Blog & Information

In Arkansas, probate is the legal process by which the property and assets owned by a deceased person individually, without any joint ownership or joint rights of survivorship, known as probate assets are administered by the Court either through a Last Will and Testament  or through the Arkansas laws of intestacy, the probate assets are accounted for, inventoried, and eventually distribute

Arkansas law provides a legal process by which certain estates can be administered without the need for full on probate. This called the small estate administration process. However, to qualify to utilize the small estate administration process, that estate has to meet certain criteria as follows:

In Arkansas, a holographic Will is a handwritten Will that must be in the handwriting of the specific individual, it must have the signature of the individual, it must have testamentary language contemplating the allocation of assets upon the person’s passing, and it must be established with the Court to be a valid holographic Will which can be a complicated process.

An Arkansas Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document allowing a “principal” to appoint an “agent” to act on their behalf. There are several types of Powers of Attorney, each serving different purposes and offering varying levels of authority.

General Power of Attorney:

Introduction

The misuse or misappropriation of trust assets by a Trustee is not uncommon unfortunately. Too many Trustees succumb to the temptation to use trust assets to benefit themselves or their family members in violation of the terms of the Trust and in violation of Arkansas law.

Generally, the statute of limitations for opening probate in Arkansas is five (5) years after the date of death. However, there are certain exceptions that may toll the running of statute of limitations under Arkansas law such as fraudulent concealment of a Will or participation in the concealment of a Will.

The appointed Trustee of a Trust is obligated to perform their duties within the prescriptions and confines of Arkansas law including the Arkansas Trust Code and the recently enacted version of the Uniform Directed Trust Act.

One of the most common misconceptions about probate and inheritance law is the misguided assumption that when a person passes away without a Will, that because they were married at the time of their passing the surviving spouse will get all or most of their estate. This is FAR from the truth, and this is one reason why a Will or a Trust is so important.