Hiring a Wills, Trusts or Probate Lawyer in Alabama
What Alabama requires for a valid will, when probate applies, how estate lawyers charge, how to check a lawyer's license, and free help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Alabama: fee rules
| Rules on contingency fees | Contingent fees are allowed except where Rule 1.5(d) or other law prohibits them. A contingent fee agreement must be in writing and state how the fee is figured, including the percentage(s) the lawyer gets on settlement, trial or appeal, what litigation and other expenses come out of the recovery, and whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee is calculated. At the end, the lawyer must give the client a written statement of the outcome and, if there is a recovery, how the client's share was determined. Lawyers may not charge fees in domestic relations matters contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of alimony, support or property settlement, and may not charge a contingent fee to represent a criminal defendant. Fee factors also include whether there is a written fee agreement signed by the client. |
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| If a lawyer takes your money | The Alabama State Bar Client Security Fund may reimburse clients who lost money or property because of an Alabama lawyer's dishonest conduct while acting as a lawyer or fiduciary. Payment is discretionary ("a matter of grace and not of right"). The maximum is $75,000 per applicant and $200,000 for all applicants for one instance or course of dishonest conduct. Losses from malpractice or incompetence, insured losses, investments and consequential damages are excluded. Applications must be filed within three years after the applicant knew or should have known of the loss (tolled while a grievance is pending, but no later than six years). The fund is financed by a $25 annual assessment on lawyers. Application: https://www.alabar.org/assets/2025/01/CSF_Application-1.pdf |
Alabama rules to know first
| Requirements for a valid will | Anyone 18 or older who is of sound mind may make a will. The will must be in writing, signed by the will-maker (or by someone else in the will-maker's name, in their presence and at their direction), and signed by at least two witnesses who each saw the signing or the will-maker's acknowledgment of the signature or the will. A will signed elsewhere is also valid if it met the law of the place where it was signed, or of the will-maker's domicile or residence. |
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| Small estate affidavit | Alabama uses a short court process rather than a simple affidavit. Under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act, if the decedent owned no real estate (other than property passing automatically, such as by survivorship), was not survived by a minor child who is not the surviving spouse's child, and the personal property is worth no more than the small estate amount, a person entitled to the estate can file a verified petition for summary distribution in the probate court of the county where the decedent lived. No bond is required. Notice is published once in a local newspaper and sent to the Alabama Medicaid Agency, and the judge cannot order distribution until at least 30 days after each notice. Funeral expenses and claims must be paid or arranged. The small estate amount is the total of the homestead allowance ($15,000), exempt property ($7,500) and the family allowance, as adjusted every three years for inflation by the State Treasurer. Check with the probate court for the current dollar figure. The Act was rewritten in 2025 (Act 2025-431). |
| How probate works | Probate is handled by the county probate court (judge of probate). A will must be filed for probate within five years after death. The usual steps are: petition to probate the will and for letters testamentary (or letters of administration if there is no will); the personal representative gives notice to creditors by mail to known creditors and by publishing once a week for three weeks; claims are filed with the probate judge; debts are paid; and the estate is distributed and settled. |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service helps people who can afford to pay a lawyer find one. A representative takes basic information and gives you the name and contact details of a participating attorney in your county, if one is available; you can also request a referral online 24/7. Participating lawyers agree to "charge no more than $50 for an initial 30 minute consultation"; other fees are negotiated with the lawyer. Phone: 1-800-392-5660 (Mon-Fri, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m.). Referrals are not made by email, and the service does not cover out-of-state matters. Also described at https://alabar.org/for-the-public/get-legal-help |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Alabama State Bar's "Find a Member" search lets anyone look up lawyers by name, city, county, state, firm or practice area. The bar notes that practice areas are self-reported and not verified, and that disciplinary history is available on the site starting from January 2018. Source: Alabama State Bar, Find a Member |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints that a lawyer violated the Rules of Professional Conduct are investigated and prosecuted by the Disciplinary Division of the Alabama State Bar's Office of General Counsel, acting for the Alabama Supreme Court. The bar publishes a complaint brochure and form for the public. A lawyer's disciplinary history is available on written request from the bar's Disciplinary Clerk (clerk@alabar.org or P.O. Box 671, Montgomery, AL 36101). Bar phone: (334) 269-1515 or toll-free (800) 354-6154. Complaint brochure and form: https://www.alabar.org/assets/2025/04/Complaint-form_brochure-2012.pdf ; Office of General Counsel: https://www.alabar.org/office-of-general-counsel/ |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Legal Services Alabama, the LSC-funded legal aid program for the state, provides free civil legal help to qualifying low-income people in all 67 counties (apply at 866-456-4995 or online); it does not handle criminal cases. Volunteer lawyer programs also take civil cases for eligible people, including the Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program at (888) 857-8571 for counties without a local program. Alabama Legal Help (alabamalegalhelp.org) offers free legal information and self-help forms. Phone numbers from https://alabar.org/for-the-public/get-legal-help |
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All legal help in Alabama · Do I need a lawyer?
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.