What to Do When Someone Dies in Custer County, Idaho

When someone dies in Custer County, Idaho, an estate that needs probate is opened with the Magistrate Court in Challis, for a $166 filing fee.

The first days Funeral homes Probate Serving as executor Property and debts Taxes and benefits Attorneys

The First Days After a Death in Custer County

A certified copy of the death certificate from the Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics costs $16. The coroner for Custer County is the Custer County Coroner.

Who controls the funeral and the burial or cremation follows an order set by law: guardian or conservator at time of death, then surviving spouse, then majority of surviving adult children. An agent the person named in advance comes before that order. Cremation carries no statutory minimum waiting period.

Vital Records Office Record

Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics

Custer County · State vital records office

Phone

1-208-334-5980

ivr@dhw.idaho.gov

Website

Vital records page →

Certified copies

From Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics; the Local Registrar files the certificate and issues no copies to the public

Mail

Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720-0036

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

Coroner or Medical Examiner Record

Coroner

Custer County · Custer County Coroner

Phone

1-208-833-6183

coroner@custertel.net

Website

Office website →

Mail and offices

Mail

Custer County Coroner P.O. Box 385 Challis, ID 83226

Verified November 3, 2026 · Source

ToolsWhat Do I Do When Someone Dies? · How Do I Settle an Estate? · How Many Death Certificates Do I Need? · How Much Does a Funeral Cost?

Funeral Homes in Custer County

Custer County has 1 funeral home or crematory, in Challis.

JONES & CASEY FUNERAL HOME

531 HIGHWAY 93, Challis, ID 83226

Challis home of Jones & Casey, a Salmon funeral home and crematory that has been family owned and operated since 1947.

1-208-879-3314

Funeral homes in Custer County →

Probate in Custer County

Probate cases in Custer County are filed with the Magistrate Court in Challis, in the 7th Judicial District. Opening probate costs $166 in Idaho, the same at every court.

Probate in Idaho typically takes 6 months to 12 months. In Idaho, estates valued at $100,000 or less skip probate with the Small Estate Affidavit, 30 days after death. Creditors have 4 months to present a claim, counted from the first publication of the notice to creditors.

Probate Court Record

Custer County Magistrate Court

Custer County · 7th Judicial District

Phone

1-208-879-2359

custercourtclerks@custer.idcourts.gov

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Office

269 South 9th Street, Challis, ID 83226

Website

Court website →

E-filing

Optional

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

Court forms packet

Open in Google Maps

E-filing

OptionalAttorneys must e-file through iCourt File and Serve (I.R.E.F.S. Rule 4(a)). Self-represented individuals may e-file or file on paper; one who chooses to e-file continues to e-file for the life of the case unless the court grants a motion to withdraw (Rule 4(b)). An original will is filed both electronically and on paper, the paper filing within seven business days of the electronic one (Rule 5(a)). On paper: Original wills (must also be filed conventionally within 7 business days).

Self-represented filing

AllowedSelf-represented filers may file a probate case without an attorney, on paper or through iCourt File and Serve. The Idaho Court Assistance Office publications page carries Wills & Probate guidance, including Most Frequently Asked Questions About Probate in Idaho; its forms library has no probate forms.

Hearing schedule

Magistrate Court (which handles probate) sits Mondays and Tuesdays; District Court the 2nd Tuesday of each month; Small Claims on Wednesday of the 2nd full week of the month

Self-help center

605 N. Capital Avenue, Idaho Falls (Seventh District office)1-208-589-9872 · d7cao@idcourts.gov · Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-5:00 PMOne Court Assistance Office serves the Seventh District from Idaho Falls and takes calls, messages and texts on its line. Forms can be downloaded, emailed by the office or bought printed at the courthouse; its packets and workshops cover divorce, custody, support and small claims.

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

What Probate Costs in Custer County

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Idaho costs an estimated $24,719, counting the court fee, the executor's and the attorney's pay, the bond and publication.

State

Real Estate

Other Assets

Debts & Liabilities

Assets Passing Outside Probate

Date of Death

Estimate the cost of probate

Enter the estate value to see Idaho attorney fees, executor fees, court costs and the timeline.

Examples:

General information about probate costs, not legal or financial advice. Fee bases vary by state and may use gross estate, personal property, inventory value or net property after debts. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Free formsSmall Estate Affidavit →

ToolsDo I Need Probate? · How Much Does Probate Cost? · Who Inherits Without a Will? · What Is the Estate's Personal Property Worth for Probate?

Serving as Executor in Custer County

The court's appointment comes as Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). A person can apply for the appointment without a lawyer. Informal probate is available, with less court supervision than a formal case. No bond is required by default before letters issue. Someone named as executor who will not serve declines by a written renunciation filed with the court.

Notice to creditors is published in a newspaper for 3 consecutive weeks. The estate inventory is due within 90 days of appointment. An executor is paid reasonable compensation from the estate. Probate attorneys are paid reasonable compensation from the estate.

State

County

Estate Value

Date of Death

Is There a Will?

YesNo

Is the Surviving Spouse the Only Heir?

YesNo

Complicating Factors

Includes real estate or investments

Business assets or out-of-state property

Disputed will, creditors, or family conflict

Minor or special needs beneficiaries

See whether you can file probate yourself

Enter the estate value to see whether Idaho lets a self-represented person open probate, what the court requires, and what each route costs.

General information about filing probate without a lawyer, not legal advice. Both routes are priced by the probate cost estimator on the same estate; the attorney fee is the one line that differs. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Filing Rules in Custer County

The courts sit apart from the county courthouse. The Custer County Courts (Seventh Judicial District), which hear probate, are at 269 South 9th Street in Challis; the County Clerk is at the county courthouse at 801 E. Main Avenue. Courier deliveries (FedEx, UPS) to the courts go to 269 S. 9th Street #1128, and general court inquiries go to custercourtclerks@custer.idcourts.gov.

Free formsRenunciation of Executor →Notice to Creditors →Estate Inventory →Estate Closing →

ToolsHow Do I Get Letters Testamentary? · Can I Self-File Probate? · How Much Can an Executor Charge? · What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

Homes, Accounts and Debts in Custer County

A deed from the personal representative, an affidavit that records a death, or a court order is recorded with the County Recorder for Custer County. Recording a 2-page document there costs $15 in recording fees. Idaho owners hold with a right of survivorship as joint tenants, where the deed declares a joint interest, or as spouses holding community property with right of survivorship, where the deed expressly declares it. That community property passes to the surviving spouse at the death; a spouse may end the right during the marriage by recording an affidavit terminating right of survivorship.

The estate's bank account can be at any bank, in any state. Property the state holds as unclaimed for the person who died is claimed from the Idaho State Treasurer's Office, Unclaimed Property Division. An estate that cannot pay every debt pays them in an order set by statute, in 6 classes. A representative who distributes to heirs while claims are open can be personally liable.

Recording Office Record

County Recorder

Custer County

Phone

1-208-879-2360

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Office

801 East Main Avenue, Challis, ID 83226

Website

Recorder website →

Open in Google Maps

Mail

P.O. Box 385 Challis, ID 83226-0385

Fax

1-208-879-5246

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Free formsAffidavit of Death →Affidavit of Heirship →Letter of Instruction →Digital Assets Recovery Letter →

ToolsWhat Happens to Jointly Owned Property When an Owner Dies? · How Do I Open an Estate Account When Someone Dies? · How Do I Claim a Deceased Person's Unclaimed Property? · What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent?

Taxes and Benefits

There is no estate tax and no inheritance tax in Idaho. The final state income tax return for the year of death is Form 40. The federal estate tax exempts the first $15,000,000 per person.

Social Security pays a one-time death payment of $255 to a surviving spouse who lived in the same household, or else to a spouse or child entitled to survivor benefits for the month of death. A surviving spouse can take an elective share of 50% in place of what the will leaves.