Probate in Arkansas: What Your Family Goes Through Without a Will

Probate is the default path for an estate in Arkansas, but it isn't the only path. If someone dies without a will, a more common occurrence than you might think, this is called intestate succession. An estate will go through probate in Arkansas if there is no will, but you can avoid it in certain circumstances.

A few asset types bypass the probate process, detailed below.

• Any life insurance policies or retirement accounts that have a designated beneficiary.

• Any accounts where you've chosen a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation.

• Any property owned jointly and that has right of survivorship.

If none of the above are applicable, an estate without a will does go through probate in Arkansas. If the net estate (after subtracting debts, the homestead allowance, and statutory allowances) is $100,000 or less, and at least 45 days have passed since the death, you can use Arkansas's small estate procedure to avoid full probate.

Succession Laws Without a Will in Arkansas

Arkansas's inheritance rules begin with a basic question. How is property owned in the first place? Arkansas is not a community property state, but it's one of the few states that still recognizes dower and curtesy, which gives a surviving spouse a life estate in a portion of the decedent's real property regardless of what a will says.

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If none of the exceptions above apply, the estate will go through probate and be distributed according to the following lines of succession.

• If you die and have children or other descendants, your spouse has the right to use, for life, 1/3 of your real estate, and inherits 1/3 of your personal property outright; this applies regardless of how long you were married. Your children inherit the remainder of the real estate and 2/3 of the personal property.

• If you have been married at least three years with no children, your spouse inherits your entire estate.

• If you have been married less than three years with no children, your spouse inherits 50% of your estate. The remaining 50% passes to your parents, siblings, or other relatives.

• If you have children but no spouse, your children and their descendants inherit everything.

• If you have no spouse and no children, your parents inherit everything, then your siblings if no parents survive.

Arkansas Probate Process

Arkansas has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so its process tends to be more formal than in neighboring states. Probate is filed with the Circuit Court, Probate Division, in the county where the deceased lived, and most estates take 6 to 18 months to close. In Arkansas, there is no state estate or inheritance tax.

Avoiding Probate in Arkansas

For families who'd rather skip the courthouse altogether, here are the standard ways you can avoid probate.

• Put your assets in a revocable living trust for enhance privacy and greater control. You also have granular management and can identify very specifically who receives what at the time of your death.  

• Name beneficiary designations on financial and retirement accounts to identify who receives ownership upon your death.  

• Establish joint ownership with right of survivorship to ensure your spouse or another co-owner automatically receive ownership of any joint property.

• Keep dower and curtesy rights in mind. Because a surviving spouse can claim a life estate in real property regardless of a will's terms, a trust is often the cleaner way to plan around real estate in Arkansas.

Interested in learning more about trusts in Arkansas? Check out the requirements for a trust.