Polk County Court Guide

Not a court proceeding and not filed with the Polk County Court. Thirty days after the death, a successor presents a sworn affidavit to whoever holds the property, and that person must pay the debt or deliver the property. The measure is the value of ALL of the decedent's personal property WHEREVER LOCATED, less liens and encumbrances, up to $100,000. Nebraska real property is not counted in that measure and cannot be transferred by this affidavit; it has its own parallel affidavit and its own separate $100,000 cap. The affidavit also changes registered ownership of securities and lets a successor deposit a check payable to the decedent.

• Wait thirty days after the death (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125(a)(2))
• Attach a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate, or an abstract of death as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-601.01 where a certificate is delayed
• The value of all personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000
• No application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted in ANY jurisdiction
• Swear or affirm the statements are true, acknowledging the perjury penalty in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-915
• For a vehicle, motorboat, all-terrain vehicle, utility-type vehicle or minibike, also give the Department of Motor Vehicles the affidavit showing the section applies

Qualifies:

$100,000

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The $100,000 figure was raised from $50,000 by Laws 2022, LB1124. The most recent amendment, Laws 2025, LB85, § 1, did not move it; it added a waiver at subsection (d)(2) for a Department of Motor Vehicles title transfer more than ten years after the estate closed.

A SECOND, SEPARATE $100,000 CAP, ON A DIFFERENT PROPERTY CLASS AND WITH A DIFFERENT VALUATION RULE. Thirty days after the death, a successor may record an affidavit with the register of deeds of the county where the land lies. The measure is the decedent's interest in ALL Nebraska real property, valued FROM THE ASSESSMENT ROLLS for the year the decedent died, less real estate taxes and interest due at death. Assessed value is not market value, and this route is filed with the register of deeds rather than with the county court.

• Wait thirty days after the death and attach a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate
• The decedent's interest in all Nebraska real property, taken from the assessment rolls for the year of death less real estate taxes and interest due, must not exceed $100,000
• No application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted in the State of Nebraska
• ALL persons claiming as successors must sign, and the claiming successor must state the value of the entire estate subject to probate
• The successor must have investigated and been unable to find any later will; where claiming under a will, attach a copy of it
• Record the affidavit and the death certificate in EVERY Nebraska county where the decedent's real property lies (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,129(b))

Qualifies:

$100,000

Filing fee:

$10

source

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The real property figure was $50,000 from January 1, 2015 and became $100,000 by Laws 2024, LB1195, § 4. Do not merge it with the § 30-24,125 personal property cap: the two are concurrent, sit in different sections, measure different property, use different valuation bases and are filed in different offices.

NEBRASKA'S SUMMARY ROUTE HAS NO DOLLAR LIMIT AND IS NOT A SHORTCUT PAST OPENING AN ESTATE. It is a way to CLOSE one quickly. A personal representative must already be appointed and must have filed an inventory and appraisal. If that inventory shows the estate is worth no more than the allowances and the listed expenses, the personal representative may distribute at once without giving notice to creditors and file a closing statement under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,128. Whether an estate qualifies cannot be answered from a dollar figure alone, because the comparison depends on the funeral and last-illness bills and the cost of administration.

• A personal representative must be appointed, so the estate is opened informally or formally first and pays that fee
• File the inventory and appraisal (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,127)
• The value of the entire estate less liens and encumbrances must not exceed homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness
• Distribute to the persons entitled and file the closing statement (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,128)

Qualifies:

No dollar figure. The entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The allowance figures that drive the comparison are in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2322, 30-2323 and 30-2325 and are banded by date of death, with a band change on 2027-01-01. Read them at the statute rather than from memory.

A formal proceeding is litigation before a county judge rather than an application to the registrar. It is used to object to an informally probated will, to set aside an informal filing, to prevent an informal probate, to determine heirs, or to close the estate by court order. THE FILING FEE IS BANDED BY THE GROSS VALUE OF THE ESTATE ACROSS TWENTY STATUTORY BRACKETS, from $44.00 to $1,670.00, so no single figure describes it.

• File in the Polk County Court, the county of the decedent's domicile at death (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-517(1) and 30-2410)
• Give notice of the hearing to every interested person the Nebraska Probate Code requires
• Expect the fee to be computed on the gross value of the estate: real and personal property in Nebraska at death, less liens and joint tenancy property (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(2))
• An objection to the probate of a will taken to the district court carries its own fee of $103.00 (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2429.01)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. Formal proceedings are used where the will, the heirs, the appointment or the accounting are contested, or where a party asks the court to decide rather than the registrar.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(2) formal fees are charged in full for all services performed by the court, and no additional fee is charged for petitions, hearings and orders during that administration.

Nebraska adopted the Uniform Probate Code in 1974, so the everyday route is an INFORMAL proceeding: an application to the registrar of the Polk County Court rather than a petition heard by a judge. The registrar informally probates the will, or finds intestacy, and appoints a personal representative who then administers the estate without continuous court supervision. The clerk publishes notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks and the personal representative closes by sworn statement.

• Apply to the registrar of the Polk County Court, the county of the decedent's domicile at death (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-517(1) and 30-2410)
• File the original will, if there is one, with the application (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2414)
• Commence within three years of the death, subject to the four exceptions in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2408
• The clerk publishes notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks, first publication within thirty days after the appointment (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2483)
• Where the decedent was fifty-five or older, or resided in a medical institution, notice also goes to the Department of Health and Human Services (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2483(b))

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. This is Nebraska's ordinary route where nothing is contested and the papers are in order.

Filing fee:

$44

source

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Informal is not the same as small. An estate of any size can run informally as long as nobody demands a formal proceeding. The saving is in hearings and supervision, not in the size of the estate.