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Small Estate Probate Act, sworn Petition for Limited Lette…Verified against the statute July 29, 2026

Tennessee Small Estate Affidavit

Tennessee lets the next of kin collect a deceased person’s property without opening probate when the estate is worth $50,000 or less and 45 days have passed since the death. Here is exactly how it works, and how to use it.

Check if you qualifyHow to use it

Tennessee at a glance

Estate value limit
$50,000
Gross value
Wait after death
45 days
Before the affidavit can be presented
File with a court?
Yes, required
Court approval comes first
Covers real property?
No
Real property needs the court
Notary required?
Yes
Sign in front of a notary
Who can sign
One or more competent adult heirs/beneficiaries…
Per the statute

Is your estate under the $50,000 limit?

Enter a rough total of what they owned in their own name alone. Leave out jointly-held accounts and anything with a named beneficiary. Those don’t count.

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The $50,000 limit, and what actually counts

Total value of the decedent's probate personal property must not exceed $50,000. "Property" under § 30-4-102 means only personal property owned by the decedent at death that would be subject to probate: it excludes property held with rights of survivorship and property payable to a named beneficiary (POD/TOD, life insurance, retirement). Real property is entirely outside the procedure. The statute states the limit as a gross probate-property figure; it is not a net-of-debts figure.

What doesn't count toward the limit

This is where most people wrongly rule themselves out. In Tennessee, these are left out of the calculation:

  • Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts
  • Life insurance with a living named beneficiary
  • Retirement accounts with a living named beneficiary
  • Real property

The 45-day waiting period

45 days, counted from the date of the decedent's death, evidenced by a death certificate. § 30-4-103(1): 'After the expiration of forty-five (45) days from the date of the decedent's death..' The same subsection also conditions filing on no petition for full letters of administration/letters testamentary having been filed. The court MAY waive the 45-day wait for good cause shown, so 45 days is the default, not an absolute bar. This is longer than the 30-day UPC norm; do not default TN users to 30 days.

Who can sign the affidavit

One or more competent adult heirs/beneficiaries of the decedent, or the personal representative named in the decedent's will, may file the sworn petition. The petition is verified/sworn (oath before the clerk or a notary). The court/clerk then issues limited letters to that person, who acts as the "personal representative" of the small estate; institutions deal with the certified limited letters, not with the petition itself.

Either. Intestate estates use limited letters of administration; testate estates use limited letters testamentary and the person named as personal representative in the will may petition. Where there is a will, the will (or a copy) must be offered/attached to the petition as an exhibit under § 30-1-117(a)(5), and § 30-4-104(c) requires distribution per the will's terms; so yes, the will is placed before the court as part of the same filing.

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in Tennessee?

Real property cannot pass under the small estate procedure. 'Property' in § 30-4-102 is limited to personal property subject to probate, and the § 30-4-103 prescribed petition form requires the sworn statement 'There is no real property at issue in this matter.' There is no Tennessee companion small-value real-property affidavit (no analogue to Cal. Prob. Code § 13200) and therefore no separate real-property dollar threshold. Instead, Tenn. Code Ann. § 31-2-103 vests real property immediately at death: intestate realty vests in the heirs per § 31-2-104, and testate realty vests in the will beneficiaries, subject to the personal representative's power to take control if needed to pay estate obligations. Practical consequence: to clear title, the will is admitted to probate (or an affidavit of heirship under § 30-2-712 plus a title examination is used), and the heirs/devisees sign the deed themselves, no small-estate instrument conveys realty.

Affidavit of heirship in Tennessee

Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-712. Critical: it does not transfer title. Title to Tennessee realty already passed automatically at death under § 31-2-103; the § 30-2-712 affidavit merely memorializes WHO the heirs are so the chain of title is documented. Any person with personal knowledge may make it, stating the relationship of parties to the decedent and any facts pertinent to determining who is legally entitled to the estate. It must be duly sworn before an officer authorized to administer oaths in the jurisdiction where made (notarization/jurat; no subscribing-witness count is specified by the statute, a common practice of using two disinterested non-heir affiants is custom, not a statutory requirement). It is recorded with the county register of deeds in the county where the land lies, either in special books or in the deed books, indexed with the decedent as vendor and the heirs as vendees. Legal effect: a certified copy 'shall be received as evidence in any court in the state.. as prima facie evidence of the facts stated,' limited to succession disputes and to perjury prosecutions against the affiant; a person aggrieved may contest its accuracy within 6 years, and after 20 years it cannot be attacked for defects in the jurat/formalities. So: rebuttable evidence of title in the chain, curable by contrary proof, never marketed as a conveyance. Title insurers frequently still require probate of the will or a court determination.

How to use a small estate affidavit in Tennessee

  1. 1

    Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

    Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $50,000 ceiling. Total value of the decedent's probate personal property must not exceed $50,000. "Property" under § 30-4-102 means only personal property owned by the decedent at death that would be subject to probate: it excludes property held with rights of survivorship and property payable to a named beneficiary (POD/TOD, life insurance, retirement). Real property is entirely outside the procedure. The statute states the limit as a gross probate-property figure; it is not a net-of-debts figure.

  2. 2

    Gather the documents

    You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

  3. 3

    Complete the affidavit

    Fill in Small Estate Probate Act, sworn Petition for Limited Letters of Administration of a Small Estate / Limited Letters Testamentary of a Small Estate (Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 30, ch. 4). Note: this is a court filing, not a bank-presented affidavit; the pre-2023 "small estate affidavit" was abolished effective April 28, 2023., listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values.

  4. 4

    Sign it in front of a notary

    Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

  5. 5

    File it with the probate court

    Filed with the clerk of the court having probate jurisdiction in the county of the decedent's legal residence at death (§ 30-4-102 definition of 'Court'): in Tennessee that is the probate court, chancery court, or circuit court depending on the county (Shelby and Davidson have dedicated probate courts; most counties use the Clerk & Master of chancery court). The clerk charges fees under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401; exact amounts are set by that fee schedule and vary by county (commonly in the roughly $100-$400 range including bond/letters/certification charges, verify with the specific county clerk; I could not load a county fee schedule to confirm a figure). The court does not merely accept a filing: upon posting of any required bond, the clerk issues limited letters of administration of a small estate or limited letters testamentary of a small estate on the statutorily prescribed form (§ 30-4-103(5)). Those certified letters, not the petition, are what banks, employers and transfer agents act on. This is a court-supervised appointment, materially different from the self-executing affidavits used in most states.

  6. 6

    Present it to whoever holds the property

    § 30-4-104(a): every person indebted to the estate, holding property of the estate, or acting as registrar or transfer agent for shares, bonds, notes or other evidence of ownership must be furnished a copy of the limited letters duly certified by the clerk; upon receipt of the certified letters and demand by the personal representative they must pay, transfer and deliver the indebtedness and the property. § 30-4-104(b) is the safe harbor: a person making such payment/transfer/delivery is 'released and discharged from all further liability to the estate and its creditors to the same extent as if the payment, transfer, or delivery were made to the duly appointed, qualified, and acting personal representative of the decedent.' § 30-4-104(d): if a holder wrongfully refuses to pay or transfer, recovery may be compelled by court action with costs assessed against the refusing party. Practical drafting point for the product: the document a TN bank must honor is the certified limited letters from the clerk, not a standalone affidavit, customer-facing copy must not tell users to walk an affidavit into a bank.

Where to take the signed affidavit

The bank

§ 30-4-104(a): every person indebted to the estate, holding property of the estate, or acting as registrar or transfer agent for shares, bonds, notes or other evidence of ownership must be furnished a copy of the limited letters duly certified by the clerk; upon receipt of the certified letters and demand by the personal representative they must pay, transfer and deliver the indebtedness and the property. § 30-4-104(b) is the safe harbor: a person making such payment/transfer/delivery is 'released and discharged from all further liability to the estate and its creditors to the same extent as if the payment, transfer, or delivery were made to the duly appointed, qualified, and acting personal representative of the decedent.' § 30-4-104(d): if a holder wrongfully refuses to pay or transfer, recovery may be compelled by court action with costs assessed against the refusing party. Practical drafting point for the product: the document a TN bank must honor is the certified limited letters from the clerk, not a standalone affidavit, customer-facing copy must not tell users to walk an affidavit into a bank.

The DMV

Separate and independent of the small estate procedure. Tennessee Department of Revenue Form RV-F1310501 (Rev. 10-20), 'Affidavit of Inheritance', submitted to the local county clerk, authority Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101 and Rule 1340-5-13-.02(2)(b). It has no dollar threshold. Per the form's stated purpose it is used where the deceased 'left no will (intestate) and there is not a surviving spouse'; all heirs/next of kin sign to mutually relinquish ownership and vest the vehicle in one named new owner. Sworn 'under penalties of perjury' before an officer, and it requires the certification that the decedent 'left no estate necessitating administration and no letters of testamentary or of administration have been issued to any person,' plus disclosure of any liens/debts that are or may become a lien on the vehicle. Any heir not present at execution must attach a separate affidavit relinquishing his/her claim, or a power of attorney. Because it recites that no letters have issued, it is an alternative to the small estate petition, not a companion to it.

The employer

Final wages and accrued leave can usually be claimed with the same affidavit. Ask their payroll department what they need, most have a standard process.

Debts and your personal liability

The petition must identify each creditor of the decedent and the amount owed to each, alongside an itemized list of property with the value of each item (§ 30-4-103(2), incorporating § 30-1-117(a)(1)-(10)). However, § 30-4-103(6) provides that 'A notice to creditors must not be published, and a creditor is not permitted to file a claim' in a small estate probate, so there is no claims period and no claims docket. Protection for creditors is shifted to the distributees: under § 30-4-104(c), persons receiving distributions remain liable to unpaid creditors of the decedent for one year, with special provisions for TennCare medical assistance claims (TennCare release/notice practice should be followed before distributing). The personal representative and the surety are discharged either upon filing the required tax documentation or automatically one year after issuance of the limited letters (§ 30-4-103(7)). Bond: a corporate surety bond payable to the clerk in the amount of the estate property is required unless the petitioner(s) are the sole heirs, are the sole beneficiaries, or all adult heirs/beneficiaries consent in writing (§ 30-4-103(3)).

When you can’t use it

Tennessee takes the affidavit route off the table when:

  • Probate personal property exceeds $50,000 (§ 30-4-102 definition of "small estate")
  • Any real property is involved, the prescribed petition form requires the sworn statement "There is no real property at issue in this matter"
  • Fewer than 45 days have passed since death and the court has not waived the wait for good cause (§ 30-4-103(1))
  • A petition for full letters of administration/letters testamentary has already been filed or a personal representative has already been appointed (§ 30-4-103(1))
  • Petitioner is not a competent adult heir/beneficiary or the PR named in the will
  • Assets discovered after issuance push the estate over the small-estate limit, the matter must be converted to full probate administration (§ 30-4-104(e))
  • Bond cannot be posted and no bond waiver applies (petitioner is not the sole heir/sole beneficiary and not all adult heirs/beneficiaries consent in writing) (§ 30-4-103(3))
  • A creditor needs to file a claim, no notice to creditors is published and creditors may not file claims in a small estate, so contested-creditor situations belong in full probate (§ 30-4-103(6))

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

Tennessee small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. Major rewrite: the chapter was replaced by 'The Small Estate Probate Act' (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 30-4-101 to 30-4-104), reported effective April 28, 2023. It abolished the former out-of-court/clerk-filed 'small estate affidavit' and substituted a sworn petition to the probate court resulting in clerk-issued limited letters. The $50,000 ceiling and the 45-day wait carried over from the prior Small Estates Act. I could not retrieve the Public Chapter number or the enrolled bill (Tennessee SOS publications, the General Assembly site and legiscan all blocked or returned nothing), so the April 28, 2023 effective date rests on secondary sources, not on the session-law text. No 2024, 2025 or 2026 amendment changing the $50,000 figure or the 45-day period was found; sources dated into 2026 still state $50,000. Vehicle Affidavit of Inheritance form RV-F1310501 is at Rev. 10-20 (unchanged since October 2020).

  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-4-101 (short title. "The Small Estate Probate Act")
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-4-102 (definitions; "small estate" = probate estate whose probate property does not exceed $50,000; "property" = personal property only)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-4-103 (petition after 45 days; contents; bond; clerk fees; issuance of limited letters; no notice to creditors; discharge; prescribed forms)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-4-104 (delivery of certified limited letters to debtors/holders; safe-harbor discharge of payors; distribution; 1-year distributee liability; TennCare; compelled transfer; conversion to full administration)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-117(a)(1)-(10) (required petition contents, incorporated by § 30-4-103)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 31-2-103 (real property vests immediately in heirs/devisees at death)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-712 (affidavit of heirship, prima facie evidence only)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401 (clerk fees)
  • Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101 and Rule 1340-5-13-.02(2)(b) (vehicle Affidavit of Inheritance)

What we're less sure about

  • Primary statutory text was read on FindLaw (a commercial code publisher) marked 'Current as of January 02, 2024', law.justia.com, casetext.com, publications.tnsosfiles.com, tncourts.gov and tn.public.law all refused the fetch, and the WebSearch budget was exhausted before any search ran. A 2024-2026 amendment therefore cannot be excluded from primary text; re-verify $50,000 and 45 days against the official LexisNexis Tennessee Code before publishing.
  • The April 28, 2023 effective date and the identity of the enacting Public Chapter / bill number are unconfirmed from session law.
  • Whether §§ 30-4-105 and 30-4-106 still exist (they did not resolve on FindLaw, suggesting the 2023 act repealed them and the chapter now runs 30-4-101 through 30-4-104), confirm the chapter's outer bounds.
  • Exact clerk filing fee: § 8-21-401 sets the schedule but county-by-county totals (petition, letters, certification, bond) were not verifiable; no county fee schedule loaded.
  • Whether the statutory petition form requires a specified number of witnesses in addition to the oath/jurat, the subsections I could read reference a sworn petition and notarization only.
  • Whether any county probate court imposes local practice requirements (e.g., waiver/consent forms from non-petitioning heirs, TennCare release before distribution) beyond the statute.
  • Precise mechanics and documentation for the TennCare provisions in § 30-4-104(c), the summary text did not spell out the required TennCare release or notice steps.
  • Whether the § 30-4-103 court waiver of the 45-day wait requires a separate motion and order, and what counts as 'good cause'.
  • Whether a surviving spouse may transfer a vehicle by a route other than RV-F1310501 (the form is drafted for intestate cases with no surviving spouse); the tn.gov title-transfer landing page 404'd, so the spouse pathway is unverified.

Kinclaim is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We provide self-help software and statutory forms.