First Steps After a Death in Missouri

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 Missouri 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. Missouri real estate passes to the heirs or devisees at death but remains subject to administration and the estate's debts, so it still needs to be protected.

The Probate Division of the Circuit Court needs the original signed will to admit it to probate. A person having custody of the will must deliver it after the testator's death. Also look for codicils, trust papers, recorded beneficiary (transfer-on-death) deeds, deeds, vehicle titles, account statements, and life insurance policies.

Certified copies are issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Vital Records, and by many local county health departments. Missouri charges $14 for the first certified copy and $11 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. The funeral home usually orders them for you. Order more than you think you need, because banks, insurers, the Department of Revenue, and the court all ask for one.

Probate is handled by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or the City of St. Louis. Missouri has no separate statewide probate court; the probate function is a division of each county circuit court, and that division issues letters and supervises administration.

Separate probate assets (solely owned, no beneficiary) from nonprobate assets such as joint survivorship accounts, beneficiary-designated accounts, life insurance, transfer-on-death registrations, a recorded beneficiary deed, and trust property. This list becomes the basis for the inventory and for deciding whether probate is needed.

If the entire estate, less liens, debts, and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000 and at least 30 days have passed since death with no letters or refusal of letters pending or granted, a distributee may collect assets by small estate affidavit (RSMo 473.097). A surviving spouse or unmarried minor children may instead seek refusal of letters when the estate does not exceed the exempt property and statutory allowances, and a creditor may seek refusal when the personal estate does not exceed $15,000 (RSMo 473.090). Larger or more complex estates require full administration.

The person named in the will applies for letters testamentary; if there is no will, an eligible person applies for letters of administration. File the application in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of the decedent's county of domicile (or the City of St. Louis). Bring the original will and a certified death certificate. A bond may be required unless waived by the will or by the distributees. The court then issues letters confirming your authority to act for the estate, and the estate may proceed under supervised or independent administration.

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.

Promptly after letters are granted, notice of the granting of letters is published in a newspaper. The date of first publication starts the six-month creditor claim period under RSMo 473.360. Publication is required in supervised and independent administration and in small estates that exceed the allowance amounts.

Within thirty days after letters are granted, unless the court grants a longer time, the personal representative must file an inventory and appraisement of all the decedent's property, including exempt property, with a statement of liens and encumbrances (RSMo 473.233). The value stated on the inventory also sets the graduated probate court cost.

Report the death to the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213), notify each bank and brokerage, file life insurance claims, and address debts. Creditors must file claims in the Probate Division within six months after the first published notice of letters, and all claims are absolutely barred one year after death under RSMo 473.444.

Use the estate account for all estate income and expenses, and keep receipts for every transaction. Missouri imposes no estate, inheritance, or probate tax. Review the decedent's final federal Form 1040 and Missouri Form MO-1040, federal Form 1041 and Missouri Form MO-1041 if the estate earns income, and federal Form 706 only if the estate exceeds the federal exemption.