Idaho Inheritance Laws: What You Should Know

Idaho has no state inheritance or estate tax but does have its own inheritance laws. This includes laws that cover what happens if the decedent dies without a valid will. This article reviews what you should know about Idaho inheritance laws including the probate process, how to successfully create a valid will in Idaho, and what happens to your property if you die without a will.

A financial advisor can help you review inheritance laws as well as tax and investment strategies for using the money.

Does Idaho have an Inheritance Tax or an Estate Tax?

Idaho does not levy an inheritance tax or an estate tax. However, any inheritance from someone in another state may have an estate tax that applies. You will also likely have to file some taxes on behalf of the deceased. Plus, if your estate is large enough, it may be subject to the federal estate tax.

Other Necessary Tax Filings

When you die, there are many federal and estate tax situations that need to become a priority for those who survive you. Besides the state estate tax, you need to look out for the following:

• Final individual federal and state income tax returns: The federal and state tax returns are due by Tax Day of the year following the individual’s death.
• Federal estate/trust income tax return: Due by April 15 of the year following the individual’s death
• Federal estate tax return: Due nine months after the individual’s death. You can request an automatic six-month extension prior to the conclusion of the nine-month period. This is required only of high-value individual estates. They must exceed a gross asset and prior taxable gift value of $15 million in 2026.

To file any of these estate-based returns, you’ll need to apply for an employer identification number (EIN) with the IRS. You can do this online, by fax or via mail.

Dying With a Will in Idaho

To make your will legitimate in Idaho, you must sign your will in front of two witnesses. The witnesses must see you sign the will, or you must tell them that the document is your will. Your witnesses must also sign your will. You do not have to notarize your will in order to make it legal.

However, you can make your will “self-proving,” which helps to speed up the probate process. In order to do that you will need to go to a notary. A “self-proving” will speeds up the probate process because the court can accept the will without contacting the signing witnesses. You can make your will self-proving if you and your witnesses go to a notary. You can sign an affidavit that states everyone knew they were signing your will.

Idaho Probate Process

Once the court determines the will is valid, the next step is the probate process. Idaho uses the Uniform Probate Code, a standard set of rules applied by Idaho and other states. Probate proceedings usually only occur if the deceased person owned any assets in their name only. Other assets, also known as “non-probate” property, generally transfers to the other owner without probate.

Idaho offers a simplified probate procedure and an affidavit procedure that allows heirs to completely skip probate. If one of your relatives use the affidavit procedure then they can avoid the simplified probate process. You can use the affidavit procedure when there is no real property that needs to be property, such as a house, home or land, and the value of all personal property left is less than $100,000. ¹

The state calculates the value of the personal property left behind after all liens and encumbrances have been subtracted. You can also use the affidavit procedure if all the real property avoids probate. Usually this happens through a living trust or right of survivorship, such as joint tenancy. The value of the personal property must also total less than $100,000.

Affidavit Process

To use this procedure the heir must prepare a short affidavit. They sign it under oath as it states why they are legally entitled to certain property. When the person or institution holding the property gets the affidavit and a copy of the death certificate, it releases the asset. However, the State’s Department of Health and Welfare can seek reimbursement for medical costs during this process, so a 30-day waiting period applies before an heir can start this process.

If you do not qualify for the affidavit process, there is still a simplified probate process for small estates. You can qualify for the simplified small estate process if the value of the decedent’s estate after liens and encumbrances are subtracted, does not exceed the value of the exempt property, homestead allowance, family allowance, costs of administration, medical expenses of the last illness, and reasonable funeral expenses. In this case, you do not have to give notice to creditors.

However, you must prepare a closing statement that says the estate meets the qualifications to use this procedure. It must also state that you distributed and gave a full accounting of the assets to the heirs. You will need to give a copy to all inheritors as well as any creditors.

You can also use this procedure if the surviving spouse inherits everything. They can then file a petition with the court. This will issue a decree to that effect. To use the simplified procedure, the executor files a written request to use it with the local probate court.  The court can then allow the executor to distribute the assets without needing to do regular probate.

Dying Without a Will in Idaho

Dying without a will isn’t the best situation if what happens to your assets after your death matters to you. Idaho laws label these types of estates “intestate,” which means there is no will or at least no valid will. The court then has to follow intestate succession laws to determine who inherits your property, and how much of it.

If there isn’t a will the court will appoint an executor, sometimes called a personal representative. Usually this is an adult child or surviving spouse. It is the job of the executor or personal representative to protect the decedent’s property and pay any debts or taxes. Then, they transfer what is left to the heirs.

Although there are often extenuating factors when someone dies intestate, but it’s best not to die intestate and put your loved ones through that kind of stress. If you’re not sure what kind of estate plan you want to make, you can seek the help of a financial advisor specializing in legacy planning.

Spouses in Idaho Inheritance Law

In Idaho, if you die with a spouse but without a will, the amount your spouse inherits partially depends on how much of the decedent’s property was community property, and how much was separate property. As a general rule, community property is property you got while you were married. Separate property is property you got before you were married. However, each spouse’s gifts and inheritances count as separate property, even if they were given during the marriage.

If you die with a surviving spouse, but no parents or descendants, your spouse inherits everything. If you have a surviving spouse and parents, but no descendants, the surviving spouse will inherit all of your community property and half of your separate property. Your parents will then inherit the rest of the separate property.

Keep in mind that in Idaho, if you and your spouse are legally separated, but not yet divorced, and you die intestate, your spouse will not be entitled to your property. If you have questions or concerns about this area of Idaho inheritance law, you may want to talk to an attorney.

Children in Idaho Inheritance Law

If you have descendants, such as children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren, but no surviving spouse, they will inherit all of your intestate property. If you have descendants and a surviving spouse, the surviving spouse will inherit all of your community property and half of your separate property. Your descendants will then inherit the rest of the separate property.

Intestate Succession: Spouses and Children

Under Idaho law, adopted children have just as much right to their share of intestate inheritance as biological children do. In addition, if the decedent placed their child up for adoption and another family adopted that child – other than your spouse – they are not legally eligible to receive an intestate inheritance from the decedent unless the decree of adoption specifically includes the continuation of inheritance rights. However, foster children and stepchildren the decedent never legally adopted cannot claim a share as the decedent’s child.

Children born outside of marriage still receive their share if you participated in a marriage ceremony with their mother that later turned out to be void, your paternity was legally established while you were alive, or the court established your paternity after your death with clear and convincing proof. The decedent’s children can still receive their share if they are born within ten after the decedent’s death. Grandchildren will receive a share only if their parent is not alive to inherit.

Unmarried Individuals Without Children in Idaho Inheritance Law

In Idaho, if you die without a spouse or descendants, your parents will end up inheriting everything.

Intestate Succession: Spouses and Children

Idaho has an intestate process designed to make sure your family inherits. However, it is usually best to write your own will to ensure that all of your property ends up in the hands you want it in. The state of Idaho will end up inheriting your property if no suitable relatives make a claim on it.

Non-Probate Idaho Inheritances

Since the probate process can be expensive and difficult, it’s important to know what your options are when it comes to avoiding probate in Idaho. Listed below are some of the assets that will not have to go through probate and instead go directly to the beneficiaries.

• Any property in a living trust
• Life insurance policies
• 401(k)s, IRAs, other retirement accounts
• Securities in transfer-on-death accounts
• Pay-on-death bank accounts
• Joint tenancy real property

Other Situations in Idaho Inheritance Law

Idaho has a survivorship period. In order to inherit under Idaho’s intestate succession statutes, the heir in question must survive you by at least 120 hours. In addition, relatives conceived before you die but born after you die, known as posthumous relatives, are eligible to inherit as if they had been born while you were alive, as long as they are born within ten months of your death. This includes relatives conceived by artificial insemination.

Immigration status is irrelevant when it comes to inheritance. Any relative entitled to a share of your assets can inherit them no matter their citizenship status. Half-relatives inherit as much as “whole” relatives. For example, your half-sibling would get the same share as any other sibling.

If you gave gifts or property to a relative during your lifetime, the state only subtracts the value of those gifts from the relative’s share if you wrote this down at the time you gave the gift, or the relative admits this in writing. If they are subtracted from the relative’s share, they are known as “advancements.”

How to Use the Affidavit and Simplified Probate Procedures: Step-by-Step

Once you have confirmed that an estate qualifies for Idaho’s affidavit procedure or simplified small estate process, the following steps walk through what actually needs to happen to transfer the assets.

• Step 1: Wait out the statutory period. Idaho law requires a 30-day waiting period after the decedent’s death before the affidavit procedure can be used. This window gives other potential claimants, including creditors, time to come forward before the estate releases any assets.
• Step 2: Confirm no real property is involved. The affidavit procedure only applies when there is no real property requiring transfer through the affidavit itself, either because the decedent owned no real estate or because any real property already passed outside probate through a living trust or right of survivorship. Confirming this before proceeding avoids using the wrong process.
• Step 3: Calculate the net value of personal property. Total the value of all personal property the decedent left behind, then subtract any outstanding liens or encumbrances against those assets. The resulting figure must fall below $100,000 for the affidavit procedure to apply.
• Step 4: Prepare the affidavit. The heir must prepare a written affidavit, signed under oath, stating that they are entitled to specific property. The affidavit should identify the property they want to claim and the heir’s legal basis for inheriting it. Idaho courts and county clerk offices can provide the appropriate forms, and many heirs choose to have an estate planning attorney review the document, although they don’t have to.
• Step 5: Present the affidavit and death certificate. The heir presents the signed affidavit along with a copy of the death certificate to whoever is holding the property, such as a bank, brokerage firm or other institution. Once that institution receives both documents, it releases the asset directly to the heir without court involvement.
• Step 6: Account for multiple heirs. When more than one heir has claim to a share of the estate, each heir generally needs to prepare and present their own affidavit corresponding to their portion of the property. The heirs may need to coordinate a single affidavit that specifies how to divide the property among them, depending on the institution’s requirements.
• Step 7: Address any claims from the department of health and welfare. If the decedent received Medicaid or other medical assistance benefits, Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare has the right to file a claim against the estate for amounts owed, even during the affidavit process. Heirs should confirm whether any such claim exists before assuming full entitlement to the property, since a valid claim can reduce what is ultimately available for distribution.

If the Estate Does Not Qualify for the Affidavit Procedure

For estates that do not meet the affidavit procedure’s requirements but still qualify as a small estate, the simplified probate process requires a few additional steps:

• Step 1: File a written request. The executor files a written request with the local probate court to use the simplified procedure, rather than proceeding through full probate.
• Step 2: Prepare a closing statement. The executor must prepare a closing statement confirming that the estate meets the value qualifications for the simplified process and provide a full accounting of how they distributed assets to the heirs.
• Step 3: Distribute copies to heirs and creditors. The executor provides a copy of the closing statement to all heirs as well as any known creditors awaiting payment. This ensures all relevant parties have a record of the distribution.
• Step 4: Court approval to distribute. Once the court reviews and accepts the closing statement, it permits the executor to distribute the estate’s assets without going through the standard probate process, significantly reducing the time and cost involved compared to full probate.

Bottom Line

While there is no estate or inheritance law for the state of Idaho, it doesn’t mean that you’re completely off the hook when passing property between generations. It’s important to make sure you know the process of how to inherit property in Idaho as well as whether you might be liable for any federal taxes related to inheriting the property.

Tips for Estate Planning

• Managing your own estate, or handling the intricacies of inheriting money from the estate of a loved one, can get complicated. That’s why some people choose to work with a financial advisor. Finding the right financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
• If you’re receiving an inheritance then you may be wondering what the best course of action is afterward. Consider reading our guide on what to do with an inheritance for ideas.

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