Petition to Probate a Will Requirements in Missouri

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and proceeding type

Missouri uses one in-rem estate proceeding from the application for letters through final distribution and discharge. The probate division of the circuit court handles probate and letters under §§ 472.020 and 473.013. The application must state whether supervised or independent administration is requested.

Court and venue

Section 473.010 starts with the decedent's Missouri domicile county. A nondomiciliary estate uses a county containing property, but if most Missouri property is real estate, venue follows the county containing that realty or most of it. If the decedent had neither domicile nor property in Missouri, venue may lie where letters are needed to protect or secure a legal right. The first-filed application determines competing venue.

Who may petition

A person entitled to letters under § 473.110 may apply. If no entitled person files within twenty days after death, § 473.020 permits any interested person to petition, including a claimant who attaches the required affidavit stating the basis of the claim. That twenty-day rule opens the route to others; it is not the final application deadline.

Petition contents

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.017 and 473.020 govern the two application routes. Section 473.017 requires the decedent's identifying, domicile, residence, death, and age information; the spouse, heirs, devisees, legatees, minors, and known conservators; real and personal property values; and additional Missouri-property facts for a nondomiciliary.

The application also addresses an undelivered, lost, destroyed, or suppressed will; identifies named executors and the applicant's attorney; states the fiduciary undertaking; and selects supervised or independent administration. The separate § 473.020 petition used after the twenty-day priority period has its own shorter list and must be filed within one year after death.

Original will, copy, and lodging

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.043 and 473.050 govern custody and presentment. Under § 473.043, the custodian delivers the will to the probate division with estate jurisdiction or to the county where the will is found; the latter court keeps a copy and sends the original to the proper court by certified mail. The court may compel a refusing custodian.

Presentment under § 473.050 requires both sides of a two-part act: delivery of the will—or a verified statement explaining why it is unavailable and stating its known provisions—and a probate-requesting affidavit or petition, or a qualifying authenticated foreign order.

Filing or production deadline

If notice of letters has been published, § 473.050(3)(1) requires presentment within six months after first publication or within thirty days after a § 473.083 establish-or-contest action begins, whichever is later. If letters notice has not been published, the deadline is one year after death. A will admitted in the decedent's foreign domicile may be presented during that domiciliary administration. The statute separately requires an application for letters within one year after death, subject to its stated exceptions.

Proof and self-proving route

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.053, 473.065, and 473.073 separate ordinary proof, self-proof, and the ultimate admission findings. For an ordinary non-self-proved written will, § 473.053 requires examination of at least two subscribing witnesses when they are alive, competent, and otherwise available. If one or both are unavailable for a listed reason, the available witness, handwriting proof, or other competent evidence fills the statutory route.

A will with the required signatures and § 474.337 self-proving certificate is admitted without further proof under § 473.065. The certificate uses the testator's and witnesses' acknowledgments before an authorized oath officer and the officer's certificate and seal, or the statute's no-official-seal substitute. Under § 473.073, the clerk or court still determines death, lawful execution, and absence of revocation before admission.

Notice, hearing, and objections

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.033 and 473.083 supply the post-letters notice and contest clocks. The ordinary application provisions do not prescribe advance probate notice. The post-twenty-day § 473.020 petition is different: the court sets a hearing within fifteen days and directs notice to all interested persons. After letters issue, § 473.033 requires four consecutive weekly publications and ordinary-mail notice to each listed heir and devisee unless waived.

Under § 473.083, a person interested in probate generally has until the later of six months after probate or rejection and six months after first publication of letters notice to file the will-contest or rejected-will action.

Executor, bond, and letters

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.110 and 473.117 govern priority and disqualification. Section 473.110 gives letters first to the will's designated personal representatives, then to another qualified person if all nominees fail or cannot serve. Section 473.117 disqualifies the listed court officials except for its family exception, a person under eighteen or of unsound mind, a person under crime-based legal disability, a habitual drunkard, listed out-of-state entities, and a representative's representative. A nonresident may serve but must file a Missouri service-agent designation before letters.

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.023, 473.157, and 473.160 govern issuance and bond. The court or clerk grants letters under § 473.023. Bond ordinarily must be filed and approved before the representative begins duties. Section 473.160 excuses or modifies that result when the will requests no bond, a qualifying corporation serves, the court finds good cause, or assets are deposited so the bond can be reduced proportionally; the court retains the stated discretion.

What trips people up

Presentment is not just handing over an original will. Section 473.050 requires the will or unavailable-will statement plus a filing that actually requests probate. Its publication-linked deadline also includes a thirty-day alternative trigger tied to a will-establishment or contest action.

Common questions

Can an interested person file immediately if the nominee does nothing?

The § 473.020 route opens after twenty days without an application by a person entitled to letters. The court then sets a noticed hearing to decide who should be directed to apply and qualify.

Is one witness enough for ordinary probate proof?

Not when both subscribing witnesses are alive, competent, and available. Section 473.053 requires at least two in that situation; its fallback applies when one or both are unavailable for a listed reason.

Does depositing estate assets automatically eliminate bond?

No. Section 473.160(2) says the bond may be reduced in proportion to the value deposited. Other subsections provide the no-bond routes.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 472.020, probate-division jurisdiction — official current section (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 473.010, .013, .017, .020, .023, .033, .043, .050, .053, .065, .073, .083, .110, .117, .157, and .160, proceeding, venue, filings, presentment, deadlines, proof, notice, qualification, bond, and letters — official current Chapter 473 (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.337, self-proving certificate — official current section (accessed 2026-08-03).