When Should a Tennessee Probate Estate Should be Opened?

I get a lot of interesting questions when I tell people that I practice Probate law in Tennessee.  One of the things that is most confusing to people is how to know when an actual estate needs to be opened for their loved one.  As a general rule, Tennessee probate estates only need to be opened when there are probate assets.  Probate assets include bank accounts that are not joint and do not have any “pay on death” or “transfer on death” designations.  Other probate assets include real estate when there is no joint, right of survivorship, co-owner.  Probate assets can also include life insurance policies and retirement accounts that do not have a beneficiary or that list the estate as the beneficiary.  These are the most common probate assets that can require an estate to be opened in Tennessee….

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