Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Alabama lets a small estate be settled with Court petition: “Petition for Summary Distribution” filed under oath with the probate court (Ala. Code § 43-2-692). Not a self-executing affidavit delivered straight to a bank; after the court grants the petition, the transfer is completed by presenting a copy of the judge of probate’s order directing summary distribution (Ala. Code § 43-2-694). It is usable once the court enters its order, which cannot be earlier than 30 days after the petition notice is published and 30 days after the Alabama Medicaid Agency receives notice of the petition, and it is filed with the Probate Court in the decedent’s county of residence, as a verified petition: not delivered directly to the asset-holder in the first instance. Only after the probate judge acts does a copy of the judge’s order directing summary distribution go to the bank/institution holding the property. Real estate: No.
The verdicts
| Instrument | Court petition: “Petition for Summary Distribution” filed under oath with the probate court (Ala. Code § 43-2-692). Not a self-executing affidavit delivered straight to a bank; after the court grants the petition, the transfer is completed by presenting a copy of the judge of probate’s order directing summary distribution (Ala. Code § 43-2-694). |
|---|---|
| Wait after death | 30 days after the petition notice is published and 30 days after Medicaid Agency notice; no wait is counted from the date of death |
| Where it goes | Filed with the Probate Court in the decedent’s county of residence, as a verified petition: not delivered directly to the asset-holder in the first instance. Only after the probate judge acts does a copy of the judge’s order directing summary distribution go to the bank/institution holding the property. |
| Notarised? | Not stated |
| Reaches real estate? | No |
| Authority | Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-698, including § 43-2-691.1 (Revised Alabama Small Estates Act, as amended effective October 1, 2025); operative petition section § 43-2-692 |
What the statute actually says
“Upon delivering a copy of the judge of probate’s order directing summary distribution, the persons entitled to summary distribution of the decedent’s estate under this division shall be entitled to have the decedent’s property or the evidence of the decedent’s ownership in such property transferred to them by any person owing any money to the decedent’s estate, having custody of any personal property of the decedent or acting as a registrar or transfer agent of any evidence of interest, indebtedness, property, or right of the deceased therein.” (Ala. Code § 43-2-694).
(Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-698, including § 43-2-691.1 (Revised Alabama Small Estates Act, as amended effective October 1, 2025); operative petition section § 43-2-692)
The dollar limit
Ala. Code §§ 43-2-691(7) and 43-2-698 set the small estate amount at the combined maximum of the homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance (§§ 43-8-110 to 43-8-113), as adjusted under § 43-8-116, and the estate must consist of personal property only. The State Treasurer’s table shows $18,800 + $9,400 + $18,800 = $47,000 for the July 1, 2023 adjustment and $20,475 + $10,225 + $20,475 = $51,175 for the July 1, 2026 adjustment; the Treasurer states adjusted amounts apply to exemptions claimed on or after April 1 following the adjustment date. No separate or higher figure applies to a surviving spouse: since October 1, 2025 any person entitled to an interest in the small estate may petition (§ 43-2-692(a)), and the remainder of the estate goes first to the surviving spouse (§ 43-2-691.1(b)). The former flat $25,000 figure was replaced by Act HB164 of the 2025 Regular Session, effective October 1, 2025.
The form
No official free statewide form found. Confirmed by directly checking the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts’ live probate-forms listing this session: no Summary Distribution/small-estate petition form appears among its ~56 probate forms.
What could not be verified
The section text above was read from the enrolled Act HB164 (2025 Regular Session, effective October 1, 2025) on the Alabama Legislature’s site (alison.legislature.state.al.us), which shows the amended sections 43-2-690 to 43-2-696 and the new sections 43-2-691.1, 43-2-697 and 43-2-698. The dollar figures come from the State Treasurer’s Consumer Price Index table. The codified current-text pages of the Code of Alabama did not render, so the section text is taken from the Act.
When this route is the wrong one
- The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
- There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
- Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
- Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.
Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.
Also for Alabama: Alabama Power of Attorney Requirements · Alabama Advance Directive Requirements.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.
Related: whether Alabama requires the executor to post a bond.