What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in Tennessee?
Tennessee allows you to name your own agent in advanceT.C.A. § 62-5-703(1)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.
Burial on private property is permittedT.C.A. § 68-3-502Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Tennessee. No state statute bars burial on private land, and family burial grounds are exempt from the state Cemetery Act (§ 46-1-106); county or city ordinances may apply. The death certificate must be filed before the burial (§ 68-3-502), and once a deed shows a grave, every later owner must protect a 10-foot area around it (§ 46-8-103).
Tennessee imposes no statutory minimum waiting periodT.C.A. § 62-5-504Verified Oct 17, 2026View source before cremation. A medical examiner or coroner authorizes the cremation before it proceeds. The person with the right of disposition under § 62-5-703 signs the crematory's cremation authorization form, which the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers approves, and every cremation is arranged through a licensed funeral establishment (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0660-09-.01). The crematory also needs a permit for cremation of human remains before it begins (§ 62-5-504).
Tennessee sets an order for who controls the disposition of remains: surviving spouse, then sole surviving child, or majority of surviving children, then surviving parentT.C.A. § 62-5-703Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in advanceT.C.A. § 62-5-703(1)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the default order. Those wishes can be recorded alongside the rest of an estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.
Embalming is not required by lawT.C.A. § 68-3-502Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Tennessee. No Tennessee statute or rule requires embalming. A crematory refrigerates an unembalmed body it holds for 8 hours or longer (§ 62-5-507), and a funeral home holding a body during a family dispute may refrigerate it and may not charge for embalming unless the family agrees (§ 62-5-706).
In Tennessee, a licensed funeral director is not required — a family may legally direct the disposition itselfT.C.A. § 68-3-502Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. Families, friends or neighbors who prepare and bury their own dead without charge need no funeral license (§ 62-5-102). Since 2022 only the funeral director who first takes custody, the medical examiner, or the attending or pronouncing physician in a hospital may file the death certificate, which must be filed before burial (§ 68-3-502). Every cremation is arranged through a licensed funeral establishment and supervised by a licensed funeral director (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0660-09-.01).
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
Learn more
Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
Learn more
New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
Learn more
Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Tennessee
Free Tennessee forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Notice to Creditors
In Tennessee, the notice to creditors is published for 2T.C.A. §§ 30-2-306, 30-2-307, 30-2-310, 30-2-314, 30-2-317Verified Oct 19, 2026View source weeks in a local newspaper, and creditors have 4 monthsT.C.A. § 30-2-306(b) cl. (1)(A) (4 months from the date of first publication or posting); § 30-2-306(b) cl. (1)(B) (60 days from receipt of actual notice, where actual notice arrives within 60 days of the 4-month date); § 30-2-306(b) cl. (2) and § 30-2-310(a) (12-month outer bar from the date of death); § 30-2-307(a)(1) (claims barred unless filed within the period prescribed in the § 30-2-306(b) notice); § 30-2-321 (that period is computed from the date of first publication). Verified 2026-09-08.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source from first publication to present claims.
Renunciation of Executor
In Tennessee, a person named as personal representative may decline to serveTenn. Code Ann. § 30-1-112(a)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source before anyone is appointed.
Affidavit of Heirship
In Tennessee, heirs put their identity on the land records with an affidavit of heirship recorded with the countyTenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-712Verified Sep 24, 2026View source; once recorded it is prima facie evidence of the facts stated.
Estate Inventory
In Tennessee, the personal representative files the estate inventory within 60 daysTenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-301Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment.
Estate Closing
In Tennessee, the personal representative is discharged by court orderTenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-307(a)(2); § 30-2-601(b)(2), (c)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and a final accounting is required unless it is waived.
Letter of Instruction
Prepare the letter a bank or insurer requests during estate settlement, addressed to its claims department.
Last Will and Testament
In Tennessee, a will is signed before 2T.C.A. § 32-1-104Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyT.C.A. § 32-1-104Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Tennessee allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-11-1805; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-36-.13Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Tennessee
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Tennessee: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Tennessee costs an estimated $24,527T.C.A. § 30-2-317(a)(1) (attorney fees are a first-priority cost of administration — "reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel"); see also § 30-2-606. No statutory percentage or fee schedule.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.7%T.C.A. § 30-2-317(a)(1) (attorney fees are a first-priority cost of administration — "reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel"); see also § 30-2-606. No statutory percentage or fee schedule.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.7%T.C.A. § 30-2-317(a)(1) (attorney fees are a first-priority cost of administration — "reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel"); see also § 30-2-606. No statutory percentage or fee schedule.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Tennessee, descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representationTenn. Code § 31-2-106Verified Sep 10, 2026View source, and an heir must survive the decedent by 120 hoursTenn. Code § 31-3-108Verified Sep 10, 2026View source to inherit.
How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
Tennessee levies no estate or inheritance taxNo Tennessee death tax is payable. The inheritance tax (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 67, ch. 8, pt. 3) remains codified but is switched off: § 67-8-318 (Acts 2012, ch. 1057, § 3) — "This part does not apply in the case of any decedent who died in 2016 or in any subsequent year"; TN DOR — "The inheritance tax is no longer imposed after December 31, 2015. Please DO NOT file for decedents with dates of death in 2016 or after." The separate Tennessee estate tax (Title 67, ch. 8, pt. 2, § 67-8-204) is a federal-credit pickup keyed to the credit "allowable ... by § 2011 of the Internal Revenue Code" (§ 67-8-202(1)); 26 U.S.C. § 2011 was repealed (Pub. L. 113-295 § 221(a)(95)(A)(i)), so that tax computes to $0. The gift tax (pt. 1) likewise does not apply to gifts made on or after Jan. 1, 2012 (§ 67-8-118).Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?
Tennessee imposes no inheritance or estate taxNo Tennessee death tax is payable. The inheritance tax (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 67, ch. 8, pt. 3) remains codified but is switched off: § 67-8-318 (Acts 2012, ch. 1057, § 3) — "This part does not apply in the case of any decedent who died in 2016 or in any subsequent year"; TN DOR — "The inheritance tax is no longer imposed after December 31, 2015. Please DO NOT file for decedents with dates of death in 2016 or after." The separate Tennessee estate tax (Title 67, ch. 8, pt. 2, § 67-8-204) is a federal-credit pickup keyed to the credit "allowable ... by § 2011 of the Internal Revenue Code" (§ 67-8-202(1)); 26 U.S.C. § 2011 was repealed (Pub. L. 113-295 § 221(a)(95)(A)(i)), so that tax computes to $0. The gift tax (pt. 1) likewise does not apply to gifts made on or after Jan. 1, 2012 (§ 67-8-118).Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.
How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in Tennessee take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces no state capital gains taxTenn. Pub. Ch. 181 (2017) (IMPROVE Act, HB 534), §§ 13, 15 — amending Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 67-2-102 and 67-2-124(c) (Hall income tax rate: 4% TY2017 → 3% → 2% → 1% → zero percent (0%) for tax years beginning on/after Jan. 1, 2021)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Tennessee costs an estimated $24,527T.C.A. § 30-2-317(a)(1) (attorney fees are a first-priority cost of administration — "reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel"); see also § 30-2-606. No statutory percentage or fee schedule.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 1.7%T.C.A. § 30-2-317(a)(1) (attorney fees are a first-priority cost of administration — "reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel"); see also § 30-2-606. No statutory percentage or fee schedule.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.7%T.C.A. § 30-2-317(a)(1) (attorney fees are a first-priority cost of administration — "reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel"); see also § 30-2-606. No statutory percentage or fee schedule.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $50,000T.C.A. § 30-4-101Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?
See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.
How Much Can an Executor Charge?
Tennessee pays executors reasonable compensationT.C.A. § 30-2-606 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
When you're ready, we're here.
Tennessee Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Tennessee probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.