Missouri Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Missouri.
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Types of Probate in Missouri
Missouri probate is handled by the probate division of the circuit court in the county, or the City of St. Louis, where the decedent lived. The path depends on the estate value and whether the estate qualifies for a short form: a small estate affidavit or refusal of letters for the smallest estates, or full administration that can run under independent administration or supervised administration.
See the full comparison of Missouri probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Missouri Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 115 counties have detailed data.
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Missouri Probate Guides
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Browse Missouri guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Missouri guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
4Executor Duties
6Taxes & Deadlines
5Planning Documents
8Property Transfer
3Missouri Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Missouri probate resource map by source type
All Missouri self-help resources (4 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Missouri 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 Missouri probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Missouri 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.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Missouri Courts (Missouri Judiciary)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-17.
- Missouri Case.net (statewide public case search)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-17.
- Revised Statutes of Missouri (revisor.mo.gov)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-17.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- The Missouri Bar
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-17.
Settled pairs these Missouri 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.
Missouri Estate Law Overview
Missouri Estate Tax Info
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax, and it imposes no probate tax on the value of the estate. Missouri does have a state income tax, so a final individual return and any fiduciary income tax return may still be required.
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 a Missouri resident dies without a valid will.
View spouse inheritance rules
Under RSMo 474.010(1)(a) the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate when the decedent leaves no surviving issue, even if the decedent's parents or other kindred survive.
Under RSMo 474.010(1)(b), when all surviving issue are also issue of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes the first $20,000 in value of the intestate estate plus one-half of the balance. The decedent's issue take the rest.
Under RSMo 474.010(1)(c), when any surviving issue is not also issue of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes one-half of the intestate estate and the decedent's issue take the other half. Note there is no $20,000 preferential amount in this situation.
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Children and their descendantsThe share not passing to a surviving spouse, or all of the intestate estate if there is no spouse, in equal parts
- 2Father, mother, brothers and sisters, and the descendants of deceased siblings (together)If there are no children or their descendants, the estate passes to the decedent's father, mother, brothers and sisters, or their descendants, all in equal parts as one class
- 3Grandparents, uncles and aunts, and their descendantsIf there are no descendants, parents, or siblings or their descendants, the estate passes to the grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles and aunts, or their descendants, in equal parts
- 4Great-grandparents and their descendants, then more remote kindredIf none of the closer classes survive, the estate passes to the great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, or their descendants, in equal parts, and so on to the nearest lineal ancestors and their children. Collateral kindred can inherit only if related within the ninth degree, computed under the civil law.
Missouri Homestead Protection
Missouri homestead protection is a limited statutory creditor exemption plus a probate homestead allowance, not an unlimited constitutional homestead system. Under RSMo 513.475 a person's homestead (dwelling house, appurtenances, and the land used with it) is exempt from attachment and execution up to $15,000 in value. Separately, RSMo 474.290 gives a surviving spouse or unmarried minor children a probate homestead allowance of up to 50% of the estate (exclusive of exempt property), capped at $15,000.
0Creditor protection: read the statute text
$15,000 in value of the homestead. Where more than one person owns the homestead, the combined exemption may not exceed the single $15,000 limit.
Statute: RSMo 513.475
Size limits & qualifications
Inside city limits: No acreage split modeled
Outside city limits: No acreage split modeled
Property types: Dwelling house and appurtenances used as a homestead, Land used in connection with the dwelling, Mobile home used as a residence (verify current terms)
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With spouse, no minor children:
No state-level homestead devise restriction is modeled; review the surviving spouse's elective share (RSMo 474.160), the exempt property (RSMo 474.250), the one-year support allowance (RSMo 474.260), and the homestead allowance (RSMo 474.290) separately.
With minor children:
No state-level homestead devise restriction is modeled; unmarried minor children may claim exempt property and the homestead allowance rather than a devise restriction.
Exempt Property
Missouri provides estate protections for the surviving spouse and unmarried minor children (exempt property, a one-year support allowance, and a homestead allowance) and separate creditor exemptions for debtor property under Chapter 513. These protections are limited and source-specific.
View exempt items
Family Allowance
A reasonable allowance in money out of the estate, set by the court based on the previous standard of living, the condition of the estate, and the income and other assets available to the applicant. Missouri fixes no flat dollar figure. - A reasonable allowance for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and minor children the decedent was supporting during administration of the estate. Titled a one-year support allowance.