Short answer. There is no single fixed number: the probate court sets the deadline in its published notice, and Rule 86, Section 2 requires that period to be not more than twelve nor less than six months after the first publication of the notice. Late creditors may still be allowed, for cause, before distribution.
What the law says
the court shall state the time for the filing of claims against the estate, which shall not be more than twelve nor less than six months after the date of the first publication of the notice
Rule 86, Section 2 — Time within which claims shall be filed. Read the full provision →
What the law says
the court may, for cause shown and on such terms as are equitable, allow such claim to be filed within a time not exceeding one month
Rule 86, Section 2 — Time within which claims shall be filed. Read the full provision →
The court fixes the window, inside limits the rule sets
Rule 86, Section 2 does not itself name a deadline; it tells the court to name one. In the notice to creditors, the court shall state the time for the filing of claims against the estate, which shall not be more than twelve nor less than six months after the date of the first publication of the notice. So every estate has its own claims period, somewhere between six and twelve months, and the controlling document is the court's notice for that particular case. A creditor's first task is to read that notice and diary the date it fixes.
The clock runs from publication, not from death
Notice how the period is counted: it runs from the date of the first publication of the notice, not from the date the debtor died. A death you learn of today may not yet have an estate proceeding, and until one is opened and the notice to creditors is published, the claims period has not started. This is why creditors of a deceased borrower watch for the settlement case itself. It also means the total time available depends on how quickly the heirs or other interested persons open the proceeding — the rule's window attaches to the case, not to the calendar of the death.
A narrow lifeline for creditors who miss it
Missing the published period is serious but not always fatal. The same section says that at any time before an order of distribution is entered, on application of a creditor who failed to file on time, the court may, for cause shown and on such terms as are equitable, allow such claim to be filed within a time not exceeding one month. Every element of that sentence is a limit: it takes an application, it takes cause, the terms are what the court finds equitable, the extension cannot exceed one month, and once distribution has been ordered the door closes.
What creditors and heirs should each take from this
If you are owed money by someone who has died, treat the published deadline as the real one and file within it, with the documents that prove the debt — relying on the late-filing provision means relying on discretion you do not control. If you are an heir, the claims period is the estate's protection: it forces creditors into the open within a defined window so the estate can be settled with known liabilities. Either way, the operative dates are the first publication of the notice and the deadline the court stated in it, so obtain a copy of that notice early.