Probate Family Allowance Requirements in Mississippi

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and allowance type

Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-135 creates a court-set one-year provision rather than a fixed cash allowance. It is bundled with the exempt-personal-property system in § 91-7-117 because exempt property counts toward the year's provision. Section 91-7-141 then lets the court or chancellor divide and direct payment of the allowance among the family members.

The current procedure comes from 2019 Miss. HB 1375, enacted as Laws 2019, chapter 458. That reform moved the year's-support decision from appraisers to the court or chancellor and repealed former §§ 91-7-137 and 91-7-139.

Eligible claimants

Section 91-7-135 covers the surviving spouse and children who were being supported by the decedent. If there are no such children, the provision is for the spouse. If there is no spouse, it is for the supported children. The section does not limit qualifying children to minors.

Section 91-7-117 uses a different, older formulation for exempt property. It directs the executor or administrator to set exempt personal property apart for the widow and children, the widow alone if there are no children, or the children alone if there is no widow.

Amount, property, and duration

Mississippi sets no dollar ceiling. Section 91-7-135 first uses provisions already available, including any provision embraced in the exempt property. If none exist or they are insufficient, the court or chancellor determines the sum necessary for comfortable support for one year.

Under § 91-7-141, the decision-maker may apportion all or part of the allowance according to each child's or widow's situation, rights, and interests and may direct payment of any portion found necessary or proper.

Domicile, estate, and dependency scope

Miss. Code Ann. § 91-1-1 states the current territorial rule: the chapter applies to property of decedents domiciled in Mississippi and to Mississippi real property of nonresidents. Section 91-7-135 takes the provision from the decedent's effects and expressly requires that the covered children were being supported by the decedent.

The statute states no estate-solvency or separate need threshold. When existing provisions are inadequate, the amount itself is measured by what is necessary for comfortable support for one year.

Automatic right or petition

The two property layers begin differently. Under § 91-7-117, title to exempt personal property vests in the widow and children by operation of law at death; the executor's or administrator's action is not necessary to title. By contrast, § 91-7-135 places a mandatory duty on the court or chancellor to set apart the one-year provision and determine any necessary sum.

Sections 91-7-135 and 91-7-141 do not prescribe a special petitioner class, petition form, or required filing contents.

Deadline and termination

Sections 91-7-135 and 91-7-141 state no special filing deadline and no rule terminating unpaid support at a recipient's death, remarriage, or other event. The amount is expressly measured as one year's provision and comfortable support for one year.

Notice, hearing, and proof

The surveyed sections state no special notice period, service method, mandatory hearing, verification, oath, notarization, or attachment list. Section 91-7-135 requires the court or chancellor to determine the sum necessary for comfortable support. If the allowance is divided, § 91-7-141 identifies the children's or widow's situation, rights, and interests as the apportionment standard.

Priority, payment, and insolvency

Section 91-7-117 gives the exempt personal property its clearest protection: title vests by operation of law rather than depending on the fiduciary's act. Section 91-7-135 takes the year's provision from the decedent's effects and counts exempt property toward it. Section 91-7-141 permits the court or chancellor to direct payment of any portion of the allowance.

Those sections do not state a creditor-priority class, an insolvent-estate reduction formula, or a required lump-sum or installment method. The statute's silence on those subjects should not be replaced with a locally customary payment schedule.

Inheritance effect and waiver

The exempt property vests separately but is credited toward the one-year provision. Sections 91-7-117, 91-7-135, and 91-7-141 do not state whether the remaining support is charged against a will, intestate share, or elective share, do not authorize a will to override it, and do not prescribe an allowance-specific waiver method.

What trips people up

• Appraisers no longer decide the award. The 2019 act transferred the exempt-property task to the executor or administrator and the year's-support determination to the court or chancellor.
• Exempt property counts toward the year's provision. It is not necessarily an entirely separate amount added after the support figure is set.
• The statute does not say “minor children.” Section 91-7-135 uses the support relationship, not an express age cutoff.

Common questions

Is the award capped at a fixed dollar amount?

No. The court or chancellor determines the sum necessary for comfortable support for one year after accounting for provisions already available.

Can the court divide the allowance among family members?

Yes. Section 91-7-141 permits apportionment of all or part according to each child's or widow's situation, rights, and interests and permits directed payment of any portion.

Must the petition be notarized or include a statewide attachment package?

Sections 91-7-135 and 91-7-141 state no verification, notarization, or attachment-list requirement. A filer should confirm the operative procedure before submitting a request.

Statutes and sources

• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-117 — exempt personal property and automatic vesting (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-135 — one-year provision and comfortable-support amount (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-141 — apportionment and directed payment (accessed August 16, 2026).
• 2019 Miss. HB 1375 — official enacted reform and repeal of former §§ 91-7-137 and -139, effective July 1, 2019 (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-1-1 — official 2020 territorial-application amendment (accessed August 16, 2026).