Where the estate is opened.
Only if the statute's conditions are met. Read the section below.
See the tax section for the exemption or the repeal.
Living trust or probate
A revocable living trust holds assets you title in the trustee's name. You can serve as trustee while you are able.
At death, the successor trustee handles those assets. Property you leave in your own name can still go through the probate court. A pour-over will sends leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may pass through probate first.
The probate path
In Arkansas, the estate is opened in the Probate Court.
The Arkansas Judiciary Form 23, Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee, is certified by the Clerk of the Probate Court. The form states that distributees shall be entitled to distribution of the identified property without the necessity of an order of the court or other proceeding, upon furnishing a clerk-certified copy of the affidavit to a person owing money, having custody of property, or acting as registrar or transfer agent. The reporter's notes cite Arkansas Code section 28-41-101. An official page describing the ordinary letters proceeding, beyond this affidavit, was not opened.
Source: Arkansas Judiciary Form 23, Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee
Small estate
Arkansas's small-estate figure on this page is $100,000 when the statute's conditions are met.
Form 23 states that the distributee affidavit may be used when no petition for a personal representative is pending or has been granted, more than forty-five days have elapsed since death, and the value, less encumbrances, of all property owned by the decedent at death, excluding the homestead of and statutory allowances for the benefit of the surviving spouse or minor children, if any, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). The reporter's notes say that if the affidavit estate contains real property, the distributee may publish notice promptly after filing.
Source: Arkansas Judiciary Form 23
Estate or inheritance tax
Arkansas has no current estate tax on the page linked below.
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration states that Act 645 of 2003 repealed Arkansas Estate Tax for estates of those who died on or after January 1, 2005, and that no estate tax return is required for decedents after December 31, 2004. That page does not mention an inheritance tax.
Source: Arkansas DFA Subject 605, Estate Tax, revised 12/22/2020
Questions
The answers use the same statute and court pages as the sections above.
Does a living trust avoid probate in Arkansas?
A revocable living trust holds the assets you title in the trustee's name. The successor trustee handles those assets. Property still titled in your own name can be a probate matter. A pour-over will can send leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may still pass through probate first.
What is the small-estate procedure in Arkansas?
Form 23 states that the distributee affidavit may be used when no petition for a personal representative is pending or has been granted, more than forty-five days have elapsed since death, and the value, less encumbrances, of all property owned by the decedent at death, excluding the homestead of and statutory allowances for the benefit of the surviving spouse or minor children, if any, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). The reporter's notes say that if the affidavit estate contains real property, the distributee may publish notice promptly after filing.
Does Arkansas tax an estate or an inheritance?
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration states that Act 645 of 2003 repealed Arkansas Estate Tax for estates of those who died on or after January 1, 2005, and that no estate tax return is required for decedents after December 31, 2004. That page does not mention an inheritance tax.
Sources
These are the statute and court pages used above.