Quick answer: once 30 days have passed and the entire estate is at or under $40,000, file the affidavit with the probate division clerk, post bond if required, and — for any real property involved — record the clerk's certificate with the county Recorder of Deeds. Check whether an estate qualifies with the Missouri small estate checker.
Step by step
- Wait 30 days from the date of death.
- Total the entire estate — personal property and real property together, less liens, debt, and encumbrances. Exclude anything held as tenants by the entirety or joint tenants.
- Post bond, not less than the value of the personal property, unless the court finds it unnecessary.
- Complete the affidavit, itemizing the property, its value, who holds it, and who's entitled to receive it, per the Missouri Courts small estate affidavit form.
- File it with the probate division clerk, who issues a certificate confirming the distributees' rights.
- If the estate exceeds $15,000, arrange the two-week newspaper publication notifying creditors.
- For real estate, record the affidavit and certificate with the Recorder of Deeds in each county where the property sits.
Debts come first
The affiant must collect and, if necessary, liquidate estate property to pay the decedent's debts before distributing the remainder. If the property isn't sufficient to cover everything owed, distributees' shares abate proportionally under RSMo 473.620.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
Filing happens with the probate division clerk in the decedent's home county — St. Louis, Jackson, St. Charles, Greene, or any of Missouri's 115 counties — with real estate recorded separately wherever the property itself is located.