Probate in Mississippi: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Mississippi

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

Mississippi law sets no deadline for handing over a will after a death. If someone holds the original will, the chancery court of the county can order them to produce it.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-5, 91-7-39Read the statute text · codes.findlaw.comchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Mississippi, probate is handled by the chancery court in the county where the person who died had a fixed home. If they had no fixed home, it goes to the county where they owned land, or for someone without a will and without land, the county where they died.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-1, 91-7-63Read the statute text · codes.findlaw.comchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Mississippi, the executor or administrator must make a reasonable effort to find creditors, mail them a notice, file an affidavit saying so, and then publish a notice to creditors in a county newspaper. Creditors have 90 days from the first publication to have their claims probated and registered with the chancery clerk, or the claims are barred.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-145, 91-7-151Read the statute text · codes.findlaw.comchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Mississippi, the executor or administrator must file a sworn inventory with the court within 90 days after receiving letters, unless the court or clerk allows more time. A will can waive the inventory, and in an estate without a will the court can waive it on request.

Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-93Read the statute text · codes.findlaw.comchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Mississippi, if the estate cannot pay all its debts, the court orders the property sold. The costs of the last illness, the funeral and the administration of the estate are paid first, then any claims the law gives a preference, and what is left is shared among the creditors with filed and proven claims in proportion to what each is owed.

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-7-261, 91-7-271Read the statute text · codes.findlaw.comchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Mississippi has no estate tax for current deaths and no inheritance tax. No Mississippi estate tax return is required for anyone who died on or after January 1, 2005.

Miss. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 9 (§ 27-9-1 et seq.)Read the statute · dor.ms.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2005

Closing an estate

In Mississippi, once the debts are paid and the assets collected, the executor or administrator closes the estate by filing a sworn final account with the chancery court, which then enters a decree of final discharge. A will can waive the final account, and in an estate without a will the court can waive it on request.

Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-291Read the statute text · codes.findlaw.comchecked Oct 5, 2026