In most states, yes — and the notice is what starts the clock that eventually lets you distribute safely. Both the method and the window are set by state law, and getting the notice wrong can leave the estate exposed long after you thought it was closed.
See also: Creditor claim deadlines in all 49 states we have confirmed
There is no national rule here. Settle covers 47 jurisdictions and they produce 47 genuinely different answers — so rather than pick one, here is each of them. Follow the state link for the full checklist and the statute behind it.
| State | What applies there |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Alaska | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Arizona | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Arkansas | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Colorado | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Connecticut | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Delaware | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| District of Columbia | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Florida | Your attorney publishes the notice and serves known creditors. Track claims in Settle. |
| Georgia | Arrange publication in the county's legal organ (newspaper). Track claims in Settle. |
| Hawaii | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Idaho | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Illinois | Publish the notice and mail it to known creditors. Track claims in Settle. |
| Indiana | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Iowa | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Kansas | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Kentucky | Publish and mail the required notices, and log every claim in Settle with the date it arrived. Confirm your appointment date with the District Court — that is the date the 6 months runs from. KRS §396.011 · last checked 2026-09-05read at source |
| Louisiana | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Maine | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Maryland | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Massachusetts | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Michigan | Publish the notice and notify known creditors. Track claims in Settle. |
| Minnesota | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Mississippi | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Missouri | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Montana | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Nebraska | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Nevada | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| New Hampshire | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| New Jersey | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| New Mexico | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| North Carolina | Publish the notice and mail it to known creditors. Track claims in Settle. |
| North Dakota | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Oklahoma | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Oregon | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Rhode Island | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| South Carolina | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| South Dakota | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Tennessee | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Texas | Publish in a newspaper in the county; send required notices to known secured creditors. Track responses in Settle. |
| Utah | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Vermont | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Virginia | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Washington | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| West Virginia | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Wisconsin | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
| Wyoming | Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle. |
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. All 1 citations on this page have been read against the primary statute text.
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.
This is one step out of roughly two dozen. The full sequence for your state — with the statutory deadlines, the citations behind them and the date each was last checked — is in the state executor guides.