Missouri
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

Filing Requirements

In Missouri, a death certificate must be filed with the local registrar within five days after death and before the final disposition of the body. This ensures that the death is officially recorded and allows for subsequent legal processes to proceed.

• -The funeral director or person in charge of final disposition is typically responsible for filing the death certificate.
• -Medical certification, including the cause of death, must be completed by the attending physician, physician assistant, assistant physician, or advanced practice registered nurse within 72 hours after death.

Obtaining Copies

Certified copies of a death certificate can only be issued to individuals with a 'direct and tangible interest' in the record. This includes immediate family members, legal representatives, and others who require the document for personal or property interests.

• -The first certified copy costs $14, and additional copies ordered at the same time cost $11 each.
• -Identification is required for in-person requests, and mail-in applications must be notarized.

Who can order a death certificate in Missouri?

Missouri records are closed to the public. Under 19 CSR 10-10 a certified copy goes to the registrant, a family member, a guardian or their official representative: all family members including in-laws, cousins and step relations, genealogists representing a family member, an attorney, physician or funeral director acting for the family, or anyone who shows a direct and tangible interest to protect a personal or property right. Mail applications must be notarized. Certified copies come from Missouri's Bureau of Vital Records, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, in Jefferson City; 115 local public health agencies issue short-form copies for deaths since 1980, in person at the state office or a local public health agency, by notarized mail application, or online or by phone through VitalChek.

How do I get a death certificate in Missouri?

Order certified copies from Missouri's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Missouri?

$14 per certified copy in Missouri, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

Small Estate Affidavit

Missouri offers a simplified probate process for small estates through a small estate affidavit. This allows for the collection and distribution of assets without full, formal probate, which can be time-consuming and costly.

Conditions for Small Estate Affidavit

To use the small estate affidavit, several conditions must be met, including a waiting period and potential publication requirements.

• -Thirty days must have passed since the decedent's death.
• -If the estate's value is over $15,000, a notice to creditors must be published in a newspaper.
• -A bond, in an amount not less than the value of the personal property, must be filed, unless waived by the court.

Handwritten wills.

Missouri doesn't accept an unwitnessed handwritten will signed here. Every will needs two or more competent witnesses who sign in the person's presence (RSMo § 474.320). A will valid under the law of the place it was signed, or of the place the person lived when they signed it or died, is valid in Missouri (§ 474.360).

Source: RSMo § 474.320 (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) ↗Source: RSMo § 474.360 ↗

What is the small-estate limit in Missouri?

$40,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Missouri?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Missouri allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Yes. Missouri authorizes the beneficiary deed under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.025 (Nonprobate Transfers Law of Missouri, §§ 461.003 to 461.081). Record it while you’re alive and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death, outside probate, revocable any time before then. Missouri pioneered the beneficiary deed in 1989; the deed must be recorded before the owner dies or it's void.

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.025 (Nonprobate Transfers Law of Missouri, §§ 461.003 to 461.081) ↗

Time off work after a death in Missouri

Missouri doesn't require a private employer to give bereavement leave, paid or unpaid. Whatever you get is your employer's policy, and it can be changed or refused.

Who it covers. No coverage. No Missouri statute requires bereavement leave from any employer.

How much. None required.

Paid or unpaid. Not applicable, no mandate.

Missouri had exactly one paid leave mandate, and it lasted four months. Proposition A's earned paid sick time took effect May 1, 2025, and HB 567 repealed it effective August 28, 2025. The department now tells employers they may continue offering paid sick time but are no longer required to. Even while it was in force, its permitted uses were illness, care for a family member and domestic violence, not bereavement. So there is no state floor of any kind today: a grieving Missouri employee gets whatever the employer's policy or contract provides. If the policy does promise bereavement leave, the employer has to follow its own terms, which is the one lever the state offers. Nothing in Missouri law covers pregnancy loss leave.

Source: Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards, Wages, Hours and Dismissal Rights; HB 567 (2025), repealing the Proposition A earned paid sick time law effective August 28, 2025 ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Missouri?

Yes. Missouri enforces pet trusts under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 456.4-408, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when your animal dies, or when the last of them dies if you covered more than one, and Missouri sets no year limit on it. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and if you name nobody a court appoints someone. Anyone who cares about your animal can also ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one who isn't doing the job. A judge can cut the amount back if it holds more than your animal's care requires. Unless your trust says where the extra should go, it comes back to you if you're living, and otherwise to whoever inherits from you. Missouri covers an animal that was alive at some point while you were, so a pet your family takes in after you die needs its own arrangement. Name the caretaker, the person who enforces the trust, and a backup for each; Missouri won't pick them for you.

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 456.4-408 ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Missouri and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Missouri, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.010 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): the entire estate.
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): parents get nothing, the spouse still takes the entire estate.
• -Spouse + joint descendants: the first $20,000 plus one-half of the balance; descendants take the rest.
• -Spouse + blended family: one-half of the estate, no $20,000 set-aside; descendants take the other half.
• -Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.010

Children's shares.

The children, or a deceased child's descendants, take the entire estate in equal parts.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

With no spouse or descendants the estate goes to the decedent's parents and siblings or their descendants, then grandparents, uncles, and aunts or their descendants, then great-grandparents and on up the ancestral line; collateral relatives beyond the ninth degree take nothing, then the kindred of a predeceased spouse inherit, and if no one qualifies the estate escheats to the state.

At a Glance

Two documents, two rules. The health care power of attorney is notarized and needs no witnesses (RSMo § 404.705 via § 404.810). The living will needs two adult witnesses and no notary (RSMo § 459.015).

Types of Advance Directives

Missouri law recognizes two documents, and they follow different rules.

• -A living will declaration (RSMo chapter 459) states which death-prolonging procedures you refuse if you have a terminal condition.
• -A durable power of attorney for health care (RSMo § 404.800 et seq.) names an agent to make medical decisions for you when you can't.

Requirements for Validity

The two documents are signed differently. Missouri requires a notary for the health care power of attorney but not for the living will.

• -Living will: in writing, signed and dated by the declarant. Two witnesses at least 18 years old must sign unless the declaration is wholly in the declarant's handwriting; a person who signs the declaration on the declarant's behalf can't be a witness. No notary (RSMo § 459.015).
• -Health care power of attorney: signed, dated, and acknowledged before a notary, the same formality Missouri law sets for real estate deeds. Witnesses aren't required (RSMo §§ 404.810, 404.705).

Where do I get Missouri's advance directive form?

Start with RSMo § 459.015 (living will); § 404.800 et seq. (health care power of attorney), linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Missouri require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Missouri requires notarization and no witnesses, as shown in the requirements above. Two documents, two rules. The health care power of attorney is notarized and needs no witnesses (RSMo § 404.705 via § 404.810). The living will needs two adult witnesses and no notary (RSMo § 459.015). Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

Right of Sepulcher

Missouri law grants the 'right of sepulcher' to specific individuals, which is the right to choose and control the burial, cremation, or other final disposition of a dead human body. This right follows a statutory order of priority.

• -The priority runs: an attorney in fact named in a durable power of attorney that grants the right of sepulcher; for service members, the person named on Department of Defense Form 93; the surviving spouse, unless a dissolution action has been filed; surviving children; parents; siblings; then the next nearest relative (RSMo § 194.119).
• -A funeral director is entitled to rely on the instructions of the person claiming to be the next-of-kin.

Cremation Regulations

Missouri sets no general waiting period before cremation. The funeral board's crematory rule (20 CSR 2120-2.071) controls who must sign off and how.

• -Written authorization for cremation must be signed before cremation by the person entitled to custody or control of the body, and the establishment keeps it in its permanent records.
• -If the deceased signed a written authorization to cremate, including in a preneed contract, and never revoked it, that authorization is sufficient on its own.
• -A body can't be cremated with a pacemaker in place, except by chemical disposition; the funeral director must make sure pacemakers are removed first.

Burial on Private Property

While most burials occur in established cemeteries, Missouri law permits burial on private property under certain conditions.

• -A 'family burying ground' can be established, not exceeding one acre.
• -The land must be deeded in trust to the county commission for use as a family burial ground.
• -The deed must be recorded within 60 days of the conveyance (RSMo § 214.090).

Who decides what happens to the body in Missouri

Missouri sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. attorney in fact designated in a durable power of attorney in which the deceased specifically granted the right of sepulcher over his or her body
2. DD Form 93 designee, if the decedent was on active duty in the United States military at the time of death
3. surviving spouse, unless an action for dissolution of the marriage has been filed and is pending
4. any surviving child (a minor child is not disqualified by age; the child's legal or natural guardian serves in the child's place, unless that guardian was subject to an action in dissolution from the deceased, in which case the order moves on to ranks 5 through 9)
5. if the deceased is not a minor, any surviving parent; if the deceased is a minor with a court-appointed guardian whom the court specifically granted the right of sepulcher, that guardian, unless the guardianship has been terminated under § 475.083 (not counting § 475.083.1(5)); otherwise, for a minor, the surviving parent who has custody, and where the parents have joint custody, the parent whose residence is the minor child's residence for purposes of mailing and education
6. any surviving sibling
7. next nearest surviving relative by consanguinity or affinity
8. any person or friend who assumes financial responsibility for disposition if no next-of-kin does
9. county coroner or medical examiner (assuming responsibility does not make the coroner, medical examiner, county, or state financially responsible for the cost)

Naming someone in advance. A durable power of attorney in which the deceased specifically granted the right of sepulcher over his or her body to the named attorney in fact, § 194.119.2(1). Missouri has no standalone disposition-agent form; the grant rides in the DPOA and has to name the right of sepulcher specifically. Separately, § 194.119.3 lets whoever holds next-of-kin status delegate control of final disposition to an agent through a specific or general grant of power under § 404.710, provided the delegating next-of-kin was 18 or older and mentally competent at the time of delegation and the principal or agent takes financial responsibility for the disposition. HB 1696 left both provisions untouched.

When the same tier disagrees. § 194.119.7: where more than one person in a class is equal in priority and the funeral director has no knowledge of any objection by other members of the class, the director may rely on the instructions of the first person in the class to make arrangements, so long as that person assumes responsibility for the costs and no one else in the class gives written notice of objection. Where the director knows the class disagrees, the decision of the majority of the class controls, and § 194.119.8 requires the director to allow proxy voting by written authorization or instrument for that majority vote. Under § 194.119.6, a person with a superior claim who is notified in person or by written notice with delivery confirmation and does not object within forty-eight hours is deemed to have waived the right; a superior right may also be waived in writing and dated at any time. HB 1696 left subsections 5 through 8 untouched.

Missouri conditions the right itself on money. To be next-of-kin at all, a person has to be 18 or older, mentally competent, and willing to assume responsibility for the costs of disposition, so a relative who won't pay drops out of the order entirely. Beliefs now get a statutory mention. Subsection 9, added by HB 1696 and in force since August 28, 2026, says "Religious, cultural, family, and individual beliefs of the deceased person shall be considered by the next of kin when disposing of any human remains." It directs the next-of-kin's judgment. It does not create a separate right anyone else can enforce. Which version, precisely. The operative text took effect August 28, 2026, enacted as SS SCS HCS HB 1696 of the 103rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session. The official Missouri House bill page (https://house.mo.gov/BillContent.aspx?bill=HB1696&year=2026&code=R&style=new) records "Modifies provisions relating to the right of sepulcher," Effective Date 8/28/2026, Governor Action 07/13/2026 Approved by Governor. The Revisor of Statutes' page for the section on revisor.mo.gov carries that text, headed "Effective - 28 Aug 2026" and closing with "---- end of effective 28 Aug 2026 ----", and the source link goes there. Read and re-quoted from that page on September 24, 2026. What HB 1696 changed, and nothing else did. Subdivision (5) was rewritten. Paragraph (a) now reaches a surviving parent only when the deceased is not a minor. For a minor decedent, a court-appointed guardian whom the court specifically granted the right of sepulcher comes ahead of the parents under (b), unless the guardianship has been terminated under section 475.083, not including subdivision (5) of subsection 1 of that section. The custody and joint-custody rules that used to sit at (b) and (c) are now (c) and (d), and they apply only when there is no such guardian. Second, subsection 9 was added. Everything else is unchanged: subdivisions (1) through (4) and (6) through (9), and the notice, waiver, first-to-arrange, majority and proxy rules in subsections 3 through 8. For a death before August 28, 2026, the prior version controls and stays readable at https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=194.119&bid=53806, headed "Effective - 28 Aug 2023".

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 194.119 (right of sepulcher), version effective August 28, 2026 and in force (L. 2003 H.B. 394, A.L. 2008 S.B. 788 merged with S.B. 1139, A.L. 2010 H.B. 1524 & 2260, A.L. 2015 H.B. 618, A.L. 2023 S.B. 116, A.L. 2026 H.B. 1696). ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Missouri

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. No statewide program. Missouri assistance is county-administered, usually through the county public administrator or county commission, and usually covers cremation only. The program described here is the Clay County Indigent Cremation Program. A family finds theirs by calling the public administrator's office in the county where the person died; that office is listed under the circuit court or county government. County public administrator, on behalf of the county commission (example: Clay County Public Administrator, 7th Judicial Circuit, 816-407-3250).

What it pays. Not published. The Clay County policy names no dollar amount. It says: "Clay County will pay for the disposition of a deceased person's remains at the funeral home of the County's choice. Payments will be made to the funeral home and/or provider for cremation services only. No payments will be made to a third party. The body must already be located in the Kansas City area. Clay County will not incur costs of transportation. The Clay County Public Administrator must approve all applications."

What disqualifies you. Clay County: "The deceased must not have combined assets totaling at or over $1,000.00"; "The deceased must not own any taxable personal property or real property"; "The deceased must meet qualifications to receive public assistance, even if the deceased was not receiving assistance at the time of their death. The Missouri Department of Social Services will confirm eligibility"; and the deceased must have been a resident of Clay County. Statewide, RSMo 194.119 puts the cost on next of kin in priority order, and a coroner or medical examiner who assumes responsibility does not thereby make "the coroner, medical examiner, the county, or the state financially responsible for the cost of disposition."

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. "Under Section 595.030, RSMo, the maximum compensation benefit is $25,000. In addition, there are limits placed on specific expenses. Funeral expenses are limited to $5,000." Lost wages are capped at $400 per week for crimes on or after Aug. 28, 2015, and "All of these expenses are included within the statutory maximum benefit of $25,000."

Missouri crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Missouri's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Missouri unclaimed property ↗

Clay County calls it "a program of last resort" that "will only be utilized in the most extreme cases of poverty, lack of family connections, and/or abandonment," and requires that "Any and all assets of the deceased must be turned over to the Clay County Public Administrator," which the county uses to reimburse itself. If nobody collects the ashes, the county disposes of them one year after cremation. Because Missouri has no state program, the answer is entirely county-by-county and several counties in the Kansas City and northwest region are also served by a private reimbursement fund at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, which pays counties rather than families.

At a Glance

No State Estate or Inheritance Tax

Missouri is one of the states that doesn't impose a state-level estate tax or inheritance tax. This means that heirs won't pay a tax to the state of Missouri on the assets they inherit.

Does Missouri have an estate tax?

No. Missouri has no state estate tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for a married couple.

Does Missouri have an inheritance tax?

No. Missouri doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

Registering as a Donor

In Missouri, individuals can legally consent to donate their organs, eyes, and tissues after death by registering with the Donate Life Missouri registry. This registration serves as legal consent for donation.

• -Registration can be done online, when obtaining or renewing a driver's license, or by mailing a registration form.
• -The decision to donate can be amended or revoked at any time.

Legal Framework and Protections

Missouri's Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act makes a registered donor's decision legally binding. Nobody else can make, amend, or revoke the gift after your death (RSMo § 194.240.1). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent or guardian who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (RSMo § 194.240.7). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell yours what you decided.

• -Organ recovery occurs only after all efforts to save a life have been exhausted and death is legally declared.
• -Donation doesn't disfigure the body or delay funeral arrangements.
• -The donor's family isn't charged for costs associated with organ and tissue recovery.

Source: RSMo § 194.240 (persons barred from making, amending, or revoking a donor's gift) ↗