Probate Estate Closing and Representative Discharge in Tennessee

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Account and statement routes

A representative normally accounts to the probate clerk within 15 months of qualification and annually after the first account until administration is complete. The verified account states receipts, disbursements, distributions and assets retained; the final account must state that notice of the claims-filing requirement was mailed or delivered to known or reasonably ascertainable creditors. If the will or court-filed pleadings waive accountings, the representative files a status report at the 15-month point and annually while the estate remains open. A residuary distributee may ask the court to require a detailed account. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601(a).)

For a solvent estate, if all court accountings have been waived and legitimate claims satisfied, the representative and residuary distributees may file separate statements after the creditor-claim period. The representative's statement covers proper administration, claims and expenses, creditor notice, required specific-bequest receipts and completed distribution; the residuary distributees acknowledge receipt. The filing relieves the specified detailed accounting and receipt filing duties only when all residuary distributees file the required statement. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601(b); § 30-2-601(c).)

Distribution, notice and review

After paying uncontested claims and providing for administration costs, unresolved taxes and claims and litigation costs, the representative distributes the remaining balance unless the court or governing instrument allows more time. On final settlement, the remaining property must have been delivered to those entitled or handled through the statute's unclaimed-property route; an insolvent estate must file a final settlement under the account procedure. A recipient executes a receipt for a legacy or share under penalty of perjury or before a clerk or notary. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-701; § 30-2-707.)

Interested parties receive notice of account-taking at least five days before the fixed date, unless they waive notice in writing. When addresses are unknown, notice of the accounting is published in a county newspaper. An interested person may except to the account within 30 days after the clerk states it and, if dissatisfied with the clerk's decision, appeal within a further 30 days. These are account-review periods, not creditor-claim deadlines. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-603(a); § 30-2-603(b); § 30-2-607.)

The representative submits original cancelled estate-account checks with an accounting unless a statutory exception permits a financial-institution statement or another specified method. The clerk can cite a representative who fails to account or file a status report, with disobedience punishable as contempt. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601(e); § 30-2-602.)

What trips people up

A distributee's failure to acknowledge receipt does not leave the representative without a closing route. After diligent efforts satisfactory to the court, the representative may move for closure with notice to that distributee; failure to appear or participate at the hearing results in a final closing order. A refused receipt also sends the representative back to the account-and-settlement procedure. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601(b); § 30-2-707.)

A filed statement in lieu relieves specified accounting and receipt-filing duties, but § 30-2-601(c) does not itself say the representative and bond are discharged. For qualifying early settlement before 12 months from death, the court may permit final distribution and enter an order discharging the representative; a qualifying later-filed creditor claim then runs against distributees on the terms stated in the statute. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601(c); § 30-2-307(a).)

Common questions

Must every receipt be sworn? For final settlement, a legatee's or distributee's receipt must be executed under penalty of perjury or sworn before the clerk or a notary. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601(d).)

Can anyone collect a later-discovered claim owed to the estate? In the limited circumstances of § 30-2-714(a), after debts are paid and a representative has died or resigned without a replacement, next of kin may collect specified uncollected claims for distribution under the will or intestacy rules. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-714(a).)

Statutes and sources

The quoted sections were checked against current dated Tennessee code text on October 4, 2026. The source record identifies the official public chapters used to verify later amendments to the older provisions.