(a) Except as provided in subsection (e), it is the duty of the clerk of the court in which an estate is being administered, within thirty (30) days after the issuance of letters testamentary or of administration, to give, in the name of the personal representative of the estate, public notice of the personal representative‘s qualification as such by two (2) consecutive weekly notices published in some newspaper of the county in which letters testamentary or of administration are granted, or, if no newspaper is published in that county, by written notices posted in three (3) public places in the county, one (1) of which shall be posted at the usual place for posting notices at the courthouse.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 30-2-306

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Personal representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The notice shall be substantially in the following form:

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(c) An affidavit of the publisher of the newspaper, in case of publication by newspaper, showing the dates on which the notice was published, or of the personal representative, in case of posted notices, showing the date on which the notice was first posted, shall be prima facie evidence of the publication required by this section. The affidavit shall be filed with the clerk and be noted by the clerk on the docket of the cause.
(d) In addition, it shall be the duty of the personal representative to mail or deliver by other means a copy of the published or posted notice as described in subsection (b) to all creditors of the decedent of whom the personal representative has actual knowledge or who are reasonably ascertainable by the personal representative, at the creditors’ last known addresses. This notice shall not be required where a creditor has already filed a claim against the estate, has been paid or has issued a release of all claims against the estate.
(e) The requirement of subsection (a) shall not apply if the letters testamentary or of administration are issued more than one (1) year from the decedent’s date of death.
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