How to Remove an Executor in Arkansas — Grounds, Steps, and Deadlines (2026)

✓ Verified September 2026

To remove an executor in Arkansas, you ask the court that appointed the Personal representative — the Arkansas Probate Code’s umbrella term (Ark. Code Ann.

28-1-102(a)(13)) covering an executor (named in a will), an administrator (intestate estate), an administrator with the will annexed, and a special administrator; court filings and letters use “personal representative” to take the job away, and the court will do it only on a ground the statute recognizes.

This guide gives the Arkansas answer in plain English: the grounds, who has standing, what the filing is called, what the court can do the same day to protect the estate, and what happens after. All facts are from Arkansas law, verified as of September 2026.

Remove an Executor in Arkansas: At a Glance

Here are the Arkansas facts that decide most requests to remove an executor in Arkansas:

When a Court Will Let You Remove an Executor in Arkansas

An executor who is slow, unfriendly, or making decisions you disagree with is not, by itself, removable. Courts appoint a Personal representative — the Arkansas Probate Code’s umbrella term (Ark. Code Ann.

28-1-102(a)(13)) covering an executor (named in a will), an administrator (intestate estate), an administrator with the will annexed, and a special administrator; court filings and letters use “personal representative” to carry out the will, and they protect that appointment.

What changes the picture is a breach of duty: money missing or mixed with the executor’s own, an inventory or accounting that was never filed, a sale to a relative below value, a refusal to communicate with beneficiaries for months, a conflict of interest, or a conviction or incapacity that makes the job impossible.

Every state’s statute lists the grounds, and the request to remove an executor in Arkansas succeeds when the facts fit one of them.

Grounds to Remove an Executor in Arkansas

Under Ark. Code Ann.

28-48-105(a)(1), the court may remove a personal representative who (1) becomes mentally incompetent, (2) is disqualified, (3) is unsuitable, (4) is incapable of discharging the trust, (5) has mismanaged the estate, (6) has failed to perform any duty imposed by law or by any lawful order of the court (this covers failure to file the inventory under 28-49-110 or the verified annual account under 28-52-103),

or (7) has ceased to be a resident of Arkansas without filing the authorization of an agent to accept service required by 28-48-101(b)(6).

Separately, under 28-48-202, if a personal representative fails to give a bond the court ordered, or fails to file written acceptance of appointment within the time fixed by the court, another person is appointed instead and any letters already issued are revoked

The Steps to Remove an Executor in Arkansas

Step one is to confirm you have standing — Any “interested person,” defined at Ark. Code Ann. 28-1-102(a)(11) as any heir, devisee, spouse, creditor, or any other person having a property right in, interest in, or claim against the estate being administered, and a fiduciary (so a co-personal representative or successor fiduciary also has standing).

The circuit court may also act on its own motion under 28-48-105(a)(1) — on the court’s own motion it “may,” and on the petition of an interested person it “shall,” order the personal representative to appear and show cause why they should not be removed. Step two is the paper trail: write to the Personal representative — the Arkansas Probate Code’s umbrella term (Ark. Code Ann.

28-1-102(a)(13)) covering an executor (named in a will), an administrator (intestate estate), an administrator with the will annexed, and a special administrator; court filings and letters use “personal representative” asking for the inventory, the accounting, and an explanation, and keep the letter.

Step three is the filing — Commonly captioned a “Petition for Removal of Personal Representative” (or motion to remove executor/administrator), filed in the existing estate file in the probate division of the circuit court of the county where the estate is being administered.

The statutory mechanism is a show-cause proceeding: the court orders the personal representative to appear and show cause why they should not be removed — with the ground stated and the documents attached. Step four is the hearing, where the Personal representative — the Arkansas Probate Code’s umbrella term (Ark. Code Ann.

28-1-102(a)(13)) covering an executor (named in a will), an administrator (intestate estate), an administrator with the will annexed, and a special administrator; court filings and letters use “personal representative” answers and the court decides. Many courts let you ask for interim protection in the same filing, which is the part families miss.

Protecting the Estate While the Court Decides

Under Ark. Code Ann.

28-48-103, for good cause shown the circuit court may appoint a special administrator after a general executor or administrator is already serving, with or without removing that person, and may do so without notice or on such notice as the court directs; the appointment may be limited to a specified time, to specific property, or to particular acts, and the order appointing a special administrator is not appealable. Under Ark.

Code Ann. 28-48-201 the court may require a bond at any time during the pendency of the matter, and if an interested party files a written demand the court shall either immediately direct that a bond be secured or increased, or hold a hearing at the earliest reasonable date on whether and in what amount to do so.

The court may also restrain specific acts through its general probate powers and by ordering the fiduciary to account

What Happens After Removal

Under Ark. Code Ann. 28-48-107, when a personal representative is removed (or dies or resigns with the resignation accepted), the court may — and if that person was the sole or last surviving personal representative and administration is not complete, the court shall — appoint another personal representative in their place on the motion or petition of an interested person.

The court looks first to any alternate or successor executor named in the will, and otherwise applies the statutory order of preference for appointment in Ark. Code Ann. 28-48-101 (surviving spouse or that spouse’s nominee, then heirs or their nominee, then a creditor or other suitable person). Under 28-48-202 the same substitution occurs when a fiduciary fails to post a required bond, and any letters already issued are revoked.

Removal does not invalidate official acts the personal representative properly performed before removal (28-48-105)

Repaying losses: Yes — Arkansas courts can charge a personal representative in their accounts for estate losses. Ark. Code Ann.

28-52-101 provides that a personal representative is liable for and chargeable in the accounts with all of the decedent’s estate coming into their possession, including income, and is liable and chargeable for loss resulting from neglect or unreasonable delay in collecting estate assets, neglect or unreasonable delay in any court-ordered sale, mortgage, or lease of estate property,

and neglect or unreasonable delay in paying over money or delivering estate property in their hands.

The same section shields the fiduciary from being charged for loss, damage, or decrease in value occurring without their fault, and for assets that remain uncollected without their fault. A required bond under Ark. Code Ann.

28-48-201 (in an amount not less than double the estimated value of property expected to pass through the fiduciary’s hands, or not less than that value if the surety is corporate) is the usual source of recovery. This is general reference information, not legal advice — check with the circuit clerk in your county or a licensed Arkansas attorney about a specific estate

Other Arkansas rules: (1) Inventory deadline — Ark. Code Ann.

28-49-110 requires a true and complete inventory of all property owned by the decedent at death, with the personal representative’s appraisement of fair market value as of the date of death and a sworn affidavit of completeness, filed within 2 months after qualification or as the court directs; missing it is a “failure to perform a duty imposed by law” ground under 28-48-105. (2) Accounting deadline — Ark. Code Ann.

28-52-103 requires a verified account of administration filed annually during administration unless the court directs otherwise. (3) Show-cause structure — 28-48-105 is mandatory on an interested person’s petition: the court “shall” order the fiduciary to appear and show cause, so a properly filed petition by an interested person triggers a hearing rather than leaving it to the court’s discretion.

(4) Non-resident trigger — a personal representative who moves out of Arkansas without filing an agent’s authorization to accept service under 28-48-101(b)(6) is removable on that ground alone. (5) Prior acts preserved — removal does not invalidate official acts performed before removal.

(6) Bond on demand — 28-48-201 gives any claimant or interested party the right to file a written demand that forces the court to either immediately order a bond or set an early hearing on it, which is often faster interim protection than a full removal petition. (7) Special administrator orders under 28-48-103 are expressly non-appealable.

(8) Arkansas has no separate probate court — everything is filed in the circuit court’s probate division, and Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 12 prescribes official probate forms

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The court filing fee to remove an executor in Arkansas is small; the real cost is the hearing. If the Personal representative — the Arkansas Probate Code’s umbrella term (Ark. Code Ann.

28-1-102(a)(13)) covering an executor (named in a will), an administrator (intestate estate), an administrator with the will annexed, and a special administrator; court filings and letters use “personal representative” contests the motion, both sides usually retain counsel, and a contested removal can run several months and several thousand dollars in fees, which the court may or may not order the estate to pay.

Uncontested removals — a fiduciary who has stopped responding or has moved away — are faster and cheaper, and courts grant them routinely when the missed filings are on the record.

Two facts decide the economics. First, the estate’s size: a removal fight over a small estate can consume what is left, so beneficiaries of small estates often ask the court to compel the accounting and set deadlines instead of removing the fiduciary outright. Second, the evidence: a missing inventory is proved with a docket printout, while suspected self-dealing needs bank records and sometimes an appraisal.

The stronger the paper, the shorter the case. Ask the court clerk what the Personal representative — the Arkansas Probate Code’s umbrella term (Ark. Code Ann.

28-1-102(a)(13)) covering an executor (named in a will), an administrator (intestate estate), an administrator with the will annexed, and a special administrator; court filings and letters use “personal representative” has actually filed before deciding which path to take, and get the docket printout in writing — it is the exhibit every remove an executor in Arkansas motion starts with.

What to Expect When You Remove an Executor in Arkansas

A request to remove an executor in Arkansas is a contested proceeding inside the probate case, not a separate lawsuit. The court will want the ground stated plainly, the documents that prove it, and a proposed replacement. Hearings are usually short; the decision turns on whether the executor breached a duty, not on whether the family gets along.

Two things surprise people. The first is that the court can act before the hearing — a bond, a freeze on the estate account, or a special administrator — if the estate is at risk. The second is that the estate keeps running while the motion to remove an executor in Arkansas is pending: creditor deadlines, tax filings, and property upkeep do not pause.

Ask the court to address both in the same filing.

Official Arkansas Sources & Resources

• Arkansas Probate Court: https://arcourts.gov/forms-and-publications/court-forms/probate-division/forms
• Arkansas Removal Statute: https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-28/subtitle-4/chapter-48/subchapter-1/section-28-48-105/
• Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex

This Arkansas guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.

More Arkansas Estate Guides

• Contest a Will in Arkansas
• Arkansas Probate Process
• Dying Without a Will in Arkansas
• What to Do When an Executor Is Not Doing Their Job
• All State Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.