Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-2-711

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-2-711, 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.

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Payment and negotiation of check when no estate has been opened or the estate has been closed

Official statutory text

(a) (1) Notwithstanding § 30-2-317 , where no executor or administrator of a decedent has qualified and given notice of the person's qualifications to the bank, or where the qualified executor or administrator of a decedent has been discharged and a check or checks made payable to the decedent or the decedent's estate is presented to the bank for payment or collection, the bank may, in its discretion, and at any time after ninety (90) days from the death of the deceased, negotiate or send for collection and pay out the proceeds of one (1) or more checks made payable to the decedent or the decedent's estate, whether written or electronic, all sums that do not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in the aggregate: (A) To the executor named in any will known to the bank whether probated or not; (B) To any personal representative appointed by a court whether active or discharged; or (C) In the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor or an administrator to the: (i) Surviving spouse; or (ii) Next of kin. (2) In the case of conflicting claims, the order of priority shall be that set out in subdivision (a)(1). (b) The receipt of any guardian, administrator or executor, duly appointed or qualified by the courts of this state, or any other state, or of any spouse or next of kin acknowledging the negotiation, payment or transfer of funds of a check, standing in the name of the person whose estate the fiduciary represents, shall be a good and sufficient acquittance for payment or transfer and shall constitute a valid defense in favor of the bank against the demands or claims of all parties. (c) The negotiation or payment of a check under this section without an endorsement of the payee or with the endorsement of a person authorized by this section to negotiate the check shall not be a violation of or give rise to any claim under title 47, chapter 3 or 4. (d) No bank shall be liable for damages, penalty or tax by reason of any payment made pursuant to this section. Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 804,Secs.s3, s4, s5 eff. 4/14/2016. Acts 2014, ch. 597, § 2.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding § 30-2-317 , where no executor or administrator of a decedent has qualified and given notice of the person's qualifications to the bank, or where the qualified executor or administrator of a decedent has been discharged and a check or checks made payable to the decedent or the decedent's estate is presented to the bank for payment or collection, the bank may, in its discretion, and at any time after ninety (90) days from the death of the deceased, negotiate or send for collection and pay out the proceeds of one (1) or more checks made payable to the decedent or the decedent's estate, whether written or electronic, all sums that do not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in the aggregate: (A) To the executor named in any will known to the bank whether probated or not; (B) To any personal representative appointed by a court whether active or discharged; or (C) In the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor or an administrator to the: (i) Surviving spouse; or (ii) Next of kin. (2) In the case of conflicting claims, the order of priority shall be that set out in subdivision (a)(1).
in any will known to the bank whether probated or not; (B) To any personal representative appointed by a court whether active or discharged; or (C) In the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor or an administrator to the: (i) Surviving spouse; or (ii) Next of kin. (2) In the case of conflicting claims, the order of priority shall be that set out in subdivision (a)(1).
(1) Notwithstanding § 30-2-317 , where no executor or administrator of a decedent has qualified and given notice of the person's qualifications to the bank, or where the qualified executor or administrator of a decedent has been discharged and a check or checks made payable to the decedent or the decedent's estate is presented to the bank for payment or collection, the bank may, in its discretion, and at any time after ninety (90) days from the death of the deceased, negotiate or send for collection and pay out the proceeds of one (1) or more checks made payable to the decedent or the decedent's estate, whether written or electronic, all sums that do not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in the aggregate: (A) To the executor named in any will known to the bank whether probated or not; (B) To any personal representative appointed by a court whether active or discharged; or (C) In the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor or an administrator to the: (i) Surviving spouse; or (ii) Next of kin.
(A) To the executor named in any will known to the bank whether probated or not;
(B) To any personal representative appointed by a court whether active or discharged; or
(C) In the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor or an administrator to the: (i) Surviving spouse; or (ii) Next of kin.
(i) Surviving spouse; or
(ii) Next of kin.
(2) In the case of conflicting claims, the order of priority shall be that set out in subdivision (a)(1).
(b) The receipt of any guardian, administrator or executor, duly appointed or qualified by the courts of this state, or any other state, or of any spouse or next of kin acknowledging the negotiation, payment or transfer of funds of a check, standing in the name of the person whose estate the fiduciary represents, shall be a good and sufficient acquittance for payment or transfer and shall constitute a valid defense in favor of the bank against the demands or claims of all parties.
(c) The negotiation or payment of a check under this section without an endorsement of the payee or with the endorsement of a person authorized by this section to negotiate the check shall not be a violation of or give rise to any claim under title 47, chapter 3 or 4.
(d) No bank shall be liable for damages, penalty or tax by reason of any payment made pursuant to this section.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 804,Secs.s3, s4, s5 eff. 4/14/2016.
Acts 2014, ch. 597, § 2.

Status: in_force

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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.