Alabama Probate Explained

Updated September 2026

When someone who owned a home in Auburn passes away, the house usually doesn't go anywhere fast. In most cases the estate is opened with the Lee County Probate Judge, someone is given court authority to act for the estate, creditors get a window to come forward, and only then does the property get sold or handed down. The order matters more than the speed.

If you're the son or daughter who lives out of state and is staring at a house full of furniture, this one's for you. Here's the process in plain English, with the Lee County specifics and the Auburn market context an heir actually needs.

One thing up front: I'm a real estate agent, not a lawyer. Everything below is general information. Your family's ownership, deadlines, and authority to sell are questions for an Alabama probate attorney.

The Bottom Line

• Estates for Lee County homeowners go through the Lee County Probate Judge in Opelika.
• A will has to be filed for probate within five years of the death to be effective, per Lee County's estates page.
• Creditor notice runs once a week for three weeks, claims are generally due within six months, and an inventory is due within two months.
• Lee County says the estate generally can't be divided until claims and expenses are paid, which takes at least six months.
• Auburn's residential median sold price was $494,087 (Lee County Association of REALTORS®, July 2026 housing stats, AUBURN) in July 2026. That's market context, not what any one inherited house is worth.

Where probate happens for an Auburn home

For a homeowner in Auburn, the estate is handled by the Lee County Probate Judge. The county's Probate Court estates page lists the county's contact block as 215 South 9th Street, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-737-3660. That's the county's general contact line, so ask to be routed to the probate office when you call.

The same page carries a rule families miss: "To be effective, a Will must be filed for probate within five years to the date of the testator's death." If you've found Mom's will in a desk drawer and nobody has filed it, don't let it sit.

Will, no will, or a small estate

With a will. The will gets filed with the probate court, and the court decides who has authority to carry it out. A will names who should get what. By itself, it doesn't hand anyone the power to sign a listing agreement or a deed.

Without a will. The court appoints someone to administer the estate, and Alabama law decides who inherits. How those shares split among a spouse, children, and other relatives depends on the family, so get that answer from a probate attorney before anyone makes plans for the house.

A small estate. Alabama has a simpler procedure for smaller estates. Under Act 2025-431, effective October 1, 2025, the small estate amount equals the combined homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance. A January 6, 2026 Alabama Department of Finance memo puts that total at $47,000 ($18,800 homestead allowance, $18,800 exempt property, $9,400 family allowance).

Whether an estate that includes a house can use the small-estate route is a question for your attorney, so bring the full list of assets and debts to that first meeting.

Who can sign for the house

This is where families get tangled up. A few things I'd keep straight:

• Being an heir isn't the same as having authority. An heir may end up owning part of the house. The person the court authorizes to act for the estate is who signs for the estate.
• The court's paperwork is the proof. Alabama law talks about the "grant of letters," meaning the court document that gives someone authority to act. Before I list an estate home, I want the attorney or title company to confirm in writing who signs the listing agreement and who signs at closing.
• A bond may be required. Lee County's estates page lists, for estate administration, a "Bond, equal to the aggregate capital value of the property of the estate, plus one year's estimated income from the estate." Ask your attorney early whether one applies, because it can affect timing.

If the house was titled jointly, or if heirs disagree about keeping it versus selling it, that's a conversation for a probate attorney before it's a conversation with me. Every family's title looks a little different.

The filings and deadlines that set the calendar

Here's what Lee County's Probate Court estates page says to expect:

• "Notice to file claims must be published once a week for 3 weeks and individual notice given to anyone known to have a claim against the deceased."
• "Claims must be filed generally within 6 months."
• "Inventory of the estate within 2 months."
• "Notice must be given to all heirs."
• "Generally, the estate cannot be divided until all claims and expenses have been paid which is at least six months."

The state statute adds detail. Under Code of Alabama § 43-2-350, claims must be presented "within six months after the grant of letters, or within five months from the date of the first publication of notice, whichever is the later to occur." Claims that miss that window are "forever barred."

My read: the clock that matters for the house usually starts when the court grants letters, not on the date of death. My advice: don't set a listing date until the attorney has mapped out the calendar.

Mortgage, creditors, and property taxes

The mortgage keeps going. A loan doesn't disappear when the borrower does. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says servicers must "have policies and procedures in place to promptly identify and communicate with family members, heirs, or other parties, known as 'successors in interest,' who have a legal interest in the home." The CFPB also says those confirmed as successors in interest "will generally receive the same protections under the CFPB's mortgage servicing rules as the original borrower." Call the servicer early, tell them the borrower has died, and ask what they need to confirm you.

Creditors get paid before heirs. That's the point of the notice and the claims window above. Sale money from the house may go toward valid claims and expenses before anything is divided.

Property taxes still come due. To see what's owed on a specific house, use the Lee County Revenue Commissioner's parcel search. Somebody needs to own this task, because an estate house can sit for months.

Taxes and fees to ask about

Alabama estate tax. The Alabama Department of Revenue says that "estates where the decedent's date of death is after December 31, 2004, are not required to file with Alabama."

Federal income tax and the estate. The IRS guide for families is Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators. The current edition is for use in preparing 2025 returns. Questions about the estate's income tax, or about your tax basis in an inherited house, belong with a CPA.

Court fees. Ask the probate office for the current filing and recording fees when you open the estate. Your attorney, any appraiser, and the eventual closing will carry their own costs on top of that.

My read: never treat the sale price as what the heirs will split. Debts, taxes, fees, and title issues all come out first.

What the Auburn market looks like for an estate home

Once the estate has authority to sell, the house enters the same market as every other Auburn listing. Here's the same-month, year-over-year picture from the Lee County Association of REALTORS® July housing stats for the AUBURN cut, Residential section.

Chart 1. Auburn residential median sold price, July 2025 vs. July 2026. Source: Lee County Association of REALTORS®, July 2025 housing stats, AUBURN; Lee County Association of REALTORS®, July 2026 housing stats, AUBURN.
The residential median sold price in Auburn was $431,625 in July 2025 and $494,087 in July 2026, a 14.5% increase by my math. Closed residential sales went from 136 in July 2025 to 114 in July 2026, down 16.2% by my math.

Most inherited homes are resale homes, not new construction, so the existing-home line is the closer comparison. Existing homes that sold in Auburn averaged 47 days on market in July 2026, compared with 46 in July 2025.

Two cautions. Days on market is marketing time once a home is listed. It says nothing about how long it takes to open probate, get authority to sell, or clear the claims window. And a median is the middle of hundreds of different houses. An estate home that hasn't been updated in decades may sell well above or below it. My read: pricing an estate house takes a walk-through and recent nearby sales, not a citywide number. If timing is on your mind, I've written about the best time to sell a house in Auburn.

Figures are closed data for Auburn as of July 2026, from the Lee County Association of REALTORS®. Market conditions change and past figures are not a prediction.

A plain-English checklist before you list

1. Find the will, if there is one, and get it to a probate attorney. Remember Lee County's five-year filing rule.
2. Open the estate with the Lee County Probate Judge and get the court's letters in hand.
3. Secure the house. Keep insurance, utilities, and lawn care going, and lock up valuables.
4. Call the mortgage servicer and ask about the successor-in-interest process.
5. Check the property tax status through the Lee County Revenue Commissioner.
6. Let the notice and claims period run on the attorney's calendar, and get the inventory done within the two-month window.
7. Confirm who signs before anyone signs a listing agreement.
8. Then talk pricing and prep. My guide to selling an inherited house in Alabama walks through that part, and my Auburn home seller FAQ answers the questions sellers ask most.

If you're handling all this from out of town, a lot of what I've written about buying a house in Auburn remotely applies to heirs too, starting with having someone local you trust to be your eyes on the house.

I'm Amy Cotney, a REALTOR® with Roots Real Estate - Investment Development in Auburn. I originally came here from Tallahassee, and I've learned that selling a family home is rarely just a transaction. If you're sorting out a loved one's house in Auburn or Opelika, you can read more about me here, and I'm happy to talk through the real estate side whenever your attorney says you're ready.

Local rules change. Confirm current requirements with the Lee County Probate Court before relying on anything here. This is not legal advice.

Sources

• Lee County Probate Judge, Probate Court, Estates: https://www.leecountyal.gov/government/probate_judge/probate_court/estates.php
• Alabama Department of Finance, State Comptroller, Small Estate Valuation Update Under Act 2025-431 (January 6, 2026): https://comptroller.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Small-Estate-Valuation-Update-Under-Act-2025-431-signed-for-1.6.2026.pdf
• Code of Alabama § 43-2-350, via FindLaw: https://codes.findlaw.com/al/title-43-wills-and-decedents-estates/al-code-sect-43-2-350.html
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Expands Foreclosure Protections": https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-expands-foreclosure-protections/
• Alabama Department of Revenue, Alabama Estate and Inheritance Tax: https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-estate-and-inheritance-tax/
• Internal Revenue Service, Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p559
• Lee County Association of REALTORS®, July 2026 housing stats, AUBURN
• Lee County Association of REALTORS®, July 2025 housing stats, AUBURN