Ask the Probate Lawyer: Does a Will Have to Go to Probate Court?

A family member died with a Will. You are a beneficiary. Do you have to go to Probate Court in Tennessee? Many people think that if a person dies with a Will, that a visit to court with a probate lawyer is required, but that’s not always the case. Wills don’t always have to be presented in probate court. Certain assets pass automatically outside of probate court and without regard to the terms of a Will.

How do Assets Pass at Death?

There are 3 basic categories of assets that can pass at someone’s death to their beneficiaries:

(1)    Jointly owned property  

• Probate not required.
• Distribution is governed by Tennessee contract law and is not governed by the terms of a Will.
• Property passes to surviving owner.
• Example: Real Estate held jointly by a husband and wife.

(2)    Property naming a designated beneficiary 

• Probate not required.
• Distribution is governed by Tennessee contract law and is not governed by the terms of a Will.
• Property passes to designated beneficiary.
• Example: a Brokerage Account naming a child as the beneficiary.

(3)    Property in an individual’s sole name or payable to an individual’s estate

• Probate of the Will in Court by a Probate Lawyer is likely required.
• Example: A wife names her husband as the primary and only beneficiary on her life insurance policy. Her husband dies before she does. As a result, the proceeds from her life insurance policy will likely be payable to her estate at her death.  In order for the wife’s beneficiaries to obtain those proceeds, they will have to probate her Will.

Other Exceptions to Probate Requirement

Tennessee probate law also provides a couple of ways to avoid full probate court proceedings even if someone dies with a Will and assets are in their sole name or payable to their estate.

• Financial institutions, like banks, have authority to pay out an amount of up to $10,000 to a decedent’s beneficiaries.
• Expedited probate proceedings are available if the value of the decedent’s assets passing through probate is less than $50,000.
• Expedited probate proceedings are available if the only asset of an estate is real property.

We have the perfect Probate Lawyer for you.

If you would like to meet with a probate lawyer to determine if your assets may be subject to probate or to discuss whether or not a loved one’s Will needs to be presented in Probate Court, please call us at 901-372-5003. We serve clients throughout Tennessee and Mississippi, including in Memphis, Bartlett, Cordova, Germantown, and Nashville.  The probate lawyers in our firm are: Larry Bray, Lindsay Jones, and Carlisle Dale.

We also handle Estate Planning, Asset Protection Planning, Charitable Planning, and Estate Administration.