Probate in Missouri: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Missouri

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Missouri, whoever holds the original will must deliver it to the probate division of the circuit court after the death. The law sets no day count for that handover, but a will that is not presented to the court within one year after the death (or within six months after notice of letters is first published, if that comes first) can never be admitted to probate.

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.043, 473.050Read the statute · revisor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Missouri, probate is handled by the probate division of the circuit court in the county where the person who died lived. If they lived out of state, it goes to a Missouri county where they owned property (where most of the real estate is, if that is most of the estate).

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 472.020, 473.010Read the statute · revisor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Missouri, the court clerk publishes a notice of the executor's or administrator's appointment once a week for four weeks. Creditors must file claims within six months of the first publication (or two months after a notice mailed to them, if later), and almost all claims are barred one year after the death whether or not probate was ever opened.

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.033, 473.360, 473.444Read the statute · revisor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Missouri, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must file an inventory of the property of the person who died with the probate court within 30 days after letters are granted, unless the court allows more time.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.233Read the statute · revisor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Missouri, if the estate can't pay every bill, claims are paid in a set order: court costs, then the costs of running the estate, then family allowances, then funeral costs, then federal debts and taxes, then Medicaid repayment to the state, then last-illness medical bills and a reasonable tombstone, then state and local debts and taxes, then court judgments against the person who died, and finally everything else.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.397Read the statute · revisor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Missouri has no estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2005, and no estate tax return is due. Missouri has no inheritance tax either. A final income tax return, and a fiduciary return for the estate, may still be needed.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 145.011Read the statute · dor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2005

Closing an estate

In Missouri, the executor or administrator closes a supervised estate by filing a final settlement and petition for distribution with the court, usually after six months and ten days from the first published notice. Before filing, notice of the final settlement is published for four weeks and mailed to heirs and beneficiaries, who have 20 days after filing to object. In an independent (unsupervised) estate, the executor or administrator instead files a statement of account with a proposed distribution, or asks the court for an order of complete settlement, within one year after appointment.

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.540, 473.587, 473.590, 473.597, 473.617, 473.837, 473.840, 473.843Read the statute · revisor.mo.govchecked Oct 5, 2026