Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-317

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-317, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Priority of claims - Payment - Contested or unmatured claims

Official statutory text

(a) All claims or demands against the estate of any deceased person shall be divided into the following classifications, which shall have priority in the order shown: (1) First: Costs of administration, including, but not limited to, premiums on the fiduciary bonds and reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel; (2) Second: Reasonable funeral expenses; (3) Third: Taxes and assessments imposed by the federal or any state government or subdivision of the federal or any state government, including claims by the bureau of TennCare pursuant to § 71-5-116 and including city and county governments; and (4) Fourth: All other demands that may be filed as aforementioned within four (4) months after the date of notice to creditors. (b) All demands against the estate shall be paid by the personal representative in the order in which they are classed, and no demand of one class shall be paid until the claims of all prior classes are satisfied or provided for; and if there are not sufficient assets to pay the whole of any one class, the claims in that class shall be paid pro rata. (c) Debts due upon bills single, bonds, bills of exchange and promissory notes, whether with or without seal, and upon settled and liquidated accounts signed by the debtor, are of equal dignity, unless otherwise provided, and are to be paid accordingly. (d) The personal representative shall hold aside sufficient funds or other assets to pay each contested or unmatured claim (or the proper ratable portion thereof, as the case may be) with interest (if the claim be one bearing interest), until it is determined whether or not the claim is to be paid, or until an unmatured claim has reached maturity, also sufficient assets to meet the expenses of pending litigation and costs of court and any unpaid taxes. Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 883,s 2, eff. 7/1/2014. Code 1858, § 2250 (deriv. Acts 1786, ch. 4, § 2); Shan., § 3983; mod. Code 1932, § 8195; Acts 1939, ch. 175, § 4; 1947, ch. 137, § 1; C. Supp. 1950, § 8196.5 (Williams, § 8196.4); Acts 1971, ch. 229, § 5; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 30-520; Acts 1997, ch. 426, § 7; 2001, ch. 400, § 1; 2006, ch. 639, § 2.
(a) All claims or demands against the estate of any deceased person shall be divided into the following classifications, which shall have priority in the order shown: (1) First: Costs of administration, including, but not limited to, premiums on the fiduciary bonds and reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel; (2) Second: Reasonable funeral expenses; (3) Third: Taxes and assessments imposed by the federal or any state government or subdivision of the federal or any state government, including claims by the bureau of TennCare pursuant to § 71-5-116 and including city and county governments; and (4) Fourth: All other demands that may be filed as aforementioned within four (4) months after the date of notice to creditors.
(1) First: Costs of administration, including, but not limited to, premiums on the fiduciary bonds and reasonable compensation to the personal representative and the personal representative's counsel;
(2) Second: Reasonable funeral expenses;
(3) Third: Taxes and assessments imposed by the federal or any state government or subdivision of the federal or any state government, including claims by the bureau of TennCare pursuant to § 71-5-116 and including city and county governments; and
(4) Fourth: All other demands that may be filed as aforementioned within four (4) months after the date of notice to creditors.
(b) All demands against the estate shall be paid by the personal representative in the order in which they are classed, and no demand of one class shall be paid until the claims of all prior classes are satisfied or provided for; and if there are not sufficient assets to pay the whole of any one class, the claims in that class shall be paid pro rata.
) months after the date of notice to creditors.
(b) All demands against the estate shall be paid by the personal representative in the order in which they are classed, and no demand of one class shall be paid until the claims of all prior classes are satisfied or provided for; and if there are not sufficient assets to pay the whole of any one class, the claims in that class shall be paid pro rata.
(c) Debts due upon bills single, bonds, bills of exchange and promissory notes, whether with or without seal, and upon settled and liquidated accounts signed by the debtor, are of equal dignity, unless otherwise provided, and are to be paid accordingly.
(d) The personal representative shall hold aside sufficient funds or other assets to pay each contested or unmatured claim (or the proper ratable portion thereof, as the case may be) with interest (if the claim be one bearing interest), until it is determined whether or not the claim is to be paid, or until an unmatured claim has reached maturity, also sufficient assets to meet the expenses of pending litigation and costs of court and any unpaid taxes.
Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 883,s 2, eff. 7/1/2014.
Code 1858, § 2250 (deriv. Acts 1786, ch. 4, § 2); Shan., § 3983; mod. Code 1932, § 8195; Acts 1939, ch. 175, § 4; 1947, ch. 137, § 1; C. Supp. 1950, § 8196.5 (Williams, § 8196.4); Acts 1971, ch. 229, § 5; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 30-520; Acts 1997, ch. 426, § 7; 2001, ch. 400, § 1; 2006, ch. 639, § 2.

Status: in_force

Need a lawyer in Tennessee?

Find a Tennessee lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.