First Steps After a Death in Alabama

A medical professional must pronounce the death. If death was expected under hospice, the hospice nurse can pronounce; if unexpected, call 911. Then choose a licensed Alabama funeral home or cremation provider to transport and care for your loved one.

Lock the residence, keep utilities and insurance active, and avoid distributing property until authority and ownership are clear. Real estate in Alabama generally passes to heirs or devisees at death (Ala. Code Section 43-2-830), but it still needs to be protected, and the entire estate remains subject to family allowances, creditor rights, and administration.

The county Probate Court needs the original signed will to admit it to probate, and a will is not effective unless it is filed for probate within five years of death (Ala. Code Section 43-8-161). Also look for codicils, trusts, deeds, vehicle titles, account statements, and life insurance policies.

Certified copies are issued by the Alabama Department of Public Health and county health departments. ADPH charges $15 for the record search, which includes one certified copy, and $6 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. The funeral home usually orders them for you. Order more than you think you need - banks, insurers, title agencies, and the court all ask for one.

Probate is handled by the Probate Court, led by the judge of probate, in the county where the decedent lived. Filing fees start from a statewide schedule (Ala. Code Section 12-19-90), but counties add local charges, so confirm the current total with the county probate office before filing.

Separate probate assets (solely owned) from nonprobate assets such as joint survivorship accounts, beneficiary-designated accounts, payable-on-death accounts, life insurance, and trust property. This list becomes the basis for the inventory and for deciding whether probate is needed.

Alabama has no out-of-court small estate affidavit. Qualifying personal-property estates at or under the CPI-adjusted small estate amount ($47,000 as currently computed; verify with the court) can use summary distribution under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act (Ala. Code Section 43-2-690 et seq.). The petition is filed with the judge of probate, notice is published or posted and the Alabama Medicaid Agency is notified, and the court can enter the order about 30 days later (Ala. Code Section 43-2-692). Larger or more complex estates require full administration.

The named executor petitions for letters testamentary; if there is no will, an eligible person petitions for letters of administration. Bring the original will and a certified death certificate. A bond is required unless the will expressly waives it (Ala. Code Section 43-2-851). The letters are the document banks and title agencies require before they will deal with you.

Apply for a free estate EIN from the IRS, then open a bank account in the estate's name (for example, 'Estate of Jane Doe'). Keep estate money completely separate from personal money and keep receipts for every payment and distribution.

Publication of the notice of appointment must begin within 30 days from the grant of letters and run once a week for three successive weeks in a county newspaper (Ala. Code Sections 43-2-60 and 43-2-61). Known or reasonably ascertainable creditors must also get actual notice by first-class mail as soon as practicable. Keep proof of the publication dates and every mailed notice.

The personal representative must file an inventory of the property the decedent owned at death within two months after appointment, with fair market values as of the date of death and any encumbrances (Ala. Code Section 43-2-835). If the will expressly waives the inventory filing, no filing is required unless the court finds the estate at risk, but build the asset worksheet anyway.

Claims against the estate must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, or within five months from the first publication of notice, whichever is later; a creditor entitled to actual notice gets at least 30 days after that notice (Ala. Code Section 43-2-350). Distributing early can make the personal representative personally responsible for a valid late-window claim.

Report the death to the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213), notify each bank and brokerage, file life insurance claims, and log every creditor claim, allowance, and rejection in writing.

Use the estate account for all estate income and expenses. Review the decedent's final federal Form 1040 and Alabama Form 40, federal Form 1041 and Alabama Form 41 if the estate earns income, and federal Form 706 only if the estate exceeds the federal exemption. Alabama has no estate tax or inheritance tax for deaths after December 31, 2004. Final settlement may be made any time after six months from the grant of letters once debts are paid (Ala. Code Section 43-2-501).