Estate Planning & Administration in Tennessee
Estate planning is how you decide who receives your property, who acts for you if you become incapacitated, and how to spare your family the cost and delay of probate. This hub covers Tennessee wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, and ways to keep assets out of probate — in plain English, with the Tennessee law behind each.
By Find Local Law Editorial Team · Last reviewed: May 26, 2026
Researched and drafted with AI assistance and verified against primary sources (statutes, Judicial Council forms, and official court websites). This is general information, not legal advice.
This is general information, not legal advice. Tennessee estate planning turns on your specific facts — talk to a Tennessee attorney about your situation.
A complete Tennessee estate plan usually combines a few documents — a will, often a revocable living trust, a financial power of attorney, and advance directives for health care. Here are the statewide essentials.
Will formalities — witnessed or handwritten
A standard (attested) Tennessee will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by at least two witnesses who sign in the testator’s presence (T.C.A. § 32-1-104). Tennessee also recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills — valid even without witnesses if the signature and all material provisions are in the testator’s own handwriting (T.C.A. § 32-1-105).
Revocable trusts to avoid probate
Trusts are governed by the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code (Title 35, Chapter 15). A funded revocable living trust (§ 35-15-602) lets assets pass outside probate and can be amended or revoked during your life.
Durable power of attorney
Under the Tennessee Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, a POA is durable — surviving your later incapacity — only if it contains durability language showing that intent (T.C.A. § 34-6-102). Without it, your agent’s authority ends if you become incapacitated.
Advance directives
Tennessee lets you plan for medical decisions through an advance directive and a health-care agent under the Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act, and through a living will under the Tennessee Right to Natural Death Act.
No estate or inheritance tax
Tennessee has no state estate or inheritance tax — the inheritance tax was fully repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2016 — and no tax on wages. Only the federal estate tax can apply, and only above the federal exemption.
The guides
Pick your topic below. To get matched with a local Tennessee estate-planning attorney, connect with a lawyer.
A common goal ties them together: sparing your family the cost and delay of probate.
Guides
- Tennessee Advance Directives & Living Wills
Tennessee lets you plan for medical decisions through the Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act (T.C.A. § 68-11-1801 et seq.) — an advance directive and the appointment of a health-care agent — and through a living will under the Tennessee Right to Natural Death Act (T.C.A. § 32-11-101 et seq.), which directs whether life-sustaining procedures are used.
- Avoiding Probate in Tennessee
Several assets pass outside probate in Tennessee: beneficiary designations, payable-on-death/transfer-on-death accounts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and a funded revocable trust. Unlike some states, Tennessee has historically not allowed a transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deed for real estate — an area to confirm with a current attorney, as it has been the subject of recent legislation.
- Tennessee Intestate Succession: Dying Without a Will
If you die without a will, Tennessee's intestacy rules apply (T.C.A. § 31-2-104). If you leave surviving descendants, your spouse takes a child's share but not less than one-third (1/3) of the estate; if you leave no descendants, the spouse takes the entire estate. So with one child the spouse takes 1/2; with two or more children the spouse takes 1/3.
- Tennessee Living Trusts: How They Work
Trusts in Tennessee are governed by the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code (T.C.A. Title 35, Chapter 15). A revocable living trust (§ 35-15-602) can be amended or revoked by the settlor, and — if it is funded — lets the assets it holds pass outside probate. A trust only avoids probate for property actually transferred into it during your life.
- Tennessee Power of Attorney: Durable POAs Explained
Under the Tennessee Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act (T.C.A. § 34-6-101 et seq.), a power of attorney is durable — surviving the principal's later incapacity — only if it contains durability language showing that intent, such as 'This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal' (T.C.A. § 34-6-102). Without that language, the agent's authority ends if the principal becomes incapacitated.
- Tennessee Wills: Requirements & How They Work
A standard Tennessee will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by at least two witnesses who sign in the testator's presence (T.C.A. § 32-1-104). Tennessee also recognizes holographic wills — valid without witnesses if the signature and all material provisions are in the testator's own handwriting (T.C.A. § 32-1-105). Oral (nuncupative) wills are allowed only in very limited deathbed circumstances (T.C.A. § 32-1-106).
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