Mississippi Small Estate Affidavit: $75,000 Limit, Wait Time and Rules

In Mississippi, a close family member can collect a deceased person's money and personal belongings without opening an estate by using the affidavit procedure in Miss. Code 91-7-322. The entire probate estate must be worth no more than $75,000, and at least 30 days must have passed since the death. The $75,000 figure has applied since July 1, 2020, when Senate Bill 2850 (Laws 2020, chapter 343) took effect.

The affidavit is not filed with any court. You give it to each company or person holding the property, and it reaches personal property only, not a house or land. Bank deposits and wages can also fall under separate statutes, explained below. To compare Mississippi with other states, 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 Mississippi's affidavit for collecting a decedent's personal property (Miss. Code 91-7-322), the probate of a will as a muniment of title only (Miss. Code 91-5-35), and the Department of Revenue's heirship affidavit for vehicles. It does not cover full estate administration, who inherits when there is no will, estate or income tax, or the law of any other state.

How much can the estate be worth?

The limit is $75,000. Section 91-7-322(1)(a) requires the person signing to state:

"That the value of the entire probate estate of the decedent, wherever located, excluding all liens and encumbrances thereon, does not exceed ... Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00)"

Two parts of that wording matter. First, the test covers the entire probate estate wherever located, so probate property in another state counts along with what is in Mississippi. Second, the value is measured "excluding all liens and encumbrances thereon," which is the statute's own phrase; if a lien affects how you value an asset, ask a lawyer before you sign.

Property that passes outside the probate estate is, by definition, not part of it. The statute does not list particular asset types or mention the homestead, so check how each asset was titled before you add up the estate.

The figure is fixed, and proposed increases died

The $75,000 limit is a fixed dollar amount, not adjusted for inflation. Bills to raise it to $100,000, House Bill 699 in 2022 and House Bill 164 in 2025, are both shown as "Dead" on the Legislature's bill status site. Older websites may still give the $50,000 limit that applied before July 1, 2020.

This page could not confirm which limit applies when the death happened before July 1, 2020. If that is your situation, ask a Mississippi lawyer.

How long do you have to wait?

The affidavit can be used "at any time after thirty (30) days from the death of a decedent," under Section 91-7-322(1). There is no deadline in the section after which the affidavit stops working.

The waiting period is not the only timing condition. You must also be able to state that no petition to appoint a personal representative is pending and that no personal representative has been appointed in any jurisdiction. Once someone opens a full estate, the affidavit route is closed.

Who can sign the affidavit?

Only a "successor" as Section 91-7-322(2) defines that word. The list works in order, and you move down a step only when no one in the step above survives:

1. The decedent's spouse.
2. If there is no surviving spouse, any child of the decedent.
3. If there is no spouse or child, any grandchild.
4. If there is no spouse, child or grandchild, either parent or any sibling.

The list stops there, so a more distant relative is not a successor under this section. A successor who is a minor or incapacitated acts through a guardian, conservator, custodian or other representative, or through a power of attorney.

What the affidavit must state

Mississippi has no statewide official form for this affidavit that we could find. Instead, Section 91-7-322(1) lists what the successor's affidavit must say:

• The value of the entire probate estate, wherever located and excluding liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $75,000.
• Thirty days have passed since the death.
• No petition to appoint a personal representative is pending, and none has been appointed, in any jurisdiction.
• The facts of the relationship that make the signer a successor.
• How the debt or property is to be distributed.
• An acknowledgment of the successor's obligation to distribute the debt or property "to those having a superior right to same."

The last two items, added in 2020, mean the signer collects on behalf of everyone entitled to the property, not only for himself or herself. We do not provide affidavit wording; if you are unsure how to describe the distribution, a lawyer or legal aid office can help.

How to use the affidavit, step by step

1. Wait 30 days from the date of death.
2. Confirm the conditions: the probate estate is within $75,000, you are the successor under the statute's order, and no personal representative has been appointed or applied for anywhere.
3. Prepare the affidavit so it covers each statement the statute requires. This page could not confirm from an official source whether a notarized signature or a certified death certificate is required, so ask each holder what it needs before you sign.
4. Give it to each holder. Under Section 91-7-322(1), a person who owes the decedent money, or who holds the decedent's tangible personal property or an instrument such as a stock certificate, must pay or deliver it to the successor, or as the successor directs.
5. Distribute the property to the people with the right to it, as the affidavit states.
6. If a holder refuses, the property may be recovered, or its payment or delivery compelled, "upon proof of the successor's right in a proceeding brought in chancery court."

Nothing in this procedure is filed with a court, so there is no court case to open unless a holder refuses.

Bank accounts may fall under a separate rule

Section 91-7-322(1) applies "except as may be otherwise provided by Sections 81-5-63, 81-12-135, 81-12-137 and 91-7-323," separate statutes covering bank deposits, savings association accounts, and wages. Under Miss. Code 81-5-63, a bank may pay up to $12,500 on deposit to a deceased depositor's successor without an administration.

That section lists successors differently: the spouse; if none, the adult with whom any minor children of the decedent are living; then any adult child; then either parent; then any adult sibling. Ask the bank which rule it applies.

What the affidavit covers, and what it does not

The section covers "any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action belonging to the decedent." Once paid or delivered, the successor may "negotiate, transfer ownership and exercise all other incidents of ownership" over that property.

Real estate is not on that list. Wages are covered by a separate statute, Miss. Code 91-7-323, which lets an employer pay wages or salary owed to a deceased employee to the surviving spouse; if none, to adult children; then the mother; then the father; then adult brothers and sisters.

If those next in line are minors, or none survive, the employer may pay the chancery clerk of the county where the person lived or died. The statute permits, rather than requires, direct payment, so ask the employer what it needs.

Transferring a vehicle: Form 78-014

A titled vehicle does not go through the Section 91-7-322 affidavit. The Mississippi Department of Revenue uses Form 78-014, Affidavit of Heirship for Motor Vehicle, which is attached to the application for title when the owner "dies without a will being probated and no personal representative appointed or widow's allotment made."

The form is sworn to and notarized by all of the next of kin, and it is filed with the title application at the county Tax Collector's office. The form states that a surviving parent may act for minor or incompetent children. It does not set a dollar limit.

The Department's title FAQ adds two points. If the will was not probated, it lists letters of administration or letters testamentary naming the person to receive the vehicle, or the Affidavit of Heirship, with title application Form 78-002. For a jointly titled vehicle: with "OR" between the names, only the surviving spouse's signature is needed; with "AND," the surviving spouse's signature and a court-endorsed copy of the probated will; with "AND/OR," the surviving spouse's signature and the death certificate.

Transferring a house or land: muniment of title (with a will only)

When a will leaves Mississippi real property, Section 91-5-35 lets the will be "admitted to probate, as a muniment of title only." Title passes under the will without a full administration of the estate. The conditions include:

• The value of the decedent's probate estate in Mississippi, not counting any interest in real property and the exempt property listed in Section 91-7-117, does not exceed the $75,000 figure set in Section 91-7-322.
• "All known debts of the decedent and his estate have been paid, including estate and income taxes, if any."

The petition is signed and sworn by the serving executor, administrator with the will annexed or other personal representative. If no one is serving, it is signed and sworn by the spouse, if living, and by the devisees of the Mississippi real property (not including mere contingent remaindermen). A representative under Section 91-8-303 may sign for a devisee. The amended section applies to wills admitted to probate on or after July 1, 2020, even if the person died before that date.

This is a court step. Wills are proved in the chancery court of the county where the person who died had a fixed place of residence. Probate as a muniment of title does not take away anyone's right to ask for a formal administration or to contest the will.

If there was no will, Miss. Code 91-1-27 and 91-1-29 let an heir petition the chancery court to have the heirs judicially determined. Heirs who do not join the petition must be summoned, notice is published, and the court's judgment recognizes the heirs and places them in possession of the estate.

This is a court case, but it is not a full administration. Ask the chancery clerk or a lawyer whether it fits your situation, and see our guide to Mississippi probate. To check how a property is titled, see our guide to Mississippi property records.

Unclaimed property held by the State Treasurer

Money turned over to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property has its own claim process. The Treasurer uses a separate Affidavit of Death and Heirship for those claims; it is a different document from the Section 91-7-322 affidavit. For how claims work, see our guide to Mississippi unclaimed property.

Liability: you collect for everyone entitled

The affidavit protects the holder, not the signer. A person who pays or delivers property on the affidavit "shall be discharged and released to the same extent as if such person had dealt with a personal representative of the decedent."

The successor stays on the hook. Under Section 91-7-322, anyone who receives property "shall be answerable and accountable to the personal representative of the estate, if any, or to any other person having a superior right." The section sets no time limit on that duty.

An affidavit is a sworn statement. This page could not confirm which Mississippi penalty applies to a false statement in one, so do not sign unless every statement is true.

When to open probate instead

The affidavit is available only when every condition in Section 91-7-322 is met. A chancery court estate is usually the next step when:

• The probate estate, wherever located, is worth more than $75,000.
• A personal representative has already been appointed, or a petition for one is pending.
• The person who died owned Mississippi land and either left no will, or the muniment-of-title conditions in Section 91-5-35 cannot be met. With no will, the chancery court heirship proceeding under Miss. Code 91-1-27 and 91-1-29 is an alternative to a full administration.
• No one in the statute's list of successors survives.

See our guide to Mississippi probate for how a full or formal administration works.

Related

• Small estate affidavit rules by state
• Mississippi probate
• Mississippi unclaimed property
• Mississippi property records
• Alabama small estate affidavit
• Arkansas small estate affidavit

This article is general legal information about Mississippi law (Miss. Code 91-7-322 and 91-5-35) as verified on 2026-10-07. It is not legal advice. For help with a specific estate, contact the chancery clerk in the county where the person lived, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Mississippi.

Last updated: 2026-10-07.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the small estate limit in Mississippi?

The limit is $75,000. Under Miss. Code 91-7-322, the value of the entire probate estate, wherever located, excluding all liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $75,000, a figure in force since July 1, 2020.

How long after death can I use a small estate affidavit in Mississippi?

At any time after 30 days from the death (Miss. Code 91-7-322). You must also be able to swear that no personal representative has been appointed, and no petition for one is pending, in any jurisdiction.

Does a small estate affidavit need to be filed with the court in Mississippi?

No. You present the affidavit directly to each holder of the property. A court becomes involved only if a holder refuses, in which case payment or delivery can be compelled in a chancery court proceeding.

Can I transfer a house with a small estate affidavit in Mississippi?

No. Section 91-7-322 covers debts, tangible personal property and instruments such as stock, not real estate. If a will leaves Mississippi land, the will may be probated as a muniment of title only under Miss. Code 91-5-35 when that section's conditions are met.

Who can sign a Mississippi small estate affidavit?

Only a successor as Section 91-7-322(2) defines it: the spouse; if there is no spouse, any child; if there are no children, any grandchild; and if none of those survive, either parent or any sibling. A minor or incapacitated successor acts through a guardian, conservator or other representative.

Is there an official Mississippi small estate affidavit form?

We found no statewide official form for the Section 91-7-322 affidavit; the statute lists what it must state. The Department of Revenue's Form 78-014 is for vehicles only, and the State Treasurer's Affidavit of Death and Heirship is for unclaimed property claims.

How do I transfer a car when the owner died in Mississippi?

If no will was probated and no personal representative was appointed, the next of kin sign Form 78-014, Affidavit of Heirship for Motor Vehicle, before a notary and attach it to the title application at the county Tax Collector.

Is Mississippi raising the small estate limit to $100,000?

Not under the bills we checked. HB 699 (2022) and HB 164 (2025) would have raised it to $100,000, and the Legislature's bill status site shows both as dead, so the $75,000 figure in Section 91-7-322 stands.