Temporary or Special Probate Administrator Requirements in Tennessee

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Tennessee uses the term administrator pendente lite

Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-108 authorizes probate judges to appoint an administrator pendente lite in a case in their court where a will is the subject of contest or litigation. The statute states no additional emergency, danger, waste, necessity, delay, or good-cause showing.

The special appointment statute is deliberately narrow

Section 30-1-108 does not identify who may apply, give the nominated executor or another nominee priority, require neutrality, prescribe notice recipients or a hearing, or create a separate without-notice route. It also does not list property, income, business, remains, sale, mortgage, litigation, creditor- claim, debt-payment, expense, or distribution powers.

Those omissions matter. The words pendente lite and the existence of a will contest do not by themselves supply a statewide statutory power or procedure that the section does not state. The appointment, letters, other applicable law, and court orders must be read for actual authority.

General administrator qualification rules remain relevant

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-101, no person may enter on estate administration before obtaining letters. Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-111 requires the administrator's faithful-duty oath before the clerk delivers letters.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-201(a) makes bond the general rule before letters, using two or more sufficient sureties or one corporate surety and a court-set amount from estate value to twice estate value. Its statutory exceptions include a will waiver, court-approved sole-beneficiary identity, court-approved consent from all adult capable beneficiaries, and the qualifying bank exception. Section 30-1-108 does not create a different administrator-pendente- lite bond formula or an order/letters restriction notation.

The special section states no automatic endpoint or handoff

Section 30-1-108 places the appointment in a will-contest or will-litigation case but does not state a fixed term, automatic termination when the contest ends, removal or replacement procedure, effect of general appointment, or special final-account and turnover deadline.

General inventory and accounting statutes supply ordinary deadlines

The general personal-representative inventory provision, § 30-2-301(a), requires a complete and accurate probate-estate inventory within 60 days after entering administration, returned to the probate clerk and verified by oath. Section 30-1-108 states no special exemption or different inventory period.

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-601, the first accounting or permitted status report is due within 15 months after qualification, with annual accountings thereafter until the estate is fully administered. Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-606 allows the accounting party reasonable compensation for services and voucher-supported disbursements. The pendente-lite statute does not add a special periodic report, early final-account deadline, bond-release rule, or surcharge formula.

What trips people up

• The statute authorizes appointment, not a complete power code. Do not turn the pendente-lite title into an unstated collection, sale, litigation, claims, or distribution power.
• A will contest is the express trigger. Section 30-1-108 does not state a general emergency-estate-protection route outside a contested or litigated will.
• General deadlines are not special deadlines. Tennessee has ordinary inventory and accounting rules, but § 30-1-108 does not create an accelerated pendente-lite closing schedule.

Common questions

Does § 30-1-108 require notice before appointment?

It does not state a notice recipient, period, hearing, or no-notice exception. That does not prove that no notice can ever be required under another rule or court order; it means the special appointment statute itself supplies none.

Does an administrator pendente lite automatically have power to sell?

Section 30-1-108 does not say so. Actual authority must be found in the appointment, letters, another applicable statute, and court orders.

When does the appointment automatically terminate?

Section 30-1-108 states no automatic termination event. It identifies the will-contest or litigation setting but does not itself prescribe the closing event or turnover deadline.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-108 — administrator-pendente-lite appointment in a will contest or litigation. Current-base public-domain OCTN transform, accessed 2026-08-29.
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 30-1-101, -111, and -201 — letters, oath, and general bond rules. Current-base public-domain OCTN transform, accessed 2026-08-29.
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 30-2-301, -601, and -606 — general inventory, accounting, and compensation rules. Current-base public-domain OCTN transform, accessed 2026-08-29.