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Missouri Creditor Claims
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Missouri Creditor Claims

How Missouri creditor claims work: the notice of letters, the six-month bar under RSMo 473.360, and the one-year absolute claim bar under RSMo 473.444.

By Settled Editorial

Missouri bars most creditor claims against an estate unless the creditor files the claim with the probate division of the circuit court within six months after the date of the first published notice of letters, or within two months after you mail or serve notice on that creditor, whichever is later. That six-month window comes from RSMo 473.360. A separate outer limit bars every claim one year after death under RSMo 473.444. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Here is the worry behind most searches. You pay the bills, hand the rest to the heirs, and then a creditor you never heard of files a claim. In Missouri the notice of letters and the six-month bar are what close that door. Run them in order and a personal representative is generally protected from paying a late claim out of pocket. This guide walks the sequence and cites the statute at each step.

Use this guide with the Missouri executor duties guide, the Missouri probate timeline, and the Missouri debt payment priority guide. For the court that handles claims, see the Missouri probate court directory.

Claims Are Filed With the Probate Division, Not With You

Missouri probate runs in the probate division of the circuit court for the county where the person lived. See the Missouri probate guide for how that court works. This matters for creditors because RSMo 473.360 requires a claim to be filed in the probate division of the circuit court. A demand mailed to the family or handed to you at the door is not a filed claim, and it does not preserve the creditor's right to be paid.

So your job is not to collect claims yourself. Your job is to start the clock with the notice of letters, then watch what gets filed with the probate division and respond to it.

The Clerk Publishes the Notice of Letters, and It Starts the Clock

As soon as letters testamentary or of administration are issued, the clerk publishes a notice of letters in a newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks under RSMo 473.033. That notice tells creditors to file claims within six months from the date of first publication, or within two months from the date a copy was mailed to or served on the creditor, whichever is later, or be forever barred.

The clerk mails a copy of the notice to each heir and devisee whose name and address appear in the court records. The personal representative may, but is not required to, mail or serve a copy on any creditor whose claim has not been paid, allowed, or disallowed. Proof of publication and proof of mailing are filed within ten days after the publication finishes.

Watch this detail closely. The Missouri clock starts on the date of the first publication, not the last one, and not the date of death. Mark the first-publication date the day it runs, because every later deadline counts from it. Mailing a copy to a specific creditor does not shorten that creditor's time below the six-month floor, but it can give a late-noticed creditor a fresh two-month window measured from the mailing.

The Six-Month Nonclaim Bar Under RSMo 473.360

This is the deadline that answers how long creditors have. All claims against the estate that are not filed in the probate division within six months after the date of the first published notice of letters are forever barred against the estate, the personal representative, and the heirs, devisees, and legatees of the decedent. A creditor you mail or serve gets until two months after that notice, whichever date falls later.

RSMo 473.360 carves out charges that survive the bar. The six-month cutoff does not reach costs and expenses of administration, exempt property, the family allowance, the homestead allowance, claims of the United States, or claims of any taxing authority within the United States. A claim that a creditor reduces to a judgment or decree can be established by filing a copy in the probate division under RSMo 473.370, and the statute does not stop anyone from enforcing a mortgage, pledge, or other lien against estate property. So when a filed claim rests on a recorded lien or a court judgment, check it against these exceptions before you treat it as barred.

The One-Year Absolute Bar Under RSMo 473.444

Missouri sets a second, harder deadline that many people miss. Under RSMo 473.444, all claims become unenforceable and are forever barred one year after the date of death, whether or not an estate is ever opened and whether or not any creditor received notice, actual or constructive, of the death or of the need to file. The six-month publication window sits inside this one-year cap and can never push a claim past it.

Two points follow from that. First, opening an estate late does not hand creditors more time. Once a year passes from the date of death, the one-year bar has already run. Second, the same charges that survive the six-month bar also survive the one-year bar, and RSMo 473.444 adds contingent claims based on warranties tied to real estate conveyances and, again, the enforcement of a mortgage, pledge, or other lien. Keep the date of death on your calendar as the outer boundary, and do not assume a slow-moving estate revives creditor time.

What a Valid Missouri Claim Must Contain

A creditor cannot send a letter and expect payment. RSMo 473.380 says a claim must be in writing, must state the nature and amount of the claim if it can be determined, and must be signed by the claimant or by someone who has knowledge of the facts, with a statement that credit has been given to the estate for all payments and offsets and that the balance claimed is justly due.

If the claim is founded on a written instrument, the original or a copy with all endorsements is attached to the claim, and the claimant produces the original on request unless it is lost or destroyed. The written claim by itself is not evidence of the debt. The claim has to be established by competent evidence before it is paid or adjusted. When a claim is filed, the probate clerk sends a copy to the personal representative or the attorney. So when a claim lands, review it against these requirements before you treat it as valid, because a claim that skips the verification or the amount can be contested.

Pay Surviving Claims in the Statutory Order

When the estate cannot pay every claim, you do not choose who wins. RSMo 473.397 sets the order of payment, and paying a lower class ahead of a higher one can leave you personally liable for the shortfall. The classes run in this order:

  1. Costs
  2. Expenses of administration
  3. Exempt property, family allowance, and homestead allowance
  4. Funeral expenses
  5. Debts and taxes due the United States
  6. Debts for medical assistance owed to the state of Missouri
  7. Expenses of the last sickness, wages owed to servants, claims for medicine and medical attendance during the last sickness, and the reasonable cost of a tombstone
  8. Debts and taxes due Missouri, any county, or any political subdivision
  9. Judgments rendered against the decedent in life and judgments rendered on attachments levied on property
  10. All other claims not barred by RSMo 473.360

Class 6 is the Missouri Medicaid estate recovery claim, so read the Missouri Medicaid estate recovery guide if the person received long-term care assistance. For how the whole order applies when the estate is short, see the Missouri debt payment priority guide. When money is tight, confirm the order before you pay anything.

Do Not Distribute Until the Claim Window Closes

Here is why every step above matters. Distribute too early and you can end up paying a valid late claim out of your own money. Wait until the notice of letters has run, the six-month bar has passed, valid claims are paid in the RSMo 473.397 order, and taxes are handled before you hand anything to heirs or devisees. A name in the will is not a green light to pay out on day one.

For the full deadline map, see the Missouri probate timeline. For where creditor work sits among your other jobs, see the Missouri executor duties guide. If the estate is small, refusal of letters under RSMo 473.090 or the small estate affidavit under RSMo 473.097 may change some of these steps, so confirm which track fits before you run the entire creditor sequence.

Common Questions

How long do creditors have to file a claim against a Missouri estate?

A claim is forever barred unless it is filed in the probate division of the circuit court within six months after the date of the first published notice of letters, or within two months after the personal representative mails or serves notice on the creditor, whichever is later. RSMo 473.360 sets that six-month bar, and RSMo 473.444 adds an absolute one-year bar measured from the date of death.

When does the six-month clock start?

On the date of the first newspaper publication of the notice of letters, not the date of death and not the last publication. The clerk publishes that notice once a week for four consecutive weeks under RSMo 473.033, so mark the first-publication date the day it runs.

What is the one-year absolute bar?

RSMo 473.444 bars all claims one year after the date of death, whether or not an estate is opened and whether or not a creditor ever got notice. The six-month publication window sits inside this one-year cap, so opening an estate late does not give creditors more time.

How does a creditor file a claim in Missouri?

The creditor files a written claim in the probate division under RSMo 473.380. The claim states the nature and amount, is signed with a statement that the balance is justly due after all credits and offsets, and attaches the original or a copy of any written instrument it rests on. The clerk then sends a copy to the personal representative.

What if the estate cannot pay every debt?

Pay claims in the order RSMo 473.397 sets, starting with costs and expenses of administration and ending with all other claims. Paying a lower-priority claim before a higher one can make you personally liable for the difference, so confirm the order before you pay.

This guide is general information about Missouri estates. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the probate division of the circuit court or a licensed Missouri attorney.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

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Settled Estate is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Information current as of July 17, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Missouri can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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