Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in Mississippi
At a glance
| Statutory payment order | Last sickness, funeral, and administration first; remaining assets proportionally to established creditors (§§ 91-7-261, 91-7-271). |
|---|---|
| Administration costs | Administration expenses, including commissions, paid first with last-sickness and funeral expenses (§ 91-7-261). |
| Funeral and last illness | Last-sickness and funeral expenses paid first with administration; no stated dollar cap (§ 91-7-261). |
| Family and homestead allowances | Separate set-aside for supported spouse and children; not a creditor class in insolvent-estate command (§§ 91-7-135, 91-7-261). |
| Taxes and public claims | No separate state-tax class in insolvent-estate distribution command; preference claims deducted before pro rata shares (§§ 91-7-261, 91-7-271). |
| Secured claims | Recorded-lien creditors exempt from § 91-7-91's special real-property notice condition; § 91-7-261 does not classify liens as a creditor class (§§ 91-7-91, 91-7-261). |
| Support and special debts | No separate wage, support, or judgment class in insolvent-estate distribution command (§ 91-7-261). |
| General claims | Duly filed and established creditors share remaining assets in proportion to sums owed (§ 91-7-261). |
| Underfunded class | Court adjudges pro rata shares; debts not due are discounted for legal interest to maturity (§ 91-7-271). |
Requirements one by one
Preferred expenses and creditor shares
Under § 91-7-261, the last sickness, funeral, and administration expenses, including commissions, are paid before the assets left for creditors with duly filed and established claims. Under § 91-7-271, the court determines pro rata shares after deducting preference claims and the legal interest between payment and maturity on debts not yet due.
Family set-aside and recorded liens
Under § 91-7-135, the court or chancellor sets apart a year's provision for the supported spouse and children, or the qualifying spouse or children alone. Section 91-7-91 exempts a secured creditor with a recorded lien from that section's special real-property notice condition.
What trips people up
The statutory creditor distribution follows a court insolvency finding and an account of estate property and debts under § 91-7-261. A recorded lien's notice exemption in § 91-7-91 does not itself state how collateral proceeds are divided among claimants.
Common questions
Are funeral costs preferred up to a fixed dollar amount? Section 91-7-261 names funeral expenses among costs paid first without a dollar cap.
Do creditors with bills not yet due participate? Yes. Section 91-7-271 includes debts not due in the pro rata calculation, with a deduction for legal interest through maturity.
Statutes and sources
- Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-261, 91-7-271, 91-7-135, and 91-7-91, as amended by 2019 Miss. Laws ch. 458. Verbatim official text, source URL, and access dates appear in the source fields above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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