Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Arkansas, you have 3 months after the first publication of notice of admission to contest a will that has already been admitted to probate, running from publication of notice of the probate (a 3-year fallback applies to anyone who was never given notice at all).
How long do you have to contest a will in Arkansas?
| Deadline to contest an admitted will | 3 months after the first publication of notice of admission |
| What starts the clock | publication of notice of the probate (a 3-year fallback applies to anyone who was never given notice at all) |
| Dedicated will-contest statute? | Yes |
“his or her grounds for objection must be filed within three (3) months after the first publication of notice of the probate or within forty-five (45) days after a copy of the notice was served upon him or her…whichever period shall last expire…his or her grounds of objection must be filed within three (3) years after the admission of the will to probate.”
Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-113
What makes Arkansas different
Arkansas layers three separate clocks depending on exactly what notice a given contestant received, with an unusually long 3-year fallback for anyone never properly notified. The controlling authority is Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-113, and the window runs from publication of notice of the probate (a 3-year fallback applies to anyone who was never given notice at all).
What happens once this deadline passes?
Once the window above closes, Arkansas’s probate of the will generally becomes final and binding on everyone who had the chance to object, subject only to the tolling or discovery exceptions described above; a separate objection Arkansas allowed at the original probate hearing does not reopen or extend it.
Sources
| Statute / rule | Ark. Code Ann. § 28-40-113 |
| Arkansas courts (general reference) | Arkansas judicial branch |
| Confidence | High |
Every statute or rule quoted on this Arkansas page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/court/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; whether a specific contest is still timely can turn on facts (exactly when notice was given, how the will was probated, whether a disability applies) that only your own Arkansas probate court file can confirm.