Mississippi Petition for Probate

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Filing: a petition to probate a will and for letters testamentary, or a petition for letters of administration if there is no will, filed with the chancery court of the county where the decedent had a fixed place of residence (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-1, 91-7-63). Mississippi has no separate probate court, and the chancery clerk takes the filing. No statewide official form is named here, so the court's form or requirements control.

2. 2

   No one has authority over estate assets until the court appoints a personal representative and letters issue. Being named as executor in a will does not by itself allow anyone to collect assets, pay debts or transfer property. Do not distribute, pay heirs or sell estate property before appointment or before the creditor claims period runs.

3. 3

   No deadline to offer a will for probate is stated on this page. An executor who willfully neglects, for forty days after the testator's death, to exhibit the will can be passed over (91-7-39). A relative of an intestate who does not apply within 30 days of death may lose priority to a creditor or other suitable person (91-7-63). The chancery court can compel anyone holding a will to produce it (91-7-5).

4. 4

   A named executor is entitled to letters if not legally disqualified, and a person under eighteen, of unsound mind or convicted of a felony cannot serve (91-7-35). For an intestate estate the court prefers the spouse first, then those next entitled to distribution (91-7-63). Letters granted to a nonresident, or to a fiduciary who later leaves the state, can be revoked if the fiduciary neglects to settle accounts annually or neglects administration in any other respect (91-7-89). The court decides who is appointed, and an appointment is not guaranteed.

5. 5

   A will may be probated without notice, but a person interested may contest a will probated without notice within two years (91-7-23). A proponent may make all interested persons parties to the petition (91-7-19), and once a written objection is filed, probate cannot proceed without notice to the objector (91-7-21).

6. 6

   After letters issue, the representative must make reasonably diligent efforts to identify creditors, mail each a notice, file an affidavit saying so and publish notice to creditors in a county newspaper for three consecutive weeks (91-7-145). For an estate of $500 or less, the notice is posted for 30 days at the courthouse door and two other public places instead (91-7-147). A claim must be registered within 90 days after the first publication of the notice or it is barred (91-7-151). Bond is generally set equal to the full value of the estate or personal estate (91-7-41, 91-7-67); a will can direct that no bond be required unless the court or clerk has reason to require one (91-7-45).

7. 7

   Not every estate needs probate. Assets that pass by beneficiary designation, joint ownership with survivorship or a trust usually pass outside probate, and Mississippi has small-estate and muniment-of-title routes; see the small-estate-affidavit page. Mississippi has no independent administration; the chancery court supervises estates with inventory and accounts (91-7-93, 91-7-277).

Mississippi Requirements for Petition for Probate

• Chancery Court of the Decedent's County

  Wills are proved and letters granted by the chancery court of the county where the testator had a fixed place of residence. Mississippi has no separate probate court (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-1, 91-7-63).

• Petition Name and Form

  The filing is a petition to probate a will and for letters, or a petition for letters of administration. No statewide form is named here, and the court's form controls if it provides one.

• Venue Statement

  State the facts that place venue in the county where the petition is filed, usually the decedent's fixed place of residence at death (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-1).

• Will or Intestacy Statement

  State whether the decedent left a will, with its date and the original presented, or died without one (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-3, 91-7-63).

• Priority and Disqualification

  A named executor is entitled to letters if not disqualified, and an intestate's spouse is preferred (91-7-63). A person under eighteen, of unsound mind or convicted of a felony cannot serve (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-35, 91-7-65).

• Heirs and Interested Persons

  List heirs and beneficiaries with relationships and addresses. A proponent may make interested persons parties, and a written objection requires notice to the objector (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-19, 91-7-21).

• Bond Request or Waiver

  Bond is generally required with sureties. A will may waive it unless the court or clerk has reason to require one, and the chancellor may waive or reduce an administrator's bond if the administrator is sole heir or all heirs are competent and present a sworn petition (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-41, 91-7-45, 91-7-67).

• Notice to Creditors and 90-Day Claims Period

  After letters, the representative makes reasonably diligent efforts to identify creditors, mails each a notice, files an affidavit and publishes notice for three consecutive weeks (posting for 30 days if the estate is $500 or less). Claims not registered within 90 days after first publication are barred (Miss. Code Ann. 91-7-145, 91-7-147, 91-7-151).