Nebraska Probate Without a Lawyer

Nebraska never makes hiring a lawyer a condition of opening a probate. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 7-110 says plaintiffs shall have the liberty of prosecuting, and defendants shall have the liberty of defending, "in their proper persons." An informal probate opened and closed informally collects $44.00 at the county court counter, the same figure in all 93 counties, and $45.00 where there is a will.

Here is the part worth reading before you decide. Nebraska hands a self-filer one real gift and one real gap, and both come from the same place. The gift is that the clerk of the county court publishes the notice to creditors for you, and that an estate can close on a sworn statement with no final hearing. The gap is that the judiciary publishes a numbered form for every route that avoids a court case and no form at all for the application that starts one. This page describes how the Nebraska statutes and the official form sources read, not whether any one estate can be settled alone, which is a question for a licensed Nebraska attorney. Start with how a Nebraska probate actually runs if you have not picked a route yet.

Nothing in the Nebraska Probate Code conditions any of those on counsel. What decides the answer is the shape of the estate and how much drafting you are willing to do without a template.

The Two Sentences That Set the Boundary

Nebraska answers the question in one sentence and then draws the limit in another, and reading only the first is how self-filers get into trouble.

Section 7-110 is one line long. "Plaintiffs shall have the liberty of prosecuting, and defendants shall have the liberty of defending, in their proper persons." That is the whole section.

Section 7-101 is the limit. No person shall practice as an attorney "or commence, conduct or defend any action or proceeding to which he is not a party," by using his own name or another's or "by drawing pleadings or other papers to be signed and filed by a party," unless the Supreme Court has admitted him. The next sentence is the one a clerk applies at the counter: no such paper shall be received or filed "unless the same bears the endorsement of some admitted attorney, or is drawn, signed, and presented by a party to the action or proceeding."

Read those two together and the rule falls out. An applicant for appointment as personal representative is a party to that application, and § 7-101 accepts a paper drawn, signed and presented by a party. What the same section does not accept is a paper someone else drew for a party to sign, which is what a paid non-lawyer document service does.

The line moves once you act for the estate against someone else. The annotations the Legislature prints under § 7-101 include Waite v. Carpenter, 1 Neb. App. 321, 496 N.W.2d 1 (1992), holding that a nonattorney personal representative is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law if he personally brings a wrongful death action for medical negligence on behalf of the estate. Back Acres Pure Trust v. Fahnlander, 233 Neb. 28, 443 N.W.2d 604 (1989), says the same of a trustee arguing pro se, because in that capacity he represents the interests of others. Section 30-2464(c) gives a personal representative the same standing to sue that the decedent had. Standing and the right to argue it yourself are separate questions in Nebraska, and a violation of § 7-101 is a Class III misdemeanor.

So the honest summary is narrow. Filing and running your own uncontested administration sits inside § 7-110. Litigating on behalf of the estate does not.

Nebraska Publishes No Form for Opening a Probate

This is the practical gap, and it surprises people who assume a state with a self-help site has a form for everything.

The Nebraska Judicial Branch estates self-help page, read on September 10, 2026, files everything it publishes under one heading called Forms and Instructions, and all three items there are routes that never open a case. Form CC 15:40, Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property without Probate, Rev. 07/2022, prints § 30-24,125 and the § 28-915 perjury statute on its face, and § 30-24,125(a)(1) fixes its measure at one hundred thousand dollars of personal property wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Form CC 15:41, Affidavit for Transfer of Real Property without Probate, Rev. 10/2025, carries § 30-24,129. The third is a motor vehicle title transfer for a deceased owner. Everything else on the page is reading rather than a form: claims against an estate, deposit of a will, and a flowchart for informal probate filed with a will.

The numbered CC 15 library behind that page runs wider and still stops at the same line. Form CC 15:6, Rev. 03/2017, authorizes withdrawal of a will. Form CC 15:1, Rev. 03/2022, is the Demand for Notice under § 30-2413, which is the paper somebody else files to attach themselves to your case rather than one you file to start it. Form CC 15:5, Rev. 03/2019, certifies that notice of a petition went to the Department of Health and Human Services under § 77-2018.02(6), and it belongs to a standalone inheritance tax proceeding rather than to a probate. Read who that subsection says signs it: an attorney for the petitioner, "or, if there is no attorney, by the petitioner." That is the second place the Nebraska statutes write a filer without one into the text.

There is no numbered form for an application for informal probate, and none for an application for informal appointment of a personal representative. Section 30-2414 tells you what that application has to contain and leaves the drafting to you: a statement of your interest, the decedent's name, date of death, age, county and state of domicile, the names and addresses of the spouse, children, heirs and devisees with the ages of any minors so far as you can learn them with reasonable diligence, venue where the decedent lived elsewhere, any personal representative already appointed anywhere, and whether you are aware of a demand for notice. An application to probate a will adds three more statements about the original instrument, its valid execution and the absence of a revoking instrument. An intestate application adds the priority under § 30-2412.

Two lines on the judiciary's own page belong in your decision. The Supreme Court "does not represent that these instructions and forms will be appropriate in every case," and it urges anyone thinking of handling their own case to consider talking to a lawyer. Take that at face value. The Nebraska probate forms finder tracks what each official source actually publishes, and the cheapest reading of this section is often that you do not need a case at all. Check whether an affidavit will do first.

What the Counter Actually Collects

The fee is statutory and identical statewide, which makes it the one number you can plan around before you set out for the courthouse.

Publishing $22.00 as the Nebraska probate filing fee understates the bill by half. Section 33-125(1)(a)(i) does set the fee at twenty-two dollars for a proceeding commenced and closed informally. Two other statutes then load on top. Section 24-703(3)(a) charges a sum equal to ten percent of each fee provided by sections 33-125, 33-126.02, 33-126.03 and 33-126.06. Six per-case cost statutes add exactly $20.00: legal services $6.25 under § 33-107.01, court automation $8.00 under § 33-107.03, education $1.00 under § 33-154, dispute resolution $0.75 under § 33-155, indigent defense $3.00 under § 33-156, and uniform data analysis $1.00 under § 47-633.

Those totals come from the Nebraska Judicial Branch filing fee and court cost schedule effective July 1, 2026, and every one of them reconciles against the statute as the fee, plus ten percent, plus the $20.00 of costs.

Two details decide what you actually hand over. Section 33-125(2) measures a formal fee on the gross value of the estate, real and personal property in Nebraska at the date of death, and it defines gross value as the actual value less liens and joint tenancy property, so the half of a jointly held farm that passes by survivorship does not push you up a bracket. Section 24-703(3)(a) then rounds its ten percent "to the nearest even dollar," which is why the $22.00 informal fee carries $2.00 on top rather than $2.20.

The $24.00 line is the one a self-filer feels. A formal probate pays its graduated fee once, because § 33-125(2) says formal fees are charged in full for all services and no additional fee attaches to petitions, hearings and orders during the administration. An informal case pays $24.00 every time it comes back to the court. Section 33-125(1)(a) caps the running total so informal fees never exceed what formal would have cost, which is worth knowing if your case keeps returning.

Three more costs sit outside that schedule.

• Certified copies. Section 33-125(2) gives you one certified copy of the letters of appointment without charge. Extras run $1.00 for executing the certificate and affixing the seal, plus $0.25 a page for the photocopy, under § 33-126.05. Estates commonly need several, because a bank, a title company and a transfer agent each keep one.
• Newspaper publication. Section 33-126.05 says the legal fees for printing notices required by law are allowed in addition to the court's fees. Section 33-141(4) fixes the rate at fifty cents per line for the first insertion and forty-three and thirty-four hundredths cents per line for each later insertion, at eight-point type and pica width eleven, with a conversion table for other type sizes. The creditor notice runs three times, so the bill is your line count against those rates. No total is published anywhere, because it depends on the length of the notice and the paper's type.
• Bond premium. Section 30-2446(1) requires a bond unless one of six exceptions applies. See when a Nebraska bond is required and how each exception is claimed.

The Clerk Publishes. You Mail. The Clock Is Five Days

Nebraska splits the notice work in a way that saves a self-filer money and creates the deadline most likely to hurt one.

Section 30-2483(a) puts publication on the clerk of the court, not on you. On appointment of a personal representative the clerk publishes a notice once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, announcing the appointment and your address and telling creditors to present claims within two months after the first publication or be forever barred. The first publication is due within thirty days after the appointment.

The same subsection then hands you the second half. The party instituting or maintaining the proceeding "or his or her attorney" is required to mail the published notice and give proof of it under § 25-520.01. Notice the phrasing. The statute contemplates a party doing this without an attorney.

Section 25-520.01 sets two deadlines that catch people. Within five days after the first publication you mail a copy of the published notice to every party appearing to have a direct legal interest whose name and post office address you know. Within ten days after that mailing you file an affidavit of mailing, and the affidavit has to state that after diligent investigation and inquiry you could not learn the address of anyone else with a direct legal interest. Subsection (3) excuses the mailing to anyone who waived notice in writing, entered a voluntary appearance or was personally served.

Then read § 30-2483(b), which has no analogue in most states. Where the decedent was fifty-five or older, or lived in a medical institution as defined in § 68-919(1), the notice must also go to the Department of Health and Human Services with the decedent's Social Security number, plus the name and Social Security number of a predeceased spouse. The department posts the acceptable delivery manner on its website. The last sentence of the subsection is the trap: "Any notice that fails to conform with such manner is void."

What that costs is spelled out next door. Section 30-2485(a)(1) bars claims not presented within two months of the first publication, but only "if notice is given in compliance with sections 25-520.01 and 30-2483." Subsection (a)(2) sets the fallback at three years after the death where notice was not given in compliance with both. A missed mailing does not shorten your case by five days. It can lengthen your exposure by nearly three years.

The two-month date is not quite a wall even when your notice was perfect. The same subdivision lets a creditor who missed it apply to the court within sixty days after it passes, and on good cause the court may allow up to thirty days more. How Nebraska creditor claims run covers the presentation and allowance side.

Closing Without a Hearing

The other structural gift is at the end of the case, and it is what keeps an uncontested Nebraska administration from ending in a courtroom.

Section 30-24,117(a) lets a personal representative close an estate by filing a verified statement, with no final hearing and no court order, as long as the estate is not in supervised administration and no order forbids it. Two clocks have to have run. The statement cannot be filed earlier than five months after the original appointment of a general personal representative, and the first publication of the creditor notice has to be more than four months before the date of the statement. The statement says you published under § 30-2483, that you have fully administered the estate by paying, settling or otherwise disposing of the claims presented, the expenses of administration and the estate, inheritance and other death taxes, and that the assets have gone to the people entitled. It also says you sent a copy to every distributee and to every creditor whose claim is neither paid nor barred, and that you furnished a full written account to the distributees whose interests it affects.

Subsection (b) finishes the job on its own. If no proceedings involving the personal representative are pending one year after the closing statement is filed, the appointment terminates.

One route is shorter still. Section 30-24,127 lets a personal representative distribute immediately and close under § 30-24,128, without giving notice to creditors at all, where the inventory and appraisal show the entire estate less liens and encumbrances does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness. It carries no dollar figure. Section 30-2446(1)(f) links to it from the bond side: a petition alleging that the probable value of the estate will permit those summary procedures excuses the bond, and § 30-2446(3) makes you file one promptly if the inventory later proves otherwise. How long a Nebraska estate takes walks the same clocks in order.

When the Money Is Not There

Nebraska answers this in one statute set that most probate pages never mention, because it lives in the civil procedure chapter rather than the probate code.

Sections 25-2301 to 25-2310 govern proceeding in forma pauperis, which § 25-2301(2) defines as permission from the court to proceed without prepayment of fees and costs or security. Two definitions make it reach a probate. Section 25-2301(1) says case "includes any suit, action, or proceeding." Section 25-2301.01 names "any county or state court, except the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court," and covers the commencement, prosecution, defense or appeal of a civil or criminal case.

The application needs an affidavit stating that you are unable to pay the fees and costs or give the security required, the nature of the action, defense or appeal, and your belief that you are entitled to redress.

Section 25-2301.02(1) then sets a default stronger than the discretionary framing most states use. The application "shall be granted unless there is an objection" that you have sufficient funds or that you are asserting legal positions which are frivolous or malicious. An objection has to be made within thirty days of the filing, or at any time if the ground is that the application itself was fraudulent, and it must set out its grounds. An evidentiary hearing follows unless the court raises the frivolous ground on its own motion, and where no hearing is held the court has to put its reasons, findings and conclusions in writing on the record. If an objection is sustained you get thirty days to pay and proceed, even where a limitation period expires in the meantime.

The judiciary publishes one form for this, DC 6:7.1, Affidavit and Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis, Rev. 03/2025, which prints §§ 25-2301 to 25-2310 in its own header. Read its first box before you decide it does not fit you. The Type of Case box offers three choices and only three: civil, which the form itself describes as covering divorce, child support, custody, modification and enforcement, then emancipation, then an adult name change. Probate is not among them. The court selector immediately below it does offer the county court next to the district and juvenile courts, and its county list runs all 93. So the form reaches your court while its case-type box does not name your case, which is exactly the kind of thing to settle with the clerk rather than guess at.

The Events That Change the Character of a Self-Filed Case

Four events change the character of a Nebraska probate, and three of them can be triggered by someone other than the filer. Each is a common point at which a self-represented filer takes the file to a licensed Nebraska attorney.

An objection to the will. Section 30-2429.01(1) says that on an objection to probate of a will, or a petition to set aside an informal probate or to prevent one, the county court continues the hearing at least fourteen days. At any time before that continued date, any party may transfer the will question to the district court by filing a notice of transfer and depositing the district court docket fee plus twenty dollars. The Judicial Branch schedule prints that as $103.00. Section 30-2429.01(4) then says trial "shall be to a jury unless a jury is waived by all parties who have filed pleadings in the matter." Your uncontested county court filing becomes a jury trial in a different court on one other person's unilateral notice.

A demand for notice. Section 30-2413 lets anyone with a financial or property interest file a demand for notice at any time after the death. Once it is filed, no order may be made and no filing acted on without notice to that person, and while an order issued in violation stays valid, "the petitioner receiving the order or the person making the filing may be liable for any damage caused by the absence of notice." Section 30-2414(1)(v) already made you swear whether you knew of one.

A petition for supervised administration. Section 30-2440 lets any interested person or the personal representative ask for it at any time, and the court orders it where the will directs it, or where it finds supervised administration necessary to protect people interested in the estate. Where testacy and your priority have not already been adjudicated, the petition brings the formal testacy notice and procedure with it.

An estate that cannot pay everyone. The order of payment in § 30-2487 decides who goes short, and a personal representative who pays out of turn answers for it. The Nebraska order of payment sets out the six classes.

Two more items belong on any Nebraska list. Section 77-2018.01(2)(c) lets the county attorney apply for a determination of inheritance tax, which means an adversary can appear in your case on the tax question without you inviting one. Nebraska inheritance tax covers the rates and the class exemptions, which moved in 2026. And § 7-101 with Waite v. Carpenter means any lawsuit you would bring for the estate needs a Nebraska lawyer, whatever you do with the administration itself. What the job asks of you either way is set out in serving as personal representative in Nebraska.

Where Nebraska Sends a Self-Filer

Four resources, each read at its own source on September 10, 2026.

• Legal Aid of Nebraska ElderAccessLine, 1-800-527-7249. Anyone aged 60 or older in all 93 Nebraska counties is eligible. Hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 am to noon and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, and Friday 9:00 am to noon, Central time. For a surviving spouse or an older executor this is the first call.
• Legal Aid of Nebraska statewide AccessLine, 1-877-250-2016. Monday and Wednesday 8:30 am to 11:30 am, Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, Central time. Legal Aid screens on household income and assets, and it does not take criminal defense, immigration, medical malpractice, personal injury or workers' compensation cases.
• Limited scope representation. The Judicial Branch publishes a whole self-help section on it. You and a lawyer list the tasks, split them in a written agreement signed before the work starts, and you pay only for the lawyer's share. The rules behind it are Neb. Ct. R. of Prof. Cond. §§ 3-501.0 to 3-508.5. Not every Nebraska lawyer offers it, so ask first. On a probate the split commonly falls between the drafting of the application and the inventory on the lawyer's side, and the mailings and the closing statement on the client's.
• Nebraska State Bar Association Find-A-Lawyer. Attorneys listed there charge $50 or less for the first thirty minutes of consultation, by the service's own published terms.

The judiciary also runs legal self-help desks at the courthouses in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island, and court records in the statewide JUSTICE system are free at any courthouse kiosk or law library. Online is a different price. A one-time party name search costs $17 and returns up to thirty records, and a Nebraska.gov subscriber account runs $100 a year with $2 to view any case's detail. The judiciary's limited scope page says the judge and court staff cannot act as your legal advisor, and that a judge may tell you the goal needs one. Take your county's own counter practice from the Nebraska county court directory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a lawyer for probate in Nebraska?

No Nebraska statute makes counsel a condition of opening a probate. Section 7-110 says plaintiffs shall have the liberty of prosecuting, and defendants shall have the liberty of defending, in their proper persons. Section 7-101 draws the outer edge: it bars an unadmitted person from commencing, conducting or defending an action or proceeding to which he is not a party, and it says no paper may be filed unless an admitted attorney endorses it or a party drew, signed and presented it. You are a party to your own application. The Nebraska Court of Appeals held in Waite v. Carpenter, 1 Neb. App. 321 (1992), that a nonattorney personal representative who personally brings a wrongful death action for the estate is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, so the answer changes once you start suing someone on the estate's behalf.

Does Nebraska publish a free probate petition form?

No. The Judicial Branch estates self-help page publishes forms for the routes that avoid a court case and none for the route that opens one. Form CC 15:40 transfers personal property without probate under § 30-24,125, form CC 15:41 transfers real property without probate under § 30-24,129, and the third item moves a vehicle title. The wider numbered CC 15 library adds a Demand for Notice on form CC 15:1 under § 30-2413, an Authorization to Withdraw Will on form CC 15:6, and on form CC 15:5 the certificate that notice reached the Department of Health and Human Services under § 77-2018.02(6). There is still no numbered form for an application for informal probate or informal appointment. Section 30-2414 states what the application must contain and leaves the drafting to you.

How much does it cost to file probate in Nebraska without a lawyer?

An informal probate commenced and closed informally collects $44.00 statewide, and $45.00 where the estate is testate and the court issues the certificate of probate of will. Section 33-125(1)(a)(i) sets the fee at $22.00, § 24-703(3)(a) adds a charge equal to ten percent of it, and six per-case cost statutes add $20.00. Each later petition inside an informal case collects another $24.00. A formal probate is graduated across the twenty brackets in § 33-125(1)(b), and the Judicial Branch schedule effective July 1, 2026 prints totals from $44.00 to $1,670.00. A $250,000 estate filed formally collects $405.00.

Can a Nebraska court waive the probate filing fee?

Sections 25-2301 to 25-2310 let a court authorize a case in forma pauperis, defined in § 25-2301(2) as permission to proceed without prepayment of fees and costs or security. Section 25-2301(1) says case includes any proceeding, and § 25-2301.01 names any county or state court except the Workers' Compensation Court. The application needs an affidavit stating that you cannot pay, the nature of the action, and your belief that you are entitled to redress. Section 25-2301.02(1) says the application shall be granted unless someone objects that you have sufficient funds or that your positions are frivolous or malicious. The judiciary publishes one form, DC 6:7.1, and its court selector offers the county court.

Who publishes and mails the notice to creditors in a Nebraska probate?

The clerk publishes and you mail. Section 30-2483(a) puts publication on the clerk, once a week for three successive weeks, first publication within thirty days after appointment. The same subsection says the party instituting or maintaining the proceeding or his or her attorney must mail the published notice under § 25-520.01, which gives you five days after the first publication to mail it to everyone with a known direct legal interest and ten days after mailing to file the affidavit. Section 30-2483(b) adds notice to the Department of Health and Human Services where the decedent was fifty-five or older or lived in a medical institution, and a notice that does not conform to the department's published manner is void.

When should a Nebraska self-filer stop and hire a lawyer?

A written objection is the clearest signal. Section 30-2429.01(1) continues the hearing at least fourteen days on an objection to probate of a will or a petition to set aside or prevent an informal probate, and any party may then transfer the question to the district court, where trial is to a jury unless every party who has filed pleadings waives it. Three more: a petition for supervised administration under § 30-2440, an estate that cannot pay everyone, because § 30-2487 decides who goes short, and any proceeding you would bring against a third party for the estate, which is where § 7-101 and Waite v. Carpenter bite.

Related Guides

• How Nebraska probate works, start to finish
• Whether an affidavit will do instead
• Nebraska probate forms by source
• Nebraska county courts by county
• Serving as personal representative in Nebraska
• How Nebraska creditor claims run
• When a Nebraska bond is required
• The Nebraska order of payment
• Nebraska inheritance tax
• How long a Nebraska estate takes

Before You File

Every statute on this page was read at the Nebraska Legislature's own site on September 10, 2026, and each section's amendment chain was checked at the same time. Three changed recently enough to matter: § 24-703, which carries the ten percent county court charge, ends at Laws 2026, LB1101, § 1; § 33-141, which fixes the legal notice rate, ends at Laws 2026, LB596, § 10; and § 30-24,125, which carries the hundred-thousand-dollar affidavit measure, ends at Laws 2025, LB85, § 1. Section 33-125 has not moved since Laws 2021, LB17, § 8, and § 30-2446, the bond rule, ends at Laws 2024, LB1195, § 3. Every form number and revision date above was read off the form itself rather than off a list. Court costs and county counter practice change faster than statutes do, so ask the clerk of the county court where the decedent lived for today's total before you write the check.

Sources:

• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 7-101, Unauthorized practice of law; penalty. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1977, LB 40, § 35; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=7-101
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 7-110, Parties acting in their own behalf. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: R.S.1943, § 7-110; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=7-110
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-703, Judges; contributions; deductions; fees taxed as costs; payment; late fees; funding of retirement system; actuarial valuation; transfer of funds; adjustments. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2026, LB1101, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=24-703
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-520.01, Service by publication; mailing of published notice; requirements; waiver; when mailing not required. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2021, LB58, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-520.01
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2301, Terms, defined. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1999, LB 689, § 2; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-2301
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2301.01, Application; contents. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1999, LB 689, § 3; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-2301.01
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2301.02, Application; objection; hearing; appeal. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2004, LB 1207, § 15; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-2301.02
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2412, Priority among persons seeking appointment as personal representative. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1978, LB 650, § 8; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2412
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2413, Demand for notice of order or filing concerning decedent's estate. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1974, LB 354, § 91; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2413
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2414, Informal probate or appointment proceedings; application; contents. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2020, LB966, § 14; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2414
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2429.01, Formal testacy proceedings; objection; informal probate; petition to set aside; transfer to district court; procedure; fees. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2018, LB193, § 64; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2429.01
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2440, Supervised administration; petition; order. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1974, LB 354, § 118; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2440
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2446, Bond required; exceptions; when court may require; required when value of estate will not permit summary procedures. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2024, LB1195, § 3; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2446
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2464, General duties; relation and liability to persons interested in estate; standing to sue. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2003, LB 130, § 128; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2464
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2483, Notice to creditors. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2019, LB593, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2483
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2485, Limitations on presentation of claims. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2009, LB35, § 20; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2485
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2487, Payment of claims; order. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2009, LB35, § 21; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-2487
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,117, Closing estates; by sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1974, LB 354, § 195; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-24,117
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125, Collection of personal property by affidavit. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2025, LB85, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-24,125
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,127, Small estates; summary administrative procedure. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1974, LB 354, § 205; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-24,127
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129, Succession to real property by affidavit. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2024, LB1195, § 4; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=30-24,129
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125, County court; probate fees; how determined. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2021, LB17, § 8; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-125
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-126.03, County court; inheritance tax proceedings; fees; by whom paid. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2021, LB17, § 10; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-126.03
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-126.05, County court; miscellaneous fees. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2005, LB 348, § 15; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-126.05
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-141, Legal notices; rates. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2026, LB596, § 10; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-141
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-107.01, Legal services fee; taxed as costs; when. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2016, LB1098, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-107.01
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-107.03, Court automation fee. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2009, LB35, § 24; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-107.03
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-154, Additional court cost; training fee. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2003, LB 760, § 3; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-154
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-155, Additional court cost; dispute resolution fee. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2003, LB 760, § 7; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-155
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-156, Additional court cost; indigent defense fee. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2005, LB 348, § 17; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=33-156
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 47-633, Fees. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2007, LB322, § 7; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=47-633
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2018.01, Inheritance tax; proceedings for determination. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 1975, LB 481, § 32; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=77-2018.01
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2018.02, Inheritance tax; independent proceeding for determination in absence of probate of estate; petition; notice; waiver of notice; notice to Department of Health and Human Services. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2019, LB593, § 10; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=77-2018.02
• Title: Filing Fees and Court Costs, effective 07-01-2026. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Effective July 1, 2026; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/rules/administrative-policies-schedules/filing-fees-and-court-costs
• Title: Estates self-help resources. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/self-help/estates
• Title: Deposit of Will. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/self-help/estates/deposit-will
• Title: Title Transfer for the Deceased's Motor Vehicle. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/self-help/estates/title-transfer-deceaseds-motor-vehicle
• Title: Form CC 15:40, Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property without Probate. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Rev. 07/2022, read from the form footer; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/sites/default/files/CC-15-40.pdf
• Title: Form CC 15:41, Affidavit for Transfer of Real Property without Probate. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Rev. 10/2025, read from the form footer; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/sites/default/files/CC-15-41.pdf
• Title: Form CC 15:1, Demand for Notice. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Rev. 03/2022, read from the form footer; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/sites/default/files/CC-15-1.pdf
• Title: Form CC 15:5, Certificate of Mailing a Notice of Filing a Petition for the Determination of Inheritance Tax. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Rev. 03/2019, read from the form face; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/sites/default/files/CC-15-5.pdf
• Title: Form CC 15:6, Authorization to Withdraw Will. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Rev. 03/2017, read from the form footer; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/sites/default/files/CC-15-6.pdf
• Title: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-915, Perjury; subornation of perjury; penalty. Publisher: Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes. Publication Date: Laws 2017, LB57, § 1; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=28-915
• Title: Form DC 6:7.1, Affidavit and Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (Request to Proceed Without Payment of Fees). Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Rev. 03/2025, read from the form face; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/sites/default/files/DC-6-7-1.pdf
• Title: Limited Scope Representation, For People Wanting Limited Legal Assistance. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/self-help/limited-scope-representation/people-wanting-limited-legal-assistance-0
• Title: Case Information and E-Services. Publisher: Nebraska Judicial Branch. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/e-services/case-information-eservices
• Title: Call for Help, AccessLine and ElderAccessLine hours and eligibility. Publisher: Legal Aid of Nebraska. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://legalaidofnebraska.org/call-for-help.html
• Title: NSBA Find-A-Lawyer. Publisher: Nebraska State Bar Association. Publication Date: Not listed; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.nefindalawyer.com/

This guide is general information about handling a Nebraska probate without a lawyer. Whether you should file for yourself turns on your own facts, and Nebraska court costs and county filing practice change, so confirm the current rules with the clerk of the county court where the decedent lived, or with a licensed Nebraska attorney, before you rely on any figure here. It is not legal advice.