Tennessee Small Estate Affidavit (2026): $50,000 Limit and the Limited Letters Process

Searching for a Tennessee small estate affidavit ends at a court petition. The statute wants a sworn petition for limited letters, not a stand-alone affidavit. This guide covers the steps, the bond rule, what two large counties charge and ask for, and the TennCare step that may follow.

What changed in 2023

Public Chapter 297 of 2023 replaced Chapter 4 of Title 30 with a new chapter, “The Small Estate Probate Act.” The governor signed it on April 28, 2023, and it took effect on becoming law.

The history line under each section from 30-4-101 to 30-4-104 names only that 2023 act, and the official Code is current through the 2026 Regular Session and the 2026 2nd Extraordinary Session.

Under the chapter, the family asks for limited letters by sworn petition. Three things follow from that.

• The petition becomes part of the letters. The letters are restricted to the property itemized and identified in the petition, and the petition must be attached to and made a part of the limited letters.
• The bond rule sits in the statute. The default is a bond equal to the property’s value, with three exceptions covered below.
• No creditor claims in the small estate case. A notice to creditors must not be published, and a creditor is not permitted to file a claim in a small estate probate. A person who receives property from the personal representative (the statute’s term for the person to whom limited letters are issued) can still be liable to unpaid creditors for one year, a point the section on the time after the letters covers.

Check each form’s date and statute cite. Hamilton County’s forms page still lists a small-estate summary (Form 180P) that cites a section, 30-4-105, which the current chapter does not have.

What counts as a Tennessee small estate

Under T.C.A. 30-4-102, a small estate is the probate estate of a decedent in which the value of the probate property does not exceed $50,000. “Property” means only personal property, or any interest in personal property, that the decedent owned on the date of death and that would be subject to probate. The definition leaves out:

• personal property held as tenants by the entirety or jointly with right of survivorship;
• personal property payable to a beneficiary other than the decedent’s estate; and
• real property, because the definition covers personal property only.

Two county forms show this in practice. Shelby County’s asset list gives checking account and household furnishings as examples, says to include items owned jointly but not those owned jointly with a right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety, and says to include life insurance policies payable to the deceased or the estate. Hamilton County’s Exhibit A asks for financial accounts that did not pass by right of survivorship or a pay or transfer on death designation, and for insurance policies payable to the decedent’s estate. It says not to list real property or assets that passed outside the estate.

Shelby County’s packet puts the test this way: the total value of all personal property owned by the deceased at death must be $50,000 or less, and personal property does not include real estate such as a house or land.

Who can petition, and when

Who:

• One or more of the decedent’s competent adult heirs can file a petition for limited letters of administration.
• If the decedent died with a will that would distribute the small estate differently than the heirs would take without one, and the family wants it distributed according to the will, the person named as personal representative in the will files instead. That person has two options: petition to probate the will as a muniment of title (§ 32-2-111) and for limited letters testamentary, or file the original will with the clerk together with affidavits of the attesting witnesses.
• A holographic will takes affidavits of two disinterested persons attesting to the decedent’s handwriting instead.
• The clerk records the will and affidavits, and the statute deems that recording sufficient to probate the will for the purposes of the chapter.
• Section 32-2-111 allows a proven will to be admitted to probate for the limited purpose of establishing a muniment of title, without the necessity of granting letters testamentary or otherwise proceeding with administration.

When:

• Once 45 days have passed since the death, as a copy of the death certificate shows, and only if no petition for the appointment of a personal representative has been filed in that time.
• The court may waive the 45-day wait for good cause shown. Shelby County tells petitioners who urgently need property sooner to file a written request describing the reasons.

Where:

• The statute defines “court” as the court exercising probate jurisdiction in the county where the decedent had legal residence on the date of death.
• Shelby County’s packet says the deceased must have resided in Shelby County when he or she died.

Who counts as an heir

Since heirs file the petition, it helps to know who counts as one: for a decedent who died without a will (intestate), T.C.A. 31-2-104 sets the shares. In the statute’s sense, issue means a person’s children, grandchildren and further descendants of every generation, adopted as well as natural born (T.C.A. 31-1-101(6)). By representation means that a grandchild or more remote descendant takes the place of a parent who died before the decedent; the statute calls this per stirpes (31-2-106). Shelby County’s petition gives an example: a grandchild is listed only if the grandchild’s parent was a child of the decedent who died before the decedent. How much the surviving spouse takes depends on who else survives (31-2-104(a)). What does not go to the spouse, or the whole estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in this order:

• to the issue of the decedent; if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent they take equally, but if of unequal degree, those of more remote degree take by representation;
• if there is no surviving issue, to the decedent’s parent or parents equally;
• if there is no surviving issue or parent, to the brothers and sisters and the issue of each deceased brother and sister by representation. If there is no surviving brother or sister, the issue of brothers and sisters take by representation; or
• if there is no surviving issue, parent or issue of a parent, but one or more grandparents or issue of grandparents survive: half of the estate goes to the paternal grandparents if both survive, to the surviving paternal grandparent if only one does, or to the issue of the paternal grandparents if both are deceased. The issue take equally if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent, but if of unequal degree those of more remote degree take by representation. The other half passes to the maternal relatives in the same manner. If one side has no surviving grandparent or issue of a grandparent, the entire estate passes to the relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half.

Shelby County’s petition turns this into plain checkboxes on a page headed “Heirs at Law Certification,” running from a spouse and descendants through parents, siblings and grandparents to aunts, uncles and cousins. For children, it says to include adopted children but not step-children.

What the petition must include

The petition is sworn. Under T.C.A. 30-4-103(2), it carries the ten items in T.C.A. 30-1-117(a)(1)-(10), plus an itemized list of the property, the value of each item, each creditor and the amount owing to each. In plain terms, the ten items are:

1. the identity of the petitioner;
2. the decedent’s name, age if known, date and place of death, and residence at death;
3. if the decedent died without a will, the name, age if known, mailing address and relationship of each heir at law;
4. a statement that the decedent died without a will, or the date the will was signed if known, and the names of all attesting witnesses;
5. the will, or a copy, as an exhibit;
6. the names, relationships and city of residence, if known, of the devisees and legatees (T.C.A. 31-1-101(3): a devisee is a person designated in a will to receive a devise); the same details for anyone who would otherwise inherit by law; and a note of which of them are minors or otherwise under disability;
7. an estimate of the fair market value of the estate to be administered, unless bond is waived as the statute allows;
8. if there is a will, whether it waives the filing of any inventory and accounting, or whether that is not otherwise required by law;
9. if there is a will, a statement that the petitioner is not aware of any instrument revoking it, if that is the case, and believes it is the decedent’s last will; and
10. the name, age, mailing address and relationship of the proposed personal representative, with a statement of any felony or misdemeanor convictions and of any sentence of imprisonment in a penitentiary.

Shelby County’s form has the petitioner swear before a notary public or deputy clerk. Its oath says “collect and preserve all assets, pay all creditors, and distribute to the heirs,” and asks for limited letters to administer only the assets identified in the petition. The form’s creditor page says the list may also include funeral and burial debts.

Once any required bond is posted or waived, the clerk issues the limited letters on the form the statute sets out. The form lets the personal representative collect and preserve all assets of the estate, remove personal property from a property leased by the decedent, and cancel insurance policies no longer applicable due to the death, limited to the assets itemized in the petition. It also says the total value of the decedent’s property shall not exceed $50,000.00 and that the letter gives no authority over real estate matters.

The bond: when you need one and how to avoid it

By default, the petitioner makes a bond payable to the clerk of the court for the benefit of those entitled, with a corporate surety. Hamilton County’s instructions say you need a surety bond written by an insurance company. The amount of the bond must be equal to the value of the decedent’s property to be administered under the chapter. That holds regardless of the language of the decedent’s will waiving bond.

Bond is not required of the petitioner if:

• the petitioners are the sole heirs of a decedent who died without a will;
• the petitioners are the sole beneficiaries of a decedent who died with a will; or
• all the adult heirs and beneficiaries consent in writing.

Shelby County’s packet describes it this way: consents from all heirs are required to be filed in lieu of a bond before limited letters are issued, and written consents from all heirs at law must support any request to waive bond. A minor or incompetent adult heir’s consent must be executed by that heir’s legally authorized representative. The packet adds that the court may require a bond despite a will’s language or a request based on consents, and that the bond equals the value of the assets listed in the petition. Shelby County’s consent form lets each heir initial either a consent to the waiver of bond or a refusal.

How to use Tennessee’s small estate process, step by step

1. Order certified death certificates. The 45 days run from the date of death as shown by a copy of the death certificate, and Shelby County’s packet requires a certified copy.
2. Confirm the property is personal property only and totals $50,000 or less, leaving out survivorship, entirety and beneficiary property.
3. List creditors and the amount owed to each. Shelby County’s form says the list may also include funeral and burial debts.
4. Gather bond-waiver consents from all the adult heirs and beneficiaries, unless the petitioners are the sole heirs or sole beneficiaries.
5. Wait 45 days, or ask the court to waive the wait for good cause.
6. File the sworn petition with the probate court clerk in the county where the decedent lived. Shelby County’s packet asks for the heirs’ consents if you want a bond waiver, the original will if there is one, and a certified copy of the death certificate. The next section covers the fee.
7. Post the bond, or have it waived, and receive the limited letters listing the assets.
8. Collect the listed assets. Give a copy of the limited letters, certified by the clerk, to each person who owes the estate money, has possession of estate property, or acts as registrar or transfer agent of any shares of stock, bonds, notes or other evidence of ownership, indebtedness or right belonging to the estate. After receiving the copy and the representative’s demand, each must pay, transfer and deliver what is owed or held.
9. Distribute the property to the heirs as provided by law or, if there is a will admitted to probate as a muniment of title or filed with the clerk, under the will. Keep a record of every payment and distribution.

What it costs, and how two counties handle it

The clerk’s standard filing fee for probate estates, including small estates, is set by statute: $275 for 2026, $300 from January 1, 2027 and $325 from January 1, 2028. Those fees do not count litigation taxes or officer’s fees, so county totals can run higher: Shelby County lists $341.50 for 2026.

Shelby County. The clerk’s memo says the $341.50 fee applies to all small estate petitions, with or without a will, and must be paid before the petition is presented to a judge. Petitions must be filed in person, and mail-in filings are no longer accepted.

Hamilton County. The instructions on Form 005P put the starting court costs to open a small estate at $409.50, payable to the “Clerk and Master.” They say no surety bond is needed if the affiants are the sole heirs or all adult heirs consent in writing, and that these bonds should cost approximately $100 to $320, depending on the value of the small estate. They also ask petitioners to call for an appointment.

Other counties may differ.

A worked example

A Tennessee widow died in 2026 without a will. Her two adult children are her only heirs. Her checking account held $21,000. A CD was worth $15,000, and a brokerage account with stocks held $8,000. The final hospital bill came to $2,400, and the funeral cost $9,000. She also owned a house, but real estate is outside the small estate process. (These numbers are made up for illustration.)

• Personal property: $21,000 + $15,000 + $8,000 = $44,000, under $50,000.
• Bond: the two children are the sole heirs of a person who died without a will, so no bond is required.

After 45 days, the daughter files the sworn petition. It lists the checking account, the CD and the brokerage account, plus the hospital and the funeral home as creditors. The clerk issues limited letters. She gives each holder a copy certified by the clerk and collects each asset. Assume the two bills are all she owed and the daughter pays them from the estate. She then distributes what is left to herself and her brother. The house stays outside this process.

After the letters

Holders. A person who pays, transfers or delivers estate property to the personal representative under the chapter is released and discharged from all further liability to the estate and its creditors, to the same extent as if it went to a duly appointed, qualified and acting personal representative. That person need not see to its application. If a holder refuses after receiving a copy of the letters, the property may be recovered or its delivery compelled in a court action, with costs adjudged against the person wrongfully refusing.

Recipients. The person to whom the personal representative distributes property is liable, and remains liable for up to one year from the date of payment, transfer or delivery, to the extent of the value of the property received. That liability runs to unpaid creditors of the decedent, to anyone who had a prior right to the decedent’s property, and to any personal representative of the decedent appointed later.

Discharge. The personal representative and the surety on the bond may be discharged from liability under the bond in one of two ways. The court may enter an order discharging them after the personal representative files, for a decedent who died before January 1, 2016, either the tax receipt issued under § 67-8-420 or the certificate or assessment issued under § 67-8-409(f). Or, for any decedent, they may wait until the first anniversary of the issuance of the limited letters, when the statute has the court discharge them from liability. The limited letters must remain open and active until that first anniversary.

Extra assets. If the personal representative or a creditor discovers additional assets that exceed the small estate limit, the court may allow conversion into probate administration on a verified petition under § 30-1-117 by either of them. Shelby County’s petition has the filer promise to file a petition to convert if the assets exceed $50,000.

Amendments. Shelby County’s memo says a small estate petition may be amended only within one year of the original filing date, for a $25.00 fee. Its petition says an amendment needs a separate court order.

Common mistakes in Tennessee

• Using a form that predates 2023. Check the form’s statute cite against T.C.A. 30-4-101 to -104.
• Including real estate. The statute’s definition of property covers personal property only, and Shelby County’s packet says a small estate petition cannot be used to transfer real estate.
• Forgetting a creditor. The petition must identify each creditor and the amount owing to each.
• Missing a consent. Unless the petitioners are the sole heirs or sole beneficiaries, a bond with a corporate surety is required without written consent from all the adult heirs and beneficiaries.
• Collecting unlisted assets. The letters are restricted to the property itemized in the petition, and Shelby County’s form has the petitioner confirm no authority over unlisted assets.
• Forgetting that recipients stay liable. A person who receives property from the personal representative stays liable, up to the value received, for up to one year.

TennCare estate recovery

TennCare’s Estate Recovery page says federal law requires TennCare to recover what it paid for nursing facility or other long term care services after the member’s death. The page calls this “estate recovery,” and the statute ties it to small estates.

The statute. Distribute too early and TennCare can look to both people. If distribution is made before payment of all medical assistance owed to TennCare under § 71-5-116, the personal representative and the person who received the property are liable to TennCare, and remain liable, up to the value of the property received (T.C.A. 30-4-104(c)).

A second rule sits in 71-5-116(c)(2). Before any probate estate may be closed under Title 30, for a decedent enrolled in the TennCare program at death, the personal representative must file with the clerk a release from the bureau of TennCare. The release shows payment of all medical assistance benefits, premiums or other costs due from the estate, a waiver of the bureau’s claims, or a statement from the bureau that no amount is due.

Notice comes sooner. Under 71-5-116(d)(1)(B), within 60 days of the date letters of administration or letters testamentary are issued, the personal representative gives the bureau of TennCare notice of the death of any individual 55 or older, states whether the decedent was a TennCare recipient, and requests a release.

The agency. TennCare’s Estate Recovery page says TennCare must seek recovery from the estate when the member received CHOICES Groups 1, 2 or 3, received care at age 55 or older, is deceased, and no waivers or undue hardships apply. It also says the family is not personally responsible for the debt.

The family or estate representative completes a Request for Release form to find out whether the estate owes money, or to apply for a waiver or undue hardship. An estate that owes money gets a claim and itemized statement from TennCare. When no money is owed, or a waiver or undue hardship applies, TennCare sends a letter releasing or deferring the estate. The release form lists the waiver grounds, so check it before you file. In Shelby County, an “Affidavit – Notifying TennCare” and a “TennCare Release” are on the fee schedule as filings with no fee.

Ask the probate court clerk and TennCare whether these steps apply to your case.

When the small estate process does not fit

The small estate route is optional: the statute says a decedent’s small estate “may be administered” this way. It does not cover real estate, so ask the probate court clerk what route applies to the house. Shelby County’s packet suggests speaking with an attorney first if there is a will, real estate, or a business still operating. Above $50,000 in personal property, the estate is not a small estate under the statute’s definition. Our probate cost estimator can help you budget for a full administration, and our guide to creating a living trust online covers future planning.

How Tennessee compares

Tennessee’s $50,000 limit is below the $75,000 median of the 49 jurisdictions in our table that set a dollar cap. Thirteen of them are lower, nine others also sit at $50,000, and 26 are higher. Tennessee is one of 11 jurisdictions in the table that use a short court petition.

The nearby states work differently. Virginia has all known successors make an affidavit and present it to whoever holds the asset. Georgia authorizes a financial institution to pay a deposit of not more than $15,000 to the surviving spouse or other close family on an affidavit, if the person died without a will. See every state in our small estate affidavit limits by state table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Tennessee still have a small estate affidavit?

Tennessee’s chapter (T.C.A. 30-4-101 to -104) has the family file a sworn petition, and the clerk issues limited letters. Some county paperwork still calls the petition an affidavit.

What is the Tennessee small estate limit?

$50,000 in personal property subject to probate. Real property, survivorship or entirety property, and personal property payable to a beneficiary other than the estate don’t count.

How long do I have to wait in Tennessee?

45 days after the death, as shown by a copy of the death certificate. The court can waive the wait for good cause.

Do I need a bond for a Tennessee small estate?

Yes, equal to the value of the property, unless the petitioners are the sole heirs or sole beneficiaries, or all the adult heirs and beneficiaries consent in writing.

How much does it cost to file?

The statute’s standard clerk filing fee is $275 for 2026, $300 from January 1, 2027 and $325 from January 1, 2028, not counting litigation taxes or officer’s fees. Shelby County lists $341.50 and Hamilton County $409.50. Other counties may differ.

Can a Tennessee small estate include a house?

No. The statute’s definition of property covers personal property only, and the limited letters give no authority over real estate matters. Ask the probate court clerk what route applies to the house.

What are limited letters?

Limited letters of administration or testamentary of a small estate. They restrict the personal representative to the property itemized in the petition. A person holding estate property who receives a clerk-certified copy and the representative’s demand must pay, transfer and deliver it.

Does a Tennessee small estate have to deal with TennCare?

If property is distributed before the medical assistance owed to TennCare is paid, the personal representative and the recipient are liable to TennCare up to the value of the property received. Ask the probate court clerk and TennCare whether the release steps apply to your case.

ClearLegalTips

ClearLegalTips is an independent publisher of plain-English legal guides, free document templates, and cost calculators for common U.S. legal tasks. Every article is reviewed by founder and editor Fatih Öztürk and fact-checked against official sources: statutes, court fee schedules, and government filing pages. Not a law firm; nothing here is legal advice.