Idaho Probate Types: Informal, Formal and Small Estate
Idaho sorts its routes by whether anyone disputes the estate and who inherits it, not by size. Only one route has a dollar figure, and even that one cannot move a house.
Compare eligibility, timing, court involvement, and local verification points
How to Compare Idaho Probate Types
One court hears every Idaho estate. Idaho Code § 15-1-201(8) makes the district court the court with jurisdiction over decedents' affairs, and Idaho Code §§ 1-2201 and 1-2208 establish a magistrate division in each county and let probate be assigned to it. Filings go to the Clerk of the District Court, who is also the county recorder. Venue is the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or, for a decedent domiciled elsewhere, any county where the decedent's property was located (Idaho Code § 15-3-201).
The six routes fall into three groups. Three are court administrations: informal probate and appointment before the registrar with no hearing, formal testacy and appointment proceedings heard after notice, and supervised administration under the court's continuing authority. Two are shortcuts that still use the court: the summary administrative procedure in §§ 15-3-1203 and 15-3-1204, which needs an appointed personal representative and an inventory, and the § 15-3-1205 petition for a surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary. The last, the § 15-3-1201 small estate affidavit, never reaches a court at all.
Cost does not scale with the estate. Opening a formal or informal probate costs $166 in every county, the total on the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure Appendix A fee schedule, built from $120 under Idaho Code § 31-3201A(1), $26 under § 1-2003(1), $10 under § 73-213 and the $10 civil-case surcharge in § 31-3201(3). Summary administration of small estates is $130 on the same schedule. Idaho has no probate tax and no estate, inheritance or gift tax.
Simplified Path vs Formal Path at a Glance
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| Category | Simplified Path | Formal Path | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | The registrar, a magistrate or judge of the district court, on an application with no hearing | The court, on a petition, after notice under Idaho Code § 15-1-401 and a hearing | Tie |
| Cost to open | $166 in every county | $166 in every county | Tie |
| Earliest start | Five days after death to probate a will, 120 hours to appoint (§§ 15-3-302 and 15-3-307) | After notice and a hearing date, which takes longer | Simplified Path |
| Notice before acting | Only to people who demanded notice and, for appointment, people with an equal or prior right | To all interested persons before the hearing | Formal Path |
| Creditor window | Four months from first publication if the personal representative publishes; publication is optional | The same four months; § 15-3-801 does not vary with the route | Tie |
| Earliest closing | Six months after appointment by sworn statement (§ 15-3-1003) | The same floor unless the estate is supervised, which closes only by court order | Tie |
| Best fit | An agreed family, a will nobody challenges, and one obvious person to appoint | A contested will, competing applicants, uncertain heirs, or a family that wants a court order | Tie |
Who decides
TieSimplified Path: The registrar, a magistrate or judge of the district court, on an application with no hearing
Formal Path: The court, on a petition, after notice under Idaho Code § 15-1-401 and a hearing
Cost to open
TieSimplified Path: $166 in every county
Formal Path: $166 in every county
Earliest start
Simplified PathSimplified Path: Five days after death to probate a will, 120 hours to appoint (§§ 15-3-302 and 15-3-307)
Formal Path: After notice and a hearing date, which takes longer
Notice before acting
Formal PathSimplified Path: Only to people who demanded notice and, for appointment, people with an equal or prior right
Formal Path: To all interested persons before the hearing
Creditor window
TieSimplified Path: Four months from first publication if the personal representative publishes; publication is optional
Formal Path: The same four months; § 15-3-801 does not vary with the route
Earliest closing
TieSimplified Path: Six months after appointment by sworn statement (§ 15-3-1003)
Formal Path: The same floor unless the estate is supervised, which closes only by court order
Best fit
TieSimplified Path: An agreed family, a will nobody challenges, and one obvious person to appoint
Formal Path: A contested will, competing applicants, uncertain heirs, or a family that wants a court order
Main Idaho Probate Options
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| Probate Type | Threshold | Filing Fee | Timeline | Real Estate | Attorney | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Informal Probate and Informal Appointment Idaho Code §§ 15-3-302 and 15-3-307 | No dollar threshold. The ordinary route for an uncontested Idaho estate. | $166, the same in all 44 counties | Commonly 7 to 12 months as a planning estimate. The floor is statutory: the closing statement cannot be filed earlier than six months after appointment (§ 15-3-1003(a)), and a published creditor notice runs four months from first publication | Yes | No statutory requirement | An uncontested estate that needs letters, with an agreed personal representative and a will nobody is challenging |
Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings Idaho Code § 15-3-401 | No dollar threshold. Used where the will is disputed, heirs are uncertain, or someone wants a court order. | $166, the same fee as informal probate | 9 to 18 months as a planning estimate for a contested or court-supervised matter | Yes | No statutory requirement, and rare without one because the proceeding is litigation | A contested will, competing applicants for appointment, or uncertain heirs |
Supervised Administration Idaho Code § 15-3-501 | No dollar threshold. | $166 to open, with later filings such as a $25 petition for distribution and a $9 accounting | Longer than informal administration, because the court approves distribution | Yes | No statutory requirement, though counsel is common because the court approves each step | An estate where beneficiaries want the court overseeing each step until discharge |
Summary Administrative Procedure Idaho Code §§ 15-3-1203 and 15-3-1204 | No dollar figure. Available where the estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the $50,000 homestead allowance, up to $10,000 of exempt property, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and last-illness medical and hospital expenses. Idaho has no family allowance, so there is no family-allowance component. | $130 on the court fee schedule for summary administration of small estates | 3 to 6 months as a planning estimate; it removes the creditor wait but still needs an appointment and an inventory | Yes | No statutory requirement. The allowances must be applied for, so advice helps with the comparison | An estate that the homestead allowance, exempt property, funeral and last-illness bills would use up |
Surviving Spouse as Sole Beneficiary Idaho Code § 15-3-1205 | No dollar cap. Available when the surviving spouse is the sole devisee or heir. | Between $130 and $166. The fee schedule does not say whether its summary administration row covers this petition, so confirm with the clerk | 1 to 3 months as a planning estimate, driven by notice and the hearing date | Yes | No statutory requirement | A spouse who inherits everything and is willing to take on the debts in exchange for skipping administration |
Small Estate Affidavit Idaho Code § 15-3-1201 | $100,000 or less, measured as the fair market value of the entire estate subject to probate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Real property counts toward it at its equity. | $0. It is never filed. Budget for a notary and certified death certificates at $16.00 each | Usable thirty days after the death; commonly 1 to 2 months to collect | No | No | An estate of accounts, wages, vehicles and belongings, net of liens, of $100,000 or less, with no land to pass |
Informal Probate and Informal Appointment
Idaho Code §§ 15-3-302 and 15-3-307
An uncontested estate that needs letters, with an agreed personal representative and a will nobody is challenging
Threshold: No dollar threshold. The ordinary route for an uncontested Idaho estate.
Filing Fee: $166, the same in all 44 counties
Timeline: Commonly 7 to 12 months as a planning estimate. The floor is statutory: the closing statement cannot be filed earlier than six months after appointment (§ 15-3-1003(a)), and a published creditor notice runs four months from first publication
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement
Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings
Idaho Code § 15-3-401
A contested will, competing applicants for appointment, or uncertain heirs
Threshold: No dollar threshold. Used where the will is disputed, heirs are uncertain, or someone wants a court order.
Filing Fee: $166, the same fee as informal probate
Timeline: 9 to 18 months as a planning estimate for a contested or court-supervised matter
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement, and rare without one because the proceeding is litigation
Supervised Administration
Idaho Code § 15-3-501
An estate where beneficiaries want the court overseeing each step until discharge
Threshold: No dollar threshold.
Filing Fee: $166 to open, with later filings such as a $25 petition for distribution and a $9 accounting
Timeline: Longer than informal administration, because the court approves distribution
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement, though counsel is common because the court approves each step
Summary Administrative Procedure
Idaho Code §§ 15-3-1203 and 15-3-1204
An estate that the homestead allowance, exempt property, funeral and last-illness bills would use up
Threshold: No dollar figure. Available where the estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the $50,000 homestead allowance, up to $10,000 of exempt property, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and last-illness medical and hospital expenses. Idaho has no family allowance, so there is no family-allowance component.
Filing Fee: $130 on the court fee schedule for summary administration of small estates
Timeline: 3 to 6 months as a planning estimate; it removes the creditor wait but still needs an appointment and an inventory
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement. The allowances must be applied for, so advice helps with the comparison
Surviving Spouse as Sole Beneficiary
Idaho Code § 15-3-1205
A spouse who inherits everything and is willing to take on the debts in exchange for skipping administration
Threshold: No dollar cap. Available when the surviving spouse is the sole devisee or heir.
Filing Fee: Between $130 and $166. The fee schedule does not say whether its summary administration row covers this petition, so confirm with the clerk
Timeline: 1 to 3 months as a planning estimate, driven by notice and the hearing date
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement
Small Estate Affidavit
Idaho Code § 15-3-1201
An estate of accounts, wages, vehicles and belongings, net of liens, of $100,000 or less, with no land to pass
Threshold: $100,000 or less, measured as the fair market value of the entire estate subject to probate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Real property counts toward it at its equity.
Filing Fee: $0. It is never filed. Budget for a notary and certified death certificates at $16.00 each
Timeline: Usable thirty days after the death; commonly 1 to 2 months to collect
Real Estate: No
Attorney: No
* Idaho court fees are set statewide, so all 44 counties charge the same amounts. The $166 to open a formal or informal probate is the total printed on the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure Appendix A fee schedule (effective July 12, 2024), Magistrate Division category A, items 5 and 6. It is built from four statutes: $120 under Idaho Code § 31-3201A(1), $26 under § 1-2003(1), $10 under § 73-213 and the $10 administrative surcharge in § 31-3201(3). The smaller amounts written inside § 31-3201A(1) are how the $120 is divided among state and county funds, not separate fees, so $120 and $156 are both wrong answers to what it costs to open probate. Summary administration of small estates is $130 (category D). Later filings are small: $25 for a petition for distribution, $9 for an accounting, and $136 for a first appearance by anyone other than the petitioner.
Unfamiliar terms in the comparison? The Idaho probate glossary defines them in plain language.
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