Which office takes the filing in Shelbyville, who runs it, what it costs, the local rules that trip people up, and which of the three Tennessee paths your estate is on.
The rule changed in 2023
Tennessee no longer has a small estate affidavit you hand to a bank. The 2023 rewrite of the Small Estate Probate Act replaced it with a sworn petition to the court clerk, who issues Limited Letters. Pages still describing the old affidavit are out of date, and the clerk's office will turn you around.
Where it is filed
Bedford County runs Chancery and Probate as one office. The county calls it the Chancery and Probate Courts, part of the Seventeenth Judicial District, which also covers Lincoln, Marshall, and Moore. Chancellor J. B. Cox presides.
The filing address is 108 Northcreek Drive, Suite 155. That is the address on the Clerk and Master's own office-locations listing. A Public Square address appears on one of the county's scheduling pages and is not where the office sits.
Court
Chancery and Probate Court, Seventeenth Judicial District
Clerk and Master
Angela Hayes
Chancellor
J. B. Cox
Office
108 Northcreek Drive, Suite 155, Shelbyville, TN 37160
Phone
931-684-1672
Fax
931-680-0144
Before you go
Local rules that change what you should do, and that a statewide guide will not tell you.
Call to schedule a probate proceeding. The office sets the date; you do not simply appear.
A common form petition must come in with the county's Probate Information Sheet, the will if there is one, and any affidavits, waivers, or proposed exhibits.
The surety bond amount is set by the Clerk and Master and must be on file before letters issue. Budget for it.
A small estate filing not prepared by an attorney must use the county's own Small Estate form. A downloaded generic form will not do.
Motion days are usually Fridays but change often, so confirm rather than assume. Contested matters are scheduled through the Chancellor's assistant at 931-438-1956.
Notice to creditors is published in the Shelbyville Times Gazette, and that cost is added to the filing fee.
What it costs
Bedford's published filing fee schedule is dated September 1, 2017, which makes every figure on it nine years old. Printing those numbers here would be worse than printing none. Call 931-684-1672 and ask for the current cost of the filing you need. For scale, neighbouring counties charge roughly $340 to $450 to open an estate in 2026, plus newspaper publication.
The three paths
T.C.A. § 30-4-103
Small estate, Limited Letters
Personal property in the person's name alone totalling $50,000 or less, counted without any real estate, and at least 45 days since the death. You file a sworn petition listing every asset and every debt, and the clerk issues Limited Letters you present to the bank. Expect a bond requirement.
T.C.A. § 32-2-101
Full administration, common form
More than $50,000 in personal property, or anything the smaller track cannot carry. A personal representative is appointed, notice to creditors is published, and claims run four months from first publication. Most uncontested estates settle in six to twelve months.
T.C.A. § 32-2-111
Muniment of title
A will admitted for the limited purpose of establishing title, with no personal representative appointed and no administration opened. It fits where nothing needs an administrator. Whether it suits a given case is a question for the clerk's office.
The original will, if there is one. Not a copy. Tennessee wants the original filed with the clerk, and Letters will not issue until it is in.
Certified death certificates. Order ten. Every bank, insurer, and plan administrator keeps one.
An asset list with date-of-death values, split into what was in the person's name alone and what was not. That split is what decides your path.
A debt list with each creditor's name, address, and amount. The small estate petition asks for this by name.
Written consents from the other adult heirs, where they agree you should serve.
Your own photo identification.
What the clerk will and will not do
The statute directs the clerk's office to assist with the small estate petition, and they do. They will tell you which form, which blanks, where to sign, and what it costs.
They will not tell you whether to open a small estate or a full administration, who inherits, what to do about a disputed will, or how to handle real estate. Those are legal questions, and a clerk answering them would be practicing law. That line is where people get stuck, and it is the line this site exists to help you stand on the right side of.
Hand the paperwork part to me
Every path above starts the same way. Someone has to turn a pile of statements, bills, and titles into one list the court and the family can both read. That is the part I do.
An asset list with date-of-death values, in the order the petition asks for them
A debt and creditor list with names, addresses, and amounts
A running estate account you keep adding to as money moves
Delivered as a spreadsheet and a PDF within two business days
$249 flat. Nothing owed until you have seen it.
I am in Murfreesboro, about forty minutes from Shelbyville. Send the county and roughly what the estate holds, and I will tell you exactly what to scan and what to leave alone.