Tools for When Someone Dies in Arkansas

After a death in Arkansas, the estate either qualifies for the simplified procedure for estates under $100,000 or goes through probate, where creditors have 6 months to file claims after notice.

All Planning ahead Settling an estate

13 tools for Arkansas

How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?

In Arkansas, certified death certificates come from the Arkansas Department of Health - Vital Records; the first copy costs $10, additional copies $8 each.

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Do I Need Probate?

In Arkansas, estates valued at $100,000 or less use the Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee, 45 days after death, a court filing short of full probate.

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What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?

Arkansas imposes no inheritance or estate tax; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.

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What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in My State?

Arkansas allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written document, and that designation takes priority over the statutory order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.

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Can I Self-File Probate?

Arkansas has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is not available.

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How Do I Get Appointed as Executor?

In Arkansas, the Circuit Court appoints the personal representative and the Circuit Court clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; every appointment goes through the court.

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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

In Arkansas, creditors have 6 months from first publication of the creditor notice to present claims; late claims are barred.

Check Deadlines

What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent?

When an estate owes more than it holds, Arkansas pays the claims in 4 classes in statutory order, beginning with costs and expenses of administration.

Check the Payment Order

How Do I Open an Estate Account When Someone Dies?

Compare estate-account opening requirements bank by bank: channels, required documents, and steps.

See Bank Requirements

When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?

See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.

Check Withdrawal Rules

What Is the Estate's Personal Property Worth for Probate?

Estimate the fair market value of household items for probate and see how it affects fees.

Estimate Value

How Do I Settle an Estate?

Settling an estate in Arkansas: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 60 days of appointment; creditors have 6 months to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

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What Do I Do When Someone Dies?

After a death in Arkansas, the estate either qualifies for the simplified procedure for estates under $100,000 or goes through probate, where creditors have 6 months to file claims after notice.

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In Arkansas, the first certified copy costs $10, and each additional copy ordered at the same time $8. Copies ordered together cost less than separate orders placed later. The Arkansas estate settlement plan lists the accounts and institutions that each want a certified copy.

Standard processing in Arkansas takes 10-14 days for mail orders. A funeral home's order at the time of death usually arrives first.

Arkansas sets a statutory order for who controls the disposition of remains: person appointed in a declaration of final disposition executed before death, then surviving spouse, then sole surviving adult child, or majority of surviving children if more than one. The state allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written document, and that designation takes priority over the default order. Those wishes can be recorded alongside the rest of an estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.

Arkansas imposes no statutory minimum waiting period before cremation. Person with disposition authority per ACA § 20-17-102(d)(1), signing the cremation authorization form (17 CAR § 30-205(a)(1)). Cremation arrangements must be made through a licensed funeral establishment — a crematory is an agent of a full-service funeral firm and does not make arrangements with the public (17 CAR § 30-214(e), § 30-204(a)).

Arkansas allows estates valued at $100,000 or less to use the Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee, which avoids full probate administration. In Arkansas the affidavit is filed with the probate clerk of the circuit court (Probate Division), and holders honor the court's certified copy — but no letters testamentary or of administration issue. The waiting period is 45 days after death.

Tools for When Someone Dies in Arkansas

The first weeks after a death are a short list of practical tasks: certified copies of the death certificate, the burial or cremation arrangements the state allows, and finding out whether the estate needs a court process at all. The What to Do When Someone Dies Checklist puts them in order for your state, split by whether the person left a will, a trust, or nothing.

Certified death certificates in Arkansas come from the Arkansas Department of Health - Vital Records; the first copy costs $10. In Arkansas, probate on a $500,000 estate costs about $27,915, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

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Data sourced from Arkansas statutes and official state code. How we research.