Shelby County, Tennessee Court Records

Shebly County is one of two counties in Tennessee that has a probate court. The Shelby County Probate Court is responsible for overseeing wills, estates, conservatorship, guardianships, name changes, judicial hospitalization under the Mental Health Law, and birth certificate corrections. One of the probate court’s key responsibilities is handling probate proceedings, a court-supervised process for settling a decedent's estate.

Probate proceedings in Shelby County are governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code. These proceedings involve using the assets of a decedent’s estate to pay debts or taxes owed and distributing the remaining assets among the decedent's heirs and beneficiaries in accordance with their will or Tennessee’s intestacy laws. Generally, various information and official documents are filed with and generated by probate courts in connection with probate proceedings. These include, but are not limited to, probate petitions, wills, estate inventories, claims, court orders, and final accounting.

Understanding the Parties Involved in Probate Cases

In Shelby County, parties usually involved in probate cases and their respective roles are detailed below:

• The decedent: This is the deceased person whose estate is subject to probate.
• Executor: This individual is typically named in a decedent’s will and is responsible for carrying out the instructions outlined in the will. The executor is responsible for managing, inventorying, appraising, and protecting the assets of a decedent’s estate. They also file necessary tax returns, pay debts the estate owes, notify relevant parties of their right, and distribute the estate’s assets in accordance with the will’s instructions.
• Administrator: an individual appointed by the court to manage a decedent’s estate when their will has been invalidated, or they died without leaving a valid will. An administrator may also be appointed when a valid will exists if an executor is not named in the will or the named executor dies. They share similar duties with an executor, including inventorying estate assets, filing the estate’s taxes, paying debts, and managing the distribution of assets.
• Personal representatives: a general term for an estate’s executor(s) or administrator(s).
• Heirs and beneficiaries: heirs are close family members of a decedent who inherit the decedent's assets under Tennessee's Intestate Succession Laws (TN Code Annotated § 31-2-104). Meanwhile, beneficiaries are individuals or entities named in a will who are entitled to inherit the decedent's assets.
• Creditors: Individuals or entities to whom a decedent owed money before death. They have the legal right to file a claim against the decedent’s estate to recover the amount owed.
• Attorneys: Legal professionals who provide guidance to relevant parties during probate proceedings.

Legal Purpose and Importance of Probate Court Records in Shelby County

Probate court records in Shelby County are used to document pertinent information about the administration of a decedent’s estate. These records are important for future review of these processes to ensure that they were carried out in line with applicable state laws. They may also be reviewed to ascertain the roles and rights of individuals involved in the probate process, including executors, creditors, administrators, heirs, and beneficiaries.

Probate records may identify some of the decedent’s family members, making them valuable for genealogical research. They can also be used to resolve asset distribution disputes that may arise and to verify a decedent’s assets and debts before death.

Public Access to Probate Court Records in Shelby County

Per Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 34 and the Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA), the public has the right to access records maintained by Tennessee courts. Probate court records are subject to these laws and rules. As a result, interested persons access probate court records in Shelby County. However, there are certain exceptions. Some of these exceptions are outlined in Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 34(c). Examples include records and information exempt from disclosure under TPRA and records protected from public disclosure pursuant to a court order or rule, such as sealed records.

Differences Between Wills, Estates, and Other Probate Filings in Shelby County

In Shelby County, probate filings consist of various official documents filed with or generated by the Probate Court. Each of these documents serves a specific purpose, and they include but are not limited to:

• Wills: This legal document contains instructions on how an individual wants their estate to be managed and distributed after their death. There are three (3) types of wills recognized under Tennessee law: attested, holographic, and oral wills.
• Estate inventory: This comprehensive document is prepared by the personal representative (i.e., an administrator or executor) of an estate. It outlines all the assets of a decedent’s estate. These assets may include cash, financial account balances, marketable securities, personal properties, real property titles, and business interests.
• Estate accounting: This financial report documents all financial transactions related to the administration of a probated estate. It also contains details about how the personal representative of the estate managed the estate’s assets, paid relevant debts, and distributed the remaining assets.
• Probate petition: This formal document is filed with a court of proper jurisdiction to request that an estate probate proceeding commence.
• Guardianship and conservatorship records: These records document protective court proceedings in which the court appoints an individual or entity to safeguard a vulnerable person and to make financial and personal decisions on their behalf. Conversators are typically assigned to incapacitated or disabled adults, while guardians are usually assigned to minors.

Methods for Searching Shelby County Probate Court Records

Interested persons may search for Shelby County probate court records through the Shelby County Probate Court Clerk's Office. The clerk provides different online resources that individuals can use to search for probate court records. The clerk also accepts in-person and email requests for copies of probate court records. Notwithstanding the method of search, record seekers must possess certain information about the sought record to identify it accurately. These include the case number, party name, and a document’s docket number.

How to Find Shelby County Probate Cases Online for Free

The Shelby County Probate Court Clerk’s Office offers two (2) separate online resources that record seekers can use to search for probate case information, depending on the date the case was filed. For cases filed before October 2013, an individual may use the Probate Case Information (PW1) portal to search for the case information. Users can conduct searches on the portal by case party name or case number. Meanwhile, case information for probate cases filed between October 2013 and the present is searchable online through the clerk’s second case information search portal. The portal is also searchable by case number and party name. Users are also given the option to specifically search for probate case docket reports and judgments through the portal.

The Shelby County Probate Court Clerk’s Office also provides the View Document portal. As the name implies, the View Document portal allows individuals to search for and view a specific document in a probate case. The only search criterion required to conduct a search on the portal is a docket number.

Accessing Shelby County Probate Court Records in Person

Record seekers can visit the Shelby County Probate Court Clerk’s Office during business hours (8:00 am to 4:30 pm) to make an in-person request for probate court records. They must bring along information about the sought-after record, such as the case number and party name, to facilitate their requests. Although record seekers may be permitted to inspect probate court records free of charge in person, they are usually charged a fee for copies of such records they request. For instance, black/white copies cost $0.50 per page. Thus, when visiting the clerk’s office to request copies of records, individuals should also bring the required fee. Shelby County Probate Court and Clerk’s Office is located at:

Requesting Shelby County Probate Court Records by Mail

The Shelby County Probate Court Clerk’s Office does not expressly accept mail-in requests for probate court records. However, interested persons may order copies of records by emailing a written request that contains sufficient information to identify the sought record to probate.copies@shelbycountytn.gov.

Shelby County Probate Court Record Access Methods

Applicable Fees for Shelby County Probate Court Record Requests

According to the Shelby County Probate Court Fee Schedule, the applicable fees for requesting probate court include the following:

• $0.50 fees for photocopies of documents
• $5.00 for certification of copies of records
• $5.50 for copies of letters