Letters Testamentary in Arkansas

Letters are issued by the probate division of the circuit court in the proper county. An interested person may petition to admit a will to probate and appoint the named executor (letters testamentary), or to appoint an administrator if there is no will or the named executor cannot serve (letters of administration); both requests can be combined. The petition states the decedent's name, age, residence and date and place of death, the names, ages, relationships and addresses of heirs and devisees, and the probable value of real and personal property. The court may require a bond, and must consider one if an interested person demands it in writing. Official statewide petition forms are published by the Arkansas Judiciary (Probate Forms 2 and 3).

Priority for appointment: the executor named in the will; then the surviving spouse or the spouse's nominee (if the petition is filed within 30 days after death); then heirs or beneficiaries or their nominee; then any other qualified person. A person cannot serve if under 18, of unsound mind, an unpardoned felon, an unauthorized corporation, or found unsuitable by the court. A nonresident can serve only after appointing an agent for service of process (the court clerk or an approved county resident). The court may require a bond and must consider one if an interested person demands it in writing.