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Estate Affidavit Guide

Missouri Determination of Heirship

If a bank told you an account is frozen and didn't explain what that actually means, you're not stuck, and you're not the only one this has happened to. A probate attorney would typically charge $1,500–$4,200+ to walk you through exactly what Missouri law already lets you do yourself. This guide is $37, one-time, and covers the same ground — the eligibility rule, the official form, and what to say if a bank or clerk pushes back.

Missouri's determination of heirship — RSMo § 473.663, the court procedure Missouri's statutes provide for establishing who a decedent's heirs were, and the one a Missouri "affidavit of heirship" search usually points toward — lets an heir, or someone claiming through an heir, ask the probate division to decide who the decedent's heirs were and what each one's interest is in described property. It is available only when nobody opened an estate within a year of the death and no will was presented in time. There is no dollar cap, but there is a hearing, mailed notice, and four weeks of newspaper publication, and the decree is recorded in each county where land lies. This is informational only, written by researchers, not attorneys.

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Why timing matters: The petition cannot be filed until a year has passed with no administration and no will presented. After that there is no statutory deadline, but the longer the record stays unsettled, the more the family tree has to be proved: each heir who dies in the meantime adds a branch, and the petition must name anyone claiming through an heir who died after the decedent (RSMo § 473.663.1(3)).

Missouri's Determination of Heirship — no dollar cap

Missouri's Determination of Heirship has no dollar ceiling — eligibility instead turns on the specific conditions RSMo § 473.663 sets out. There's no total to add up before you know whether it applies. Determination of Heirship is filed with the court, not handed directly to a bank or DMV. Missouri circuits' probate divisions publish their own petition forms and clerk's checklists for a determination of heirship; RSMo § 473.663.1 fixes what the petition must contain. See the how-to-file guide below for what the statute itself requires.

How to file, step by step

  1. 1

    Confirm the one-year conditions

    More than a year has passed since the death; nobody has commenced an administration on the estate; and no written will was presented for probate within the time RSMo § 473.050(3) allows. You must claim an interest in the property as an heir or through an heir.

  2. 2

    Identify the property the petition is about

    The decree runs only to the property the petition describes. List each piece of real property with its legal description and street address, and each item of personal property with identifying detail (VIN or serial number, last four digits of an account number), with its value — or state that the value is unknown.

  3. 3

    Work out the heirs

    Under RSMo § 474.010, a surviving spouse and children or their descendants come first, then parents and siblings and their descendants, and so on. List each heir's name, relationship, age and residence address, and anyone claiming through an heir who has since died, with that heir's date of death. For a minor heir, name who receives notice. View source →

  4. 4

    Get your circuit's petition form and checklist

    Use the probate division's current petition for determination of heirship (Sec. 473.663 RSMo), clerk's checklist, and filing instructions. Jackson County also asks for a proposed judgment that shows each heir's share.

  5. 5

    Sign under oath and file

    The petition is verified under the penalties of making a false affidavit or declaration (or notarized), and filed with the probate division of the circuit court that would have proper venue to administer the estate, with the filing fee your county sets.

  6. 6

    Give notice as the court directs

    After filing, the court sets a hearing. Notice goes by publication once a week for four consecutive weeks, the last insertion at least seven days before the hearing, and by registered or certified mail (or under § 472.100) to every named person whose address is known. File the affidavit of publication and mail receipts at least seven days before the hearing.

  7. 7

    Prove the heirship at the hearing

    Be ready to prove each line of descent. The court makes a decree determining who is entitled to the described property and their respective interests.

  8. 8

    Record the decree for land

    A certified copy of the decree is recorded, at your expense, with the recorder of deeds in each county where described real property is located.

  9. 9

    Use the decree for what it does

    The decree is conclusive evidence of the facts it determines against the parties to the proceeding. It establishes who the heirs are and their shares; it does not collect assets or pay debts. Property found later may need an amended petition.

What it actually looks like

Sample pages from the guide

Real pages from the Missouri guide PDF. Click any page to enlarge.

Print-friendly, readable on a phone or tablet, and designed to be taken to the bank or clerk. Every operational claim cites the actual statute or official publication.

How this compares

Yes — the standard form Missouri families use is free (that's the Free standard form column below), though it isn't issued by the state itself. The $37 is for everything the free form leaves you to work out alone: the eligibility check, the filing sequence, and what to do when a bank, DMV, or clerk pushes back.

This guide Probate attorney Free standard form Doing nothing
Cost $37 $1,500–4,200+ $0 Eventually full probate, if the estate is never settled
Time to filed Same week to prepare; court approval timing varies by county 2–6 weeks If you can decode it alone Not until you act
Bank/DMV/clerk pushback script Yes Sometimes No n/a
Statute citations Yes n/a n/a n/a
Delivery time Instant download After consult + retainer Instant n/a

Attorney costs reflect typical Missouri probate-attorney retainers for this kind of filing.

The most-searched sticking point

What to do when a bank, DMV, or clerk pushes back

A court-filed process mostly slows or stalls on specific steps — a clearance, complete notice, a complete list of interested persons, an institution's follow-up request — not on a teller's unfamiliarity. The guide's Section 5 gives you what the statute or the court's instructions say about each of these:

  • Clerk sends a deficiency notice and the case is at risk of dismissal
  • The hearing cannot be set or is continued because notice was incomplete
  • The petition is challenged because the family tree is incomplete or unproven
  • A title company or lender asks for more than the decree
  • More property is found after the decree

Each one has a specific script and statutory citation behind it — not just "you're right, they're wrong," but exactly what to say and what document to hand over. That's in the guide.

If a bank, DMV, title company, or court clerk rejects your filing for a reason traceable to following this guide, you get a full refund.

Email the stated rejection reason to support@estateaffidavitguide.com within 30 days of purchase and we refund the full purchase price within one business day. No phone tag, no forms, no fight. Not covered: an estate that turns out to be over the dollar limit, a dispute among heirs, or a missing document unrelated to the filing itself. Changed your mind for any other reason? You have 7 days, no questions asked. Full refund policy.

Avoid these

5 common reasons filings get rejected

An administration was commenced, or a will was presented, within the first year
The statute applies only if no administration was commenced on the estate within one year after the date of death and no written will was presented for probate within the § 473.050(3) period. Where an estate was opened or a will was presented in time, the heirs are determined inside that proceeding instead. — RSMo § 473.663.1
The petitioner does not claim as an heir or through an heir
Only a person claiming an interest in the property as an heir or through an heir may petition. A creditor, or anyone with no interest through an heir, does not qualify. — RSMo § 473.663.1
The petition is missing what the statute requires
It must give the decedent's name, age, domicile, last residence and the fact and date of death; each heir's name, relationship and address; anyone claiming through an heir who has since died; and a particular description of the property and its value. — RSMo § 473.663.1(1)-(4)
Notice and publication were not completed
Notice must reach all persons known or believed to claim as heirs, those shown by the county conveyance records, and unknown heirs; publication runs once a week for four consecutive weeks, the last at least seven days before the hearing. — RSMo § 473.663.2-.3
The decree was not recorded for land
A certified copy of the decree must be recorded in each county in which real property described in it is located, at the petitioner's expense. — RSMo § 473.663.5

Before you record the Missouri Determination of Heirship

The recorded filing isn't automatically the end of the story — a title company or other relying party can still ask for more. This free one-pager has the real scenarios that come up after recording and what resolves each, emailed now. We'll also send a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.

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Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is a determination of heirship in Missouri?
A court proceeding under RSMo § 473.663 in which any person claiming as an heir, or through an heir, asks the probate division to decide who the decedent's heirs were at death and what each one's interest is in described property. The resulting decree is conclusive evidence of what it determines, and a certified copy is recorded in each county where land is located.
Is a determination of heirship the same as an "affidavit of heirship"?
No. The only Missouri statute found that names a heirship affidavit, RSMo § 490.370, is an evidence rule: a heirship recital in a deed, or an affidavit attached to one, can be read as the maker's testimony in a later title suit if strict conditions are met (the maker dead or unavailable, the deed of record five years, taxes paid three years). It does not transfer title. No statute authorizing a freestanding recorded affidavit of heirship was found in this research, which is why this guide is built on the § 473.663 court proceeding.
When can I use it?
Only when no administration was commenced within one year after the death and no will was presented for probate within the § 473.050 period (RSMo § 473.663.1). Before then, the heirs are determined as part of the estate.
Is there a dollar limit?
No. The statute has no cap; the decree applies to the property the petition describes.
Does the person who died need to have been without a will?
A will that was never presented for probate in time is forever barred (RSMo § 473.050.5), so the heirs are determined as heirs at law under § 474.010. If a will was presented in time, this section does not apply.
Do I have to publish a notice if I'm the only heir?
Jackson County's Probate Procedures Manual says yes: "even when the petitioner is the sole heir, publication pursuant to § 473.663.3 is still required." The statute requires weekly publication for four consecutive weeks.
How long does it take?
The statute fixes the publication period — once a week for four consecutive weeks, with the last insertion at least seven days before the hearing — so a hearing cannot come sooner than about four weeks after the first publication. No source reviewed states how long a petition takes from filing to decree, so ask your probate clerk.
What does it cost?
A filing fee set by the county, newspaper publication for four weeks, and recording of a certified copy of the decree in each county where land lies, which the statute puts on the petitioner. A search snippet gave a Jackson County fee figure that was not verified against a fee schedule, so none is stated here. No attorney-cost figure was sourced.
Can I file it without a lawyer?
The statute lets "any person claiming an interest in such property as heir or through an heir" petition. Jackson County's petition form includes signature lines for a self-represented petitioner, but its manual's procedural text is written for attorneys, and the clerk's checklist is demanding. Whether another circuit accepts a self-represented petition was not verified — ask the probate clerk.
How is this different from the small estate affidavit?
The small estate affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) collects and distributes property for an estate of $40,000 or less after liens and debts, with a bond, a clerk's certificate and creditor notice. A determination of heirship has no cap but only establishes who the heirs are and their shares in the property it describes — no collecting, no paying debts. Either can apply to an intestate decedent who died more than a year ago.
Did title pass when the person died?
Under RSMo § 473.260, a person's real and personal property passes at death to those named in the will or, without one, to the heirs — subject to the possession of a personal representative and to the estate's debts. What a family often lacks is a record showing who the heirs were, which is what the decree provides.
Which Missouri filing applies to my situation?
As a rule of thumb: an estate worth $40,000 or less after liens, debts and encumbrances, with at least 30 days since the death and no letters applied for, points to the Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) — a court filing with a bond or waiver and a clerk's certificate. A death more than a year ago, with no estate ever opened and no will presented in time, where the need is to establish who the heirs are — often to clear title to land — points to the Determination of Heirship (RSMo § 473.663), which has no dollar cap. They don't fork on a single fact, and either can apply to an intestate decedent who died more than a year ago. An estate over $40,000 within the first year is neither: full administration applies. This is informational only, not legal advice or a determination of which filing applies to your estate.
Does Missouri require a lawyer for these filings?
The statutes do not, but local court rules can. St. Louis County's Probate Division says the intestate small estate affidavit cannot be filed pro se, and the 23rd Circuit (Jefferson County) requires an attorney for any estate over $15,000 or with real property. Other circuits were not verified — ask your probate clerk, who cannot give legal advice but can tell you the filing rule.

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Primary sources

State sources

Every claim here cites the actual statute or an official publication — see them
  • Statute: RSMo § 473.663 . The primary source behind every requirement, cap, and deadline described above.