Who Inherits If You Die Without a Will in Tennessee

Surviving spouse: the entire estate if the decedent left no descendants; if there are descendants, the greater of one-third or a child's share of the estate. The rest (or everything, if there is no spouse) passes to the decedent's descendants (by representation if of unequal degree); if none, to the parents equally; if none, to brothers and sisters and the descendants of deceased siblings; if none, half to the paternal grandparents or their descendants and half to the maternal side (all to one side if the other has no survivors).

A surviving spouse may elect against the will (or against an intestate share) and take a percentage of the decedent's net estate based on the length of the marriage: 10% if married less than 3 years, 20% for 3 to less than 6 years, 30% for 6 to less than 9 years, and 40% for 9 years or more (years of marriage to the same person are combined, even if separated by divorce). The election is made by filing a petition in the court, and mailing or delivering it to the personal representative, within nine months after the date of death. Separately, a surviving spouse is entitled to exempt household property and vehicles worth up to $50,000. Tennessee is not a community property state.

Tennessee no longer uses a small estate affidavit; it uses a 'Small Estate Probate' procedure with limited letters. A small estate is one whose probate property does not exceed $50,000. Only personal property counts: real estate, property held jointly with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety, and property payable to a named beneficiary are not included. After 45 days from the death (the court may waive the wait for good cause), and if no regular administration has been opened, one or more competent adult heirs (or, if a will directs a different distribution, the person named as personal representative) file a sworn petition listing each item of property and its value and each creditor and the amount owed. A bond with a corporate surety equal to the property's value is required unless the petitioners are the sole heirs or beneficiaries or all adult heirs and beneficiaries consent in writing. No notice to creditors is published, and creditors may not file claims in the small estate proceeding. The limited letters stay open until their first anniversary, when the personal representative and surety are discharged.