Alabama Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step estate settlement guidance for executors in Alabama.
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Alabama Probate Guides
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Alabama Probate Guide
How the Alabama probate process works: county Probate Courts, letters testamentary, the five-year limit to probate a will, and summary distribution for small estates.
How to Avoid Probate in Alabama
How to avoid probate in Alabama: survivorship deeds, POD bank accounts, TOD securities, living trusts, and why Alabama has no transfer-on-death deed.
Alabama Small Estate: Summary Distribution
Alabama has no small estate affidavit. The shortcut is summary distribution: a probate court petition for personal property estates of $47,000 or less.
Alabama Probate Timeline
Alabama probate timeline with statutory deadlines: 30-day creditor notice, two-month inventory, six-month claim window, and the five-year will filing limit.
Alabama Executor Duties
Alabama executor duties guide: secure letters from the county Probate Court, notify creditors, file the two-month inventory, and follow Code of Alabama rules.
Alabama Advance Directive for Health Care
Alabama advance directive rules: one document for the living will and health care proxy, two witnesses age 19 or older, when it takes effect, and revocation.
Browse Alabama guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Forms & Court
1Executor Duties
1Taxes & Deadlines
3Planning Documents
3Avoiding Probate
1Alabama Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Alabama probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Alabama probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Alabama probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Alabama probate resource questions
Are these Alabama probate resources county-specific?
No. This map shows state-level source links from Settled data. Use it with the Alabama county page and the county office handling the estate before filing.
Which Alabama source should I use first?
Start with the official court, form, or agency source for the task, then confirm local requirements with the county filing office, clerk, register, or office that accepts the filing.
Does the Alabama Probate Resource Map replace attorney review?
No. The map is source navigation. It helps families find current public sources, but it does not decide eligibility, prepare filings, or replace advice from counsel.
Alabama probate resource map by source type
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Alabama Administrative Office of Courts - Forms
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-09.
County filing-office sources
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
- Alabama Secretary of State - County Official Lookup
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-09.
Settled pairs these Alabama source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Types of Probate in Alabama
Alabama offers several probate procedures depending on estate value and circumstances.
Formal Probate
Court-supervised administration for estates that do not qualify for a shortcut.
- Timeline
- 6-12+ months
- Attorney
- Recommended
Simplified Probate
A shorter court process that may be available for qualifying estates.
- Timeline
- Varies
- Attorney
- Recommended
Small Estate Procedure
A limited shortcut for qualifying small estates.
- Timeline
- Varies
- Attorney
- Optional
Alabama Probate Filing Offices by County
67 counties with detailed data
Showing 36 of 67 counties. Search by county name or show the full list.
Alabama Estate Law Overview
Alabama Estate Tax Info
Alabama has no operative state estate tax and no inheritance tax for deaths after December 31, 2004, and no probate tax on the value of the estate. Alabama does have a state income tax and a deed recording privilege tax that can apply to estate real-property transfers.
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession determines who receives probate property when an Alabama resident dies without a valid will.
View spouse inheritance rules
If there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate (Ala. Code 43-8-41(1)).
The spouse takes the first $100,000 in value plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate (Ala. Code 43-8-41(2)).
The spouse takes the first $50,000 in value plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate (Ala. Code 43-8-41(3)).
If there are surviving issue one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, the spouse receives one-half of the intestate estate (Ala. Code 43-8-41(4)).
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Issue of the decedent (children and their descendants)The part not passing to a surviving spouse, or all if no spouse; equal shares if same degree, otherwise by representation
- 2Parents (equally, or all to the survivor)If no surviving issue, to the decedent's parent or parents equally
- 3Issue of the parents (siblings and their descendants), by representationIf no surviving issue or parent, to the issue of the parents or either of them by representation
- 4Grandparents and their issue (aunts, uncles, cousins), split between paternal and maternal sidesHalf to the paternal grandparents or their issue and half to the maternal grandparents or their issue; if one side has no takers, the entire estate passes to the other side
Alabama Homestead Protection
Alabama homestead protection is a capped statutory creditor exemption, not an unlimited Florida-style homestead system. Under Ala. Code 6-10-2 the homestead of every Alabama resident is exempt from levy and sale for collection of debts up to a base value of $15,000 and 160 acres in area; the dollar amount is CPI-adjusted by the State Treasurer every three years under Ala. Code 6-10-12 and is $18,800 for exemptions claimed on or after April 1, 2024. A husband and wife who jointly own a homestead may each claim the exemption separately. A mobile home used as the principal residence counts as a homestead.
Size limits & qualifications
Inside city limits: Statutory exemption capped at 160 acres regardless of location; the constitutional floor for a city, town, or village lot is the lot with the dwelling, up to $2,000 in value
Outside city limits: Statutory exemption capped at 160 acres; the constitutional floor outside a city, town, or village is 80 acres
Property types: House and land occupied as the homestead (up to 160 acres), Mobile home or similar dwelling used as the principal residence, City, town, or village lot with the dwelling (constitutional floor)
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With spouse, no minor children:
No devise restriction modeled. Review the elective share (Ala. Code 43-8-70), the homestead allowance (Ala. Code 43-8-110), exempt property, family allowance, title, and creditor issues separately.
With minor children:
No devise restriction modeled, but Ala. Const. art. X, Section 206 exempts the family homestead from debts during the children's minority, and minor/dependent children may claim the homestead allowance when there is no surviving spouse.
Exempt Property
Alabama provides estate allowances for surviving spouses and minor or dependent children (homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance) and separate creditor exemptions for debtor property under Title 6, Chapter 10. All of the Article 6 dollar amounts are CPI-adjusted by the State Treasurer every three years under Ala. Code 43-8-116.
View exempt items
Family Allowance
Reasonable maintenance allowance; the personal representative may determine it up to a lump sum of $15,000 base ($18,800 CPI-adjusted) or periodic installments up to $500 per month; the court may allow more or less on petition - A reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and the minor children the decedent was obligated to support, and children in fact being supported, during administration.