How Long Does Probate Take? Timeline by State

The stages of probate, and how long each takes

Every state's process has the same shape. The times below are what the calculator assumes for an uncontested estate.

1. Opening the estate (1 to 4 months). File the will and a petition with the probate court in the county where the person lived. The court appoints the executor and issues letters testamentary, or letters of administration if there is no will. Courts with a hearing calendar take longer; without a will, a bond and notice to every heir can add a month.
2. Notice to creditors (the legal minimum). The executor publishes a notice in a local newspaper and writes to known creditors. That starts the claim period your state sets, from 60 days to a year (see the table below). Nothing else in probate is fixed by law the same way.
3. Collecting assets and paying bills (2 to 4 months; 4 to 9 with a house to sell). Get an EIN and estate bank account, inventory and value everything at the date of death, sell what needs selling and pay valid debts. This runs at the same time as the claim period.
4. Tax returns. The final income tax return is due April 15 of the year after the death. If a federal or state estate or inheritance tax return is due, it is usually due 9 months after the death, and executors wait for the IRS or the state to accept it before the final distribution. We assume closing 10 to 18 months after the death in that case.
5. Accounting, distribution and closing (1 to 4 months). File the final account or closing statement, get receipts from the heirs or the court's approval, distribute what is left and ask to be discharged.

How long probate takes in each state

The claim deadline is the statute; the typical length is our estimate for an uncontested estate with a will, no real estate to sell and no estate tax return (use the calculator above for your case). Find your state in the list.

Where a state counts from publication, the clock starts only when the executor publishes, so a notice published late pushes everything back. In states that count from the death (Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio), the period can run out before probate is even opened.

What makes probate take longer

• A will contest or a fight over the executor. Distribution stops until the court rules or the family settles, often for a year or more.
• Real estate. Clearing out, repairing, listing and closing a sale takes months, and some states require court approval of the sale.
• Estate or inheritance tax. A Form 706 or a state return is due 9 months after the death in most cases, and closing waits for it to be accepted. In New Jersey, banks can hold accounts until an inheritance tax waiver is issued.
• No will. The court has to identify every heir, and may require a bond before it appoints an administrator.
• Missing heirs, a business, or property in another state. Real estate in a second state usually needs its own ancillary probate there.
• Court backlog. Some urban courts take weeks or months just to set a hearing.

How to speed up probate

• Check whether you need probate at all. Every state has a shortcut for small estates, such as a small estate affidavit, and assets with beneficiaries skip probate entirely. See what goes through probate.
• Publish the notice to creditors right after appointment, and mail it to every creditor you know about. A known creditor who never got actual notice may not be bound by the deadline, which keeps the estate exposed.
• Ask for the least-supervised process your state offers, such as independent administration in Texas or informal probate in Uniform Probate Code states. Fewer court approvals means fewer hearings.
• Start the tax work early. Get the estate's EIN, file Form 56, and line up a preparer for the final 1040 and Form 1041 before the deadlines bunch up.
• Get receipts and waivers from the heirs. Where the heirs agree, many states let the executor close with signed receipts instead of a formal accounting and hearing.

Probate costs grow with time, too: see the probate cost calculator, and the executor checklist for every step in order.

Related probate guides

• What is probate? How it works, step by step
• Probate cost calculator: fees by state
• Probate court forms by state
• How to become an executor, step by step
• Letters testamentary: how executors get them
• How long an executor has to settle an estate
• Executor vs trustee
• Small estate affidavit by state
• Executor fees by state
• Executor checklist: what to do when someone dies
• Final tax returns for a deceased person