Missouri Probate, Sorted—
Without the Stress.

Flat-fee legal guidance that closes most estates in months, not years, so you can focus on family, not paperwork.

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We work with probate courts across the State of Missouri.

Average and median full administration timelines are less than 1 year (small estates as little as 4-8 weeks).

All fees disclosed up front. No hourly billing surprises.

Our 3-Step Roadmap

We Connect

A 30-minute strategy call pinpoints the exact probate path and flat fee.

We Handle the Legal Stuff

From petitions to final distributions, every pleading, deadline, and court appearance is on us.

You Resolve the Estate—Fast

We coordinate court orders, loop in our vetted clean-out & realtor partners, and keep you updated until the case is closed.

Why Schnurbusch Law?

Transparent Flat Rates. 🧘 

Most full administrations run $6-7,500 + court costs; smaller estates start at $3,000. No surprise attorney fee invoices unless the law requires it.*

Built-for-speed workflows. 💨

Our average full administration wraps up inside a year⎯months (or years) faster than the state norm. Our mission is to make probate as fast and painless as legally possible.

We shoulder the legal risk. 👨‍⚖️

Missouri law usually makes a lawyer mandatory; we make the process merciful.

Curated local pros. 👨‍🔧👩‍🔧

Clean-outs, appraisers, realtors⎯hand-picked, no kickbacks.

* In full estate cases only, the law imposes a minimum percentage afforded to the lawyer.

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Common Probate Questions

You’ll gather financial statements and personal property details. You are also responsible for things like:

  • Contacting account providers and instructing them to transfer funds
  • Preparing assets for sale & signing at any closing
  • Working with CPAs to file necessary tax returns
  • Etc.

We handle every court document, filing fee, and hearing.

Generally no. Most county probate courts require an attorney.

However, your county court may allow exceptions in certain small estate and/or Refusal of Letters cases (such as if you are a surviving spouse or minor child and the estate is very small).

Here are some of our blogs and videos on when a Probate attorney IS and IS NOT required:

In Missouri, an estate must be opened for full administration if:

  1. The value of the estate property minus liens (like mortgages, car loans, etc.) exceeds $40,000; AND
  2. It has been less than 1 year since death.

If an estate is smaller than $40,000, it may qualify for Small Estate treatment.

If an estate is over $40,000 but it has been more than 1 year since death, the estate may qualify for Determination of Heirship treatment. This is another short-form probate process.

Videos and Blogs on related topics:

There are three main ways an estate can qualify for “small estate” treatment.

The first is if the total value of the estate is less than $40,000, after subtracting liens (such as mortgages, car loans, etc.). This is the most common.

The second way is if the estate is less than $20-24,000 AND you are the surviving spouse or minor child of the deceased.

The third way is if the estate is less than $15,000 AND you are a creditor of the deceased (e.g. you paid a funeral bill).

Blogs and videos on Small Estates:

Our fees depend on the type of case, but they are always a flat amount, never hourly.

Small Estates & Determination of Heirship

Typical small estate fees are around $3000-4500 + court filing fees and costs (which are usually no more than $75-150).

In small estate cases, the fee is paid up front.

Full Administration

In Full probate cases (i.e. over $40,000 in assets, < 1 year since death), we get paid a hybrid fee. Our fee is the greater of:

  1. Our flat rate fee we will quote to you during the consultation (usually $6000-7500), paid in stages throughout the case; OR
  2. Missouri’s minimum statutory percentage fee.

In full administration cases, part is paid up front and the remainder paid throughout the life of the estate.

How to Pay

We accept easy electronic payment options like credit, debit, and bank transfer that can be paid entirely online.

An average full probate case typically takes around a year to complete. Small estates usually take 4-10 weeks.

Full probate administration takes a minimum of 6 months and 10 days from the date that the notice of letters of administration are published in the newspaper.

We handle publication for you as soon as we get it from the court.

In many cases, there are various reasons that estates can be held open longer, such as the pending sale of assets, winding up of businesses, or outstanding tax returns.

  1. A scanned copy of the death certificate
  2. The names and addresses of ALL heirs (spouses, children or their descendants, etc.)
  3. Supporting documents for the assets (ideally), such as bank statements for bank accounts, deed(s) for real estate, etc.

If you don’t have any documents right away, don’t worry! It will be easier to obtain them once you are authorized to act on behalf of the estate.

Additionally, if you don’t know where someone lives, we can often find them through our advanced background check software.

We don’t handle litigation in probate. We don’t:

  • File lawsuits against estates
  • Handle will contests or disputes about the validity of a will or trust
  • File lawsuits on behalf of an estate

For those sorts of cases, we refer to counsel who specialize in probate fights.

In most cases, estates still have administration-related matters even if there are possible related issues of fraud or abuse.

We handle the administrative side while professional litigators handle the fighting, if there is any.

No. Missouri courts only have jurisdiction to administer assets physically located within the state of Missouri.

If your loved one left assets in another state, you will need to contact a probate attorney in that state as well.

We are happy to make referrals where possible!

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