A creditor's window to come after the estate is the deadline that decides when you can safely distribute. Pay the beneficiaries too early and a late but valid claim can land on you personally. In most states the clock starts when letters are issued or when notice is published — not at the date of death — and several states run a second, longer bar measured from the death itself.
The two clocks are easy to confuse. The claim period is how long a creditor has to present a claim. The bar date is the outer limit past which claims die regardless of notice. Where we have both for a state, both are shown.
| State | Window | What the rule says |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6 months / 5 months / 30 days | Claims must be presented within 6 months after the grant of letters, or 5 months from the date of first publication of notice, whichever is LATER, or be forever barred. A creditor entitled to actual notice gets 30 days after receiving it.read at source Ala. Code §43-2-350 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Alaska | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors — the Uniform Probate Code default this state adopted.not yet confirmed AS §13.16.460 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Arizona | 4 months | Creditors must present claims within 4 months after the date of first publication of the notice, or be forever barred; notice is published once a week for three successive weeks.read at source A.R.S. §14-3801 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Arkansas | 6 months / 2 years / 5 years | Claims are forever barred unless verified to the personal representative or filed with the court within 6 months after first publication of the notice to creditors. Known or reasonably ascertainable creditors are barred at 2 years from first publication. Where no administration is commenced and no notice published, claims are barred 5 years after death.read at source Ark. Code §28-50-101 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| California | 4 months / 60 days | Creditor claims are due the later of 4 months after letters are first issued, or 60 days after notice of administration is delivered to the creditor.read at source Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a) · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Colorado | 4 months / 1 year | Claims must be presented by the earlier of 4 months from first publication of the notice to creditors or 1 year from the date of death, or be forever barred. Notice is published at least three times, once in each of three successive weeks.read at source C.R.S. §15-12-801 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Connecticut | 150 days | Creditors have 150 days from the fiduciary's appointment to present claims.not yet confirmed C.G.S. §45a-356 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Delaware | 8 months from death | All claims arising before or at death are barred against the estate, the personal representative and the heirs and devisees unless presented within 8 months of the decedent's death — WHETHER OR NOT notice to creditors has been given. The clock runs from death, which is unusual.read at source 12 Del. C. §2102(a) · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| District of Columbia | 6 months / 30 days | Creditors barred 6 months from first publication of the Notice of Appointment; small estates use a 30-day window.not yet confirmed D.C. Code §20-903 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Florida | $150,000 | Summary administration available where the estate less property exempt from creditors is at or below this amount, for deaths on or after July 1, 2026. $75,000 for earlier deaths.read at source Fla. Stat. §735.201, as amended by CS/HB 1337 (Ch. 2026-57) · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Florida | 3 months / 30 days | Creditor claims barred the later of 3 months after first publication of the notice to creditors, or 30 days after service on a creditor entitled to service.read at source Fla. Stat. §733.702(1) · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Georgia | 60 days / 4 weeks / 3 months | Personal representative must publish notice to debtors and creditors within 60 days of qualifying, once a week for four weeks; creditors generally must present claims within 3 months of the last publication.read at source OCGA §53-7-41 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Hawaii | 4 months / 60 days | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication, or 60 days after mailed notice, whichever is later.not yet confirmed HRS §560:3-801 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Idaho | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors — the Uniform Probate Code default this state adopted.not yet confirmed Idaho Code §15-3-801 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Indiana | 3 months / 9 months | Claims must be filed within the earlier of 3 months after the first published notice to creditors or 9 months after the decedent's death, or be forever barred.read at source IC 29-1-14-1 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Iowa | 4 months / 1 month | Creditors barred 4 months after the second published notice; a known creditor also gets 1 month from mailed notice.not yet confirmed Iowa Code §633.410 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Kansas | 4 months / 30 days | All demands are forever barred unless presented within the LATER of 4 months from first publication of notice, or — where the creditor's identity is known or reasonably ascertainable — 30 days after actual notice. Kansas treats non-claim as jurisdictional; the executor cannot waive it.read at source K.S.A. §59-2239 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Louisiana | no non-claim bar | Louisiana has no single publication-triggered non-claim deadline that bars every claim the way common-law states do; a claim runs on its own prescription and a creditor can suspend it by filing a formal proof of claim in the succession. Do NOT apply a 4- or 6-month creditor clock here.not yet confirmed La. C.C.P. art. 3245 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Maine | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors.not yet confirmed 18-C M.R.S. §3-801, §3-803 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Maryland | 6 months / 2 months | Creditor claims barred at the earlier of 6 months from the date of death or 2 months after the personal representative mails notice.not yet confirmed Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §8-103 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Massachusetts | 1 year from death | Creditor claims barred 1 year from the date of death.not yet confirmed G.L. c. 190B §3-803 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Michigan | 4 months / 3 years | Claims barred 4 months after publication of the notice to creditors; if that notice is never properly given, claims stay open for 3 years from the date of death.read at source MCL 700.3801, 700.3803 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Minnesota | 4 months | Creditors entitled only to published notice must present claims within 4 months after the date of the court administrator's published notice, or be forever barred. Notice runs once a week for two successive weeks.read at source Minn. Stat. §524.3-801 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Mississippi | 90 days | Claims must be registered, probated and allowed in the granting court within 90 days after first publication of the notice to creditors, or be barred — even if the executor knew of the claim.read at source Miss. Code §91-7-151 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Missouri | 6 months / 2 months | Claims barred if not filed within 6 months after first published notice of letters, or within 2 months after notice was mailed to or served on the creditor, whichever is later.read at source RSMo §473.360 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Montana | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors.not yet confirmed MCA §72-3-801 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Nebraska | 2 months | Creditors barred 2 months after the first published notice; first publication within 30 days of appointment.not yet confirmed Neb. Rev. Stat. §30-2483 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Nevada | 90 days / 60 days summary | Claims must be filed within 90 days after mailing (where mailing is required) or 90 days after first publication. A creditor who receives mailed notice files within the LATER of 30 days after mailing or 90 days after first publication. Reduced to 60 days where summary administration is granted.read at source NRS §147.040 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| New Hampshire | 6 months / 1 year | No action may be brought against an administrator within 6 months of the original grant of administration, and a creditor's demand must be exhibited to the administrator within that same 6 months. Suit must then be filed within 1 year of the grant.read at source RSA 556:1, 556:5 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| New Jersey | 9 months from death | Creditors have 9 months from the date of death to present claims; a personal representative who pays lawful claims or distributions before a late claim arrives is not personally liable for it.read at source N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| New Mexico | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors — the Uniform Probate Code default this state adopted.not yet confirmed NMSA §45-3-801 · last checked 2026-07 |
| New York | 7 months | If a claim is not presented within 7 months of the issue of letters, the fiduciary is not chargeable for assets paid out in good faith. A safe harbour for the fiduciary, NOT a hard bar on creditors.read at source N.Y. SCPA 1802 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| North Carolina | 3 months / 75 days | Notice to creditors must name a date at least 3 months from first publication; known or reasonably ascertainable creditors must also be mailed a copy within 75 days of the grant of letters.read at source NCGS §28A-14-1 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| North Dakota | 3 months / 3 years | Claims barred unless presented within 3 months after the date of first publication AND mailing of notice to creditors, or within 3 years after death where no notice is published.read at source NDCC §30.1-19-03 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Ohio | 6 months from death | Creditor claims must be presented within 6 months after the date of death, and are forever barred afterwards. An absolute bar running from death, not from publication — unusually short, and the reason Ohio deserves an early flag.read at source ORC §2117.06 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Oklahoma | 2 months + 2 months | The personal representative must file a notice to creditors within 2 months after letters issue; the presentment date stated in it must be at least 2 months after the notice is filed, and first publication must appear within 10 days of filing. Claims not presented by the stated date are forever barred.read at source 58 O.S. §331 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Oklahoma | 30 days | In summary administration the combined notice gives creditors a shorter window.not yet confirmed 58 O.S. §245 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Oregon | 4 months / 45 days | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to interested persons, or 45 days after mailed notice if later.not yet confirmed ORS §115.003, §115.005 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 year | A personal representative distributing more than 1 year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters is protected from claims not then known to them. A safe harbour for the executor, not a hard bar on creditors.read at source 20 Pa.C.S. §3532 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Rhode Island | 6 months | Creditors barred 6 months from the first publication of the notice.not yet confirmed R.I. Gen. Laws §33-11-5 · last checked 2026-07 |
| South Carolina | 8 months / 1 year / 60 days | Notice published once a week for three successive weeks; creditors must present claims within 8 months after first publication or be forever barred. A creditor given written notice by mail must present within the earlier of 1 year from death or 60 days from delivery.read at source S.C. Code §62-3-801 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| South Dakota | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors — the Uniform Probate Code default this state adopted.not yet confirmed SDCL §29A-3-801 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Tennessee | 4 months / 12 months | Claims must be filed by the earlier of 4 months from first publication (where the creditor received an actual copy at least 60 days before that deadline) or 12 months from the date of death. The clerk returns anything received more than 12 months after death.read at source T.C.A. §30-2-307 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Texas | 90 days | Inventory, Appraisement and List of Claims due within 90 days of qualification; Affidavit in Lieu available to an independent executor with no unpaid creditors.not yet confirmed Tex. Est. Code §309.051, §309.056 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Utah | 3 months if published / 1 year otherwise | Publication is optional — the personal representative MAY publish, which starts a 3-month bar from first publication; without publication the default is the 1-year-from-death bar. A creditor given written notice gets the later of 90 days from the published notice or 60 days from delivery.read at source Utah Code §75-3-801, §75-3-803 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Vermont | 4 months | Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors.not yet confirmed 14 V.S.A. §1203 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Virginia | no non-claim bar | No hard creditor non-claim bar; an optional Debts and Demands hearing through the Commissioner of Accounts gives protection before distributing.not yet confirmed Va. Code §64.2-550, §64.2-556 · last checked 2026-07 |
| Washington | 4 months / 24 months | Served creditor: later of 30 days after service or 4 months from first publication. Reasonably ascertainable creditor not given actual notice, or no notice published: 24 months from the date of death.read at source RCW 11.40.051 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
| Wyoming | 3 months / 30 days | Claims must be filed within 3 months of first publication, or within 30 days after mailing to a reasonably ascertainable creditor, whichever is LATER, or be barred forever. Such creditors must be mailed notice at least 30 days before the 3-month period expires.read at source Wyo. Stat. §2-7-201, §2-7-205 · last checked 2026-09-05 |
Settle builds this checklist into a plan you can actually work
The steps above, ordered for your situation in your state, with the deadlines on a calendar, your documents attached to the step that needs them, and an expense ledger for everything the estate owes you back. The plan itself is free.
Every figure on this page links to the statute or court source it came from and shows the date we last read it. 20 of the 49 citations on this page carry the “not yet confirmed” tag. That means we recorded the citation from a secondary source and have not yet read it against the primary statute text ourselves. We could have left those rows out and the page would look better — but it would imply the rest were checked too, which is exactly the impression nobody should be given about a court deadline.
The full registry, including everything we have not confirmed, is published at Where the state information comes from. If the court or your attorney gave you a different date, please tell us at [email protected] — it is the fastest way to get it fixed for the next executor.
A state is missing from this table because we have not yet read and recorded its rule from a primary source — not because the rule does not exist. Every state has a guide of its own with whatever we have confirmed for it: see all 51 executor guides.