabama summary distribution checker.
Real estate always forces the full process
What formal probate actually looks like
The executor qualifies before the county Probate Court, inventories the estate within two months, publishes notice to creditors, pays valid debts, and eventually files a final settlement before the estate can be formally closed — a more structured process than states with fully independent administration.
Joint ownership sidesteps the issue entirely
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes property directly to the surviving owner at death, bypassing probate regardless of the estate's size — one of the few ownership structures that works around Alabama's strict real-estate rule.
No transfer-on-death deed option
Alabama has no transfer-on-death deed, unlike a growing number of other states. Families planning ahead generally rely on survivorship deeds, payable-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death securities registrations, or a living trust instead.
The decision, in order
- Is the asset in joint tenancy with survivorship, payable-on-death, or held in a funded trust? → Skips probate entirely.
- Is there any real property requiring probate? → Formal probate required, regardless of value.
- Personal property within the current combined-allowance threshold, 30 days passed, no pending probate? → Summary distribution.
- None of the above fits → Formal probate.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
Whichever track applies, filing happens with the Probate Court in the decedent's county of domicile — Jefferson, Mobile, and Madison County among the busiest.