Arkansas Estate Planning: Free Wills, Forms & Tools

Estate planning in Arkansas involves navigating a specific set of state laws that differ in important ways from neighboring states. Understanding these distinctions helps ensure your documents will be valid and your wishes carried out as intended.

Like all states, Arkansas recognizes formally executed wills and living trusts as valid estate planning tools. A standard will here requires 2 adult witnesses. The state also recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills, though these have stricter proof requirements and are more vulnerable to legal challenges. Arkansas doesn't offer a self-proving affidavit at the time you sign your will. Instead, your witnesses may need to provide sworn statements during probate to verify they watched you sign. Keep their contact information current—if they can't be located, proving the will becomes more complicated.

If you die without a will in Arkansas, your heirs must survive you by at least 120 hours to inherit anything. This "survival period" exists to prevent property from passing through multiple estates in quick succession when family members die close together in time, such as in an accident. The amount a surviving spouse inherits without a will depends on whether your parents are still alive. If they are, your spouse may have to share the estate with them—a result that surprises many people and underscores why having a will matters.

Arkansas sets probate attorney fees by law rather than leaving them to negotiation. Fees are calculated as a percentage of the estate's value, which means you can predict costs in advance—but also means there's little room to shop around for a better rate. Smaller estates under $100,000 can use a simplified transfer process that avoids full probate proceedings. Unlike states with formal independent administration statutes (such as California and Texas), Arkansas doesn't offer a simplified procedure for executors to petition for reduced court oversight. However, executors typically have statutory authority to manage routine estate matters. For families looking to avoid probate court involvement entirely, a revocable living trust remains the most reliable option.

Arkansas does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax, which means estates are only subject to the federal estate tax (currently exempting the first $15,000,000 per person, or $30,000,000 for married couples using portability). This is a meaningful advantage over the states that layer their own death taxes on top of the federal system.

Arkansas allows transfer-on-death deeds for real estate, enabling property to pass directly to named beneficiaries without probate. This is a significant probate avoidance tool that doesn't require creating a trust. Transferring a home into a revocable trust does not forfeit Arkansas's homestead exemption—the protection carries through to trust-held property. Transferring property into a revocable trust does not trigger a property tax reassessment in Arkansas, so property taxes remain at their current level.

Arkansas provides constitutional homestead protection up to $2,500 in home equity. This shields the family home from most creditors during the owner's lifetime. Executors must publish a notice to creditors, who then have 6 months to file claims against the estate. Known creditors must also receive direct written notice.

Arkansas does not automatically revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary upon divorce. Without updating beneficiary designations after a divorce, an ex-spouse may still inherit life insurance proceeds and retirement accounts—regardless of what a will says. Arkansas does not protect inherited IRAs from creditors. Unlike the owner's own retirement accounts, inherited IRAs in Arkansas are vulnerable to creditor claims, which is an important consideration when naming beneficiaries.

Arkansas authorizes remote online notarization (RON), allowing trusts, healthcare directives, powers of attorney to be notarized via video call from anywhere. However, wills are excluded from RON and still require in-person notarization.