Quick answer: excluding the homestead and statutory allowances, at or under $100,000, 45 days passed — the affidavit, which can cover the house too. Above that — full probate. Check your own numbers with the Arkansas small estate checker.
The homestead exclusion changes everything
Old titles, real deadlines
Arkansas's probate timeline includes some distinctly long-form markers: 1 year for a surviving spouse to petition for dower or curtesy — an old common-law share concept Arkansas still applies — and 5 years as the outer limit to file a will for probate at all.
A TOD deed avoids the question ahead of time
A recorded beneficiary deed under Ark. Code Ann. §18-12-608 lets real property pass directly to a named beneficiary at the owner's death, entirely outside of probate — useful for future planning, though it doesn't retroactively help an estate that's already open.
The decision, in order
- Is the property covered by a TOD deed, joint titling, or a named beneficiary? → Skips probate entirely.
- Estate value (excluding homestead and statutory allowances) at or under $100,000, 45 days passed? → Small estate affidavit — can include the house, with a newspaper publication step.
- None of the above fits → Full probate.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
Whichever track applies, filing happens with the Circuit Court Probate Division in the decedent's county — Pulaski County and Benton County among the busiest.