When Is Probate Required in Missouri?

Real property counts toward the total in Missouri. Real estate held in a trust, or otherwise titled to pass outside the probate estate, transfers without probate. A transfer-on-death deed recorded before death also passes real estate outside probateRSMo 461.003 to 461.081Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Missouri. The Missouri trust vs. will comparison sets the two routes side by side.

In Missouri, the assets that pass outside probate are property held in a living trust, accounts with a named beneficiary (retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death bank accounts), real estate with a recorded transfer-on-death deedRSMo 461.003 to 461.081Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and property owned jointly with right of survivorship. Everything the decedent owned alone, with no beneficiary named, is the probate estate.

In Missouri, a simple estate typically takes 6 months to 12 months through probate, and an average estate 12 months to 18 months. An estate with a dispute, real estate in another state or an unusual asset runs longer. The creditor claim period of 6 monthsRSMo § 473.360Verified Sep 8, 2026View source sets the floor: final distribution waits for it to run.

The common ways to avoid probate in Missouri are a funded revocable living trust, beneficiary designations on accounts, recording a transfer-on-death deed for real estateRSMo 461.003 to 461.081Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and titling property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. A trust covers every asset titled to it in one document; the other routes work asset by asset.