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

✓ Verified September 2026

To remove an executor in Missouri, you ask the court that appointed the Personal representative — Missouri’s Probate Code (RSMo Chapter 473) uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term for both an executor (named in the will) and an administrator (appointed when there is no will or no acting executor); the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration to take the job away,

and the court will do it only on a ground the statute recognizes.

This guide gives the Missouri 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 Missouri law, verified as of September 2026.

Remove an Executor in Missouri: At a Glance

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

When a Court Will Let You Remove an Executor in Missouri

An executor who is slow, unfriendly, or making decisions you disagree with is not, by itself, removable.

Courts appoint a Personal representative — Missouri’s Probate Code (RSMo Chapter 473) uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term for both an executor (named in the will) and an administrator (appointed when there is no will or no acting executor); the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration 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 Missouri succeeds when the facts fit one of them.

Grounds to Remove an Executor in Missouri

Under RSMo 473.140 the court may revoke letters if the personal representative (1) becomes mentally incapacitated; (2) is convicted of a felony or other infamous crime; (3) becomes an habitual drunkard; (4) becomes in any manner incapable or unsuitable to execute the trust reposed in the fiduciary; (5) fails to discharge official duties; (6) wastes or mismanages the estate; (7) acts so as to endanger any corepresentative;

or (8) fails to answer any citation and attachment to make settlement.

Failure to file the inventory and appraisement within 30 days after letters are granted (RSMo 473.233) or failure to file required settlements/accountings (RSMo 473.540) are common “fails to discharge official duties” grounds

The Steps to Remove an Executor in Missouri

Step one is to confirm you have standing — The court on its own motion, or any “person interested” in the estate who files a written complaint supported by affidavit (RSMo 473.140). Interested persons in practice include beneficiaries under the will, heirs, devisees, co-personal representatives, and creditors with a financial stake in the estate.

RSMo 473.117 separately allows an heir or devisee to apply in the probate division for removal where a statutory presumption of unsuitability is at issue.

Step two is the paper trail: write to the Personal representative — Missouri’s Probate Code (RSMo Chapter 473) uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term for both an executor (named in the will) and an administrator (appointed when there is no will or no acting executor); the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration asking for the inventory, the accounting, and an explanation, and keep the letter.

Step three is the filing — A written complaint or application for revocation of letters — commonly captioned “Petition (or Motion) to Revoke Letters Testamentary/of Administration” or “Petition to Remove Personal Representative.” It must be in writing and supported by affidavit, and it is filed in the existing estate file in the probate division of the circuit court of the county (or the City of St.

Louis) where the estate is being administered — with the ground stated and the documents attached.

Step four is the hearing, where the Personal representative — Missouri’s Probate Code (RSMo Chapter 473) uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term for both an executor (named in the will) and an administrator (appointed when there is no will or no acting executor); the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration 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

The relief expressly authorized by RSMo 473.140 is revocation of the letters after notice and hearing, which ends the fiduciary’s authority.

While matters are pending or after a problem is found, the probate division also has authority under Chapter 473 to act on the fiduciary’s bond — on breach of the bond obligation the court, after notice to the obligors, may summarily determine damages as part of the estate administration and enforce collection (RSMo 473.207) — and to deny or reduce compensation (RSMo 473.153.5).

Whether a particular judge will suspend the fiduciary’s powers, order additional bond, restrict access to accounts, or appoint an interim or successor fiduciary before the removal hearing is handled under local practice and the court’s general supervisory power over the estate; check with the county probate division or a licensed Missouri attorney

What Happens After Removal

Removal does not close the estate. If more than one fiduciary was serving, the remaining executor or administrator continues (RSMo 473.150). Otherwise, when an executor’s or administrator’s letters are revoked, the court grants letters of administration of the goods remaining unadministered — administration de bonis non — to a qualified beneficiary or to another person to whom administration could have been granted had the original letters not issued (RSMo 473.147).

That points to a successor or alternate named in the will first, then to the statutory order of priority for administrators (RSMo 473.110), subject to the disqualification rules of RSMo 473.117. A person entitled to letters may nominate a qualified person to serve.

The removed fiduciary must account: RSMo 473.603 governs settlement on death, resignation, or removal of a personal representative, and the removed fiduciary must turn over remaining assets to the successor

Repaying losses: Yes — many Missouri estates can recover losses from a removed fiduciary. Missouri courts require a removed personal representative to file a settlement/accounting (RSMo 473.603), and on breach of the fiduciary’s bond the probate division may, after notice to the obligors on the bond, summarily determine the damages as part of the estate administration and enforce collection by appropriate process (RSMo 473.207).

The court may also deny compensation entirely or reduce it if it finds the personal representative failed to discharge duties in any respect (RSMo 473.153.5). Waste or mismanagement is itself a removal ground under RSMo 473.140. Outcomes depend on the facts and proof of loss — check with your county’s probate division or a licensed Missouri attorney

Other Missouri rules: (1) The removal request must be a WRITTEN complaint SUPPORTED BY AFFIDAVIT — an oral or unsworn objection is not enough under RSMo 473.140; the court may alternatively act on its own motion. (2) Notice must go to the personal representative, and to the attorney of record for any personal representative who cannot be served with notice in Missouri.

(3) Inventory and appraisement of all estate property, including exempt property, plus a statement of all encumbrances and liens, is due within 30 days after letters are granted unless the court grants longer (RSMo 473.233) — a missed inventory is a frequent removal trigger.

(4) Periodic settlements (accountings) with proper vouchers are required under RSMo 473.540 and 473.543; failure to answer a citation and attachment to make settlement is an independent removal ground. (5) Missouri has no separate probate court — everything is filed in the probate division of the circuit court, and local packet rules, copy requirements, fees, and e-filing methods vary by circuit, so verify with the county before filing.

(6) Missouri also permits independent administration (RSMo 473.780–473.840), where supervision is lighter, but the removal power under RSMo 473.140 still applies. (7) RSMo 473.117 creates rebuttable presumptions of unsuitability that an heir or devisee may invoke by application in the probate division.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The court filing fee to remove an executor in Missouri is small; the real cost is the hearing.

If the Personal representative — Missouri’s Probate Code (RSMo Chapter 473) uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term for both an executor (named in the will) and an administrator (appointed when there is no will or no acting executor); the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration 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 — Missouri’s Probate Code (RSMo Chapter 473) uses “personal representative” as the umbrella term for both an executor (named in the will) and an administrator (appointed when there is no will or no acting executor); the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration 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 Missouri motion starts with.

What to Expect When You Remove an Executor in Missouri

A request to remove an executor in Missouri 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 Missouri is pending: creditor deadlines, tax filings, and property upkeep do not pause.

Ask the court to address both in the same filing.

Official Missouri Sources & Resources

• Missouri Probate Court: https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=662
• Missouri Removal Statute: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.140
• Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex

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

More Missouri Estate Guides

• Contest a Will in Missouri
• Missouri Probate Process
• Dying Without a Will in Missouri
• 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.