Alabama Small Estate Affidavit: Limits, Rules and How to Use It

Alabama does not have a stand-alone small estate affidavit that you hand to a bank. Its version is summary distribution under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act (Ala. Code 43-2-690 through 43-2-696.02): a sworn petition filed with the judge of probate, who then signs an order saying who receives the property. The estate qualifies if it is worth no more than the small estate amount, which the State Treasurer's published figures put at $47,000 for exemptions claimed through March 31, 2027 and $51,175 for exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2027.

There is no fixed waiting period counted from the date of death. Instead, the judge cannot sign the order until at least 30 days after notice of the petition is published and at least 30 days after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice. The procedure covers personal property only, and it is not available at all if the person who died owned real estate. For how other states handle this, see our small estate affidavit rules by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-07. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers summary distribution under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act (Ala. Code 43-2-690 through 43-2-696.02), the allowance figures in Ala. Code 43-8-110 through 43-8-116 that set its limit, the Alabama Department of Revenue's next-of-kin vehicle affidavit, the State Treasurer's unclaimed property affidavit rule, and the final-wages rule in Ala. Code 43-8-115. It does not cover full probate administration, who inherits under Alabama intestacy law, estate tax, or the law of any other state.

A note on sources: Statute text is quoted from the Code of Alabama on the Legislature's ALISON site. The 2025 rewrite is HB164, Act 2025-431; the bill's new sections 43-2-697 and 43-2-698 were codified as 43-2-696.01 and 43-2-696.02. Other figures come from the State Treasurer's adjustment table, the Mobile County Probate Court's explainer, and official Department of Revenue and Treasurer materials.

Alabama's small estate options at a glance

Alabama has one court-based small estate procedure and two narrower routes run by state agencies. None of them lets you skip the probate office entirely for a bank account.

How much can the estate be worth?

Alabama no longer writes a fixed dollar figure into the Act. Section 43-2-696.02 ties the limit to three family protections in the probate code:

"The small estate amount shall at all times be equal to the combined maximum amount of the homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance provided under Sections 43-8-110 through 43-8-113, as adjusted pursuant to Section 43-8-116."

The State Treasurer adjusts those three amounts for inflation every three years, rounds them to the nearest $25 and publishes them. Section 43-8-116 provides that "the adjusted amounts apply to exemptions claimed on or after April 1 following the adjustment date." That gives two sets of figures right now.

The combined totals are the sum of the three published figures. If your petition will be filed close to April 1, 2027, ask the probate office which set of figures it will apply.

What counts toward the limit

The Act measures only what it calls the "estate," which Section 43-2-691(2) defines 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." Property that passes to someone automatically by operation of law, such as an asset that passes to a surviving co-owner, is outside that definition.

The 2025 rewrite

The current version of the Act came from HB164 of the 2025 Regular Session (Act 2025-431), the "Revised Alabama Small Estates Act." The enrolled bill states: "This act shall become effective on October 1, 2025." Lower limits from the earlier version of the Act still appear on many websites. If a bank or a website quotes a different number, ask which source it relies on.

Who can file the petition

Under Section 43-2-692(a), "a person, or a person duly authorized to act for the person, entitled to an interest in a small estate" may start the proceeding by filing a verified petition in the office of the judge of probate. Filing is not limited to a spouse.

Several conditions narrow who can use the Act:

• The person must have died domiciled in Alabama, and the petition must be filed in the county where he or she was domiciled.
• No real property. The Act applies only to a decedent who owned no real property at death.
• No personal representative. No petition for a personal representative can be pending or granted.
• Minor children from another relationship. A decedent survived by a minor child who is not also the surviving spouse's child does not fit the Act's definition of a covered decedent.
• Wills must be self-proved. If the person left a self-proved will, it is filed with the petition. The research behind this page found the Act providing for self-proved wills only, so if the will is not self-proved, ask the probate office or a lawyer before relying on summary distribution.

The Act also sets the order in which the property goes out. Any allowance and exemption claims come first. The remainder goes to the surviving spouse; if there is none, to the people named in a self-proved will (and the heirs for anything the will does not dispose of); and if there is no self-proved will, to the heirs under Alabama's intestacy law.

The waiting period and the two notices

Alabama's clock runs from two notices, not from the date of death. The petitioner publishes notice of the petition once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county; only if the county has no such newspaper is the notice posted at the courthouse for one week instead. The petitioner also notifies the Alabama Medicaid Agency by certified mail to its Estate Notice Office and gives the court proof of that notice.

The judge cannot act until both clocks have run. Section 43-2-692(d) requires that "at least 30 days have elapsed since the notice of the filing of the petition was published" and that "at least 30 days have elapsed since the Alabama Medicaid Agency received notice of the filing of the petition." If the Agency does not respond within 30 days, its claim is waived.

How to use summary distribution, step by step

1. Check the conditions. Confirm the person died domiciled in Alabama, owned no real property, and left personal property within the small estate amount, and that no personal representative has been sought.
2. Gather what the petition must state. Section 43-2-692(b) requires the county of domicile, that the estate is a small estate, a description and value of the personal property, that no petition for a personal representative is pending or granted, the names, ages, capacity and relationship of the heirs and will takers, whether a surviving spouse is entitled, and that funeral expenses and all claims are paid or arranged.
3. Get the petition. Our research did not confirm a statewide official summary distribution petition form. The Mobile County Probate Court notes that "by Law, the Probate Court and its staff are not permitted to give legal advice or provide any forms." Ask the probate office in the county where the person lived what it accepts.
4. File the verified petition with the judge of probate in that county, with any self-proved will. "No bond shall be required to be filed with the petition."
5. Publish notice and notify Medicaid, then file proof of the Medicaid notice with the court.
6. Wait for the order. After both 30-day periods, the judge enters an order "directing summary distribution of the estate delineating the portion of the small estate that each person identified in the order is entitled." The order is final and can be appealed like other final decrees.
7. Present the order. Under Section 43-2-694, the people named are entitled to have the property, or the evidence of ownership, transferred to them by anyone who owes the estate money, holds its personal property, or acts as a registrar or transfer agent.

Costs: Mobile County states that "publication costs will be incurred, to be paid directly by the petitioner." Our research did not confirm a filing fee; ask the county probate office.

What summary distribution covers, and what it does not

Bank accounts and other personal property

The order reaches personal property: money owed to the person, accounts held by a bank, and other personal property in someone else's custody. Anyone who pays or transfers under the order is protected (see the liability section below).

A house or land

The Act cannot transfer real estate, and it cannot be used at all when the person owned real property in his or her own name. The Mobile County Probate Court's explainer likewise describes the Act as applying to personal property only. A house or land generally means opening an estate; see Alabama probate and, for finding and reading deeds, Alabama property records.

Cars and other vehicles

The Alabama Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division uses Form MVT 5-6, Next of Kin Affidavit. The heir certifies "as next of kin, he/she is one of the heirs of the deceased listed above and the estate of the deceased has not been probated and does not require probate." The form asks the heir to choose whether a replacement title is being issued or the vehicle is being titled under the assignment on the title, and a copy of the death certificate goes with it.

The final paycheck

Section 43-8-115 lets an employer that owes wages or salary to a deceased employee who died without a will pay the surviving spouse, or if there is none, the person who has custody of the employee's minor children. The statute says the employer "may discharge himself or herself from liability therefor by paying such amount to the surviving spouse of the deceased employee." These payments are treated as part of the family's exempt property and allowance.

Unclaimed property held by the State Treasurer

Treasurer claims follow the rules in Alabama Administrative Code chapter 892-2-1. The rule states: "The aggregate Abandoned Property value must not exceed $3,000 to be eligible to be claimed by an apparent heir of an intestate claim by affidavit." Larger estate claims are generally payable to the estate, though the rule allows a small estate claim to be paid to the claimant when all documentation is presented. See Alabama unclaimed property for how to search.

Sworn statements, liability and fraud

The petition is verified, meaning the petitioner swears to it. The vehicle form is signed with the statement "I certify, under penalty of perjury, that the above information is true and correct."

The Act protects the people who hand over property. Under Section 43-2-696, anyone who pays or transfers under a summary distribution order "shall be discharged and released to the same extent as if made to a personal representative of the decedent," and need not look into whether the petition was true. A holder who refuses can be made to comply by a lawsuit.

The people who receive the property are not shielded the same way. Section 43-2-695 makes the right to summary distribution "subject only to any preexisting rights to administer the estate or probate the will, or to the superior rights of any other person to the personal property." Section 43-2-696.01 lets anyone harmed by fraud recover from the person who committed it, or from beneficiaries who were not good-faith purchasers:

"Any proceeding must be commenced within one year after the discovery of the fraud or from the time when the fraud should have been discovered, but no proceeding may be brought against anyone who did not perpetrate the fraud later than five years after the time of the commission of the fraud."

The Medicaid Agency's claim also comes ahead of distribution. Section 43-2-697 bars distribution "until proof of notice, as required by this section, has been filed in the probate court and 30 days have passed since the Medicaid Agency received notice."

When to open probate instead

Summary distribution is available only when every condition in the Act is met. Talk to the probate office or a lawyer about a regular estate when:

• the person owned a house, land or any other real property in his or her own name;
• the personal property is worth more than the small estate amount;
• someone has already asked to be appointed personal representative;
• the person left a minor child who is not the surviving spouse's child; or
• a will exists that is not self-proved.

Our guide to Alabama probate explains how a full estate is opened and administered.

Related

• Small estate affidavit rules by state
• Alabama probate
• Alabama unclaimed property
• Alabama property records
• Georgia small estate affidavit
• Florida small estate affidavit

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about summary distribution under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act (Ala. Code 43-2-690 through 43-2-696.02) and related Alabama rules, verified on 2026-10-07. It is not legal advice. For help with a specific estate, contact the probate office in the county where the person lived, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Alabama.

Last updated: 2026-10-07.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the small estate limit in Alabama?

Under Ala. Code 43-2-696.02 the limit equals the combined homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance. Using the State Treasurer's figures, that is $47,000 for exemptions claimed through March 31, 2027 and $51,175 for exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2027.

Does Alabama have a small estate affidavit?

Not one you give straight to a bank. Alabama uses summary distribution: a verified petition to the judge of probate, who issues an order that holders of the property must honor (Ala. Code 43-2-692 through 43-2-694).

How long after death can I use the Alabama small estate procedure?

The Act sets no waiting period from the date of death. The judge cannot enter the order until at least 30 days after notice of the petition is published and at least 30 days after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice (Ala. Code 43-2-692(d)).

Can I transfer a house with the Alabama Small Estates Act?

No. The Act covers only the personal property of a person who owned no real property at death (Ala. Code 43-2-691(2)), so an estate with a house or land in the person's name needs a different route, usually probate.

Does the Alabama small estate petition need to be filed with the court?

Yes. The verified petition is filed with the judge of probate in the county where the person was domiciled, and the property is released under the judge's order. No bond is required, and the petitioner pays the publication costs.

How do I transfer a car without probate in Alabama?

The Department of Revenue's Form MVT 5-6, Next of Kin Affidavit, lets an heir certify that the estate has not been probated and does not require probate. It is signed under penalty of perjury and filed with a copy of the death certificate.

Can family claim a deceased person's unclaimed money in Alabama without probate?

Under the State Treasurer's rule in Ala. Admin. Code ch. 892-2-1, an apparent heir of a person who died without a will can claim by affidavit only when the aggregate abandoned property value is not over $3,000.