Six questions about what the person owned and left behind. The answer names the filing, the court, and the clock you are on.
The rule changed in 2023
Tennessee no longer has a small estate affidavit you hand to a bank. A 2023 rewrite of the Small Estate Probate Act replaced it with a sworn petition to the court clerk, who issues Limited Letters. Guides still describing the old affidavit are out of date.
Looking for the small estate affidavit?
Tennessee repealed it in 2023. A sworn petition for Limited Letters took its place, and a great many pages still describe the old process. If that is what brought you here, start there.
Which office takes the filing, who runs it, what it costs this year, and what to carry in the door. The counties differ more than the statewide guides admit: Nashville files probate in its own Probate Division rather than with a Clerk and Master, and Wilson County keeps probate in a different room with a different phone line from Chancery.