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The last will and testament of the decedent must be filed with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court within one year of the testator's death. Missouri offers a simplified probate process for estates valued at $40,000 or less.

In Missouri, the probate court allows creditors six months to file a claim against the estate. After the six-month period, probate goes through an approval process with the court, so many families wait up to a year and a half for their inheritance.

Any person who is at least 18 years old and of sound mind can make a will. When is a Will Legal in Missouri? In Missouri, a will is legal when it is signed and the signature was witnessed by two people. A will can be changed through a codicil with the same formalities as when the will was signed.

If the estate is small and has a reasonable amount of debt, six to eight months is a fair expectation. With a larger estate, it will likely be more than a year before everything settles. This is especially true if there's a lot of debt or real estate in multiple states.

Thus, if timely probate was not filed, the property will pass to the true heirs at law, not to the parties named in the Will. Additionally, when a family member dies, each individual asset must be examined to determine whether it automatically passed to another person upon death or whether it must be probated.

Missouri does not recognize holographic wills (wills that are handwritten by the testator and are not signed and attested by witnesses). All wills must be attested to by two or more competent witnesses. A handwritten will that is witnessed properly by two witnesses is valid.