Mississippi Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Mississippi handles probate and intestate succession entirely through the Chancery Court of the county where the deceased lived, since the state has no separate probate court. A 2020 reform substantially raised the dollar thresholds for two of the state's faster, simplified alternatives to full administration.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Mississippi

Mississippi is one of a small number of states with no dedicated probate court. The Chancery Court of the county where the decedent lived at death validates the will if one exists, appoints an executor or administrator, and supervises administration of the estate. Mississippi has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so it does not use the "formal" and "informal" procedural labels common in Uniform Probate Code states. Instead it offers three distinct paths, chosen based on whether a will exists and how large the estate is. Full, or regular, Administration is the standard court-supervised process used for estates that do not qualify for a simplified option. Muniment of Title, available only when the decedent died with a valid will that devises real property in Mississippi, lets a qualifying estate skip appointing an executor entirely, since the will itself, once admitted to probate as a muniment of title, serves as proof of title to that real property. The Small Estate Affidavit of Successor is the fastest path, letting qualifying heirs collect a decedent's assets by sworn affidavit rather than filing any Chancery Court petition at all.

Mississippi's 2020 probate reform, enacted through SB 2850 and effective July 1, 2020, substantially expanded who can use the two simplified tracks by raising both dollar thresholds. Before the reform, the Small Estate Affidavit of Successor was capped at $50,000 and Muniment of Title was capped at $10,000. Both now sit at $75,000. Many older online sources still cite the pre-reform figures, so readers relying on out-of-date guidance may believe an estate needs full Chancery Court administration when it now qualifies for a simplified track.

For estates that do go through full Administration, the general sequence still applies: the Chancery Court appoints an executor named in the will, or an administrator if there is no will or the named executor cannot serve; the personal representative inventories and values the estate's assets; creditors get a window, about 90 days in Mississippi, to file claims; and once valid debts are paid, the remaining assets are distributed to the heirs or beneficiaries under Chancery Court supervision.

Intestate Succession in Mississippi: Who Inherits Without a Will

When a Mississippi resident dies without a valid will, Mississippi Code Section 91-1-7 governs how property passes between spouse and descendants, while Section 91-1-3 governs the broader order of descent when there is no surviving spouse or descendant. If the decedent leaves no children or other descendants, the surviving spouse takes the entire estate. If the decedent leaves children, whether from that marriage or an earlier relationship, the surviving spouse does not automatically take a preferential share the way spouses do in many other states. Instead, the spouse and each child, or each line of descendants if a child predeceased the decedent, split the estate equally as coheirs. With one surviving child, the spouse and child each take half. With two surviving children, the spouse and the two children each take a third. Mississippi is not a community property state, so this statutory division applies to the decedent's entire probate estate rather than to only a spousal share of jointly accumulated property.

If no spouse or descendant survives, Section 91-1-3 directs the estate to the decedent's brothers, sisters, father, and mother in equal parts, with the descendants of a deceased sibling taking that sibling's share by representation. If none of those relatives survive, the estate passes to grandparents and aunts and uncles in equal parts. Beyond that, Mississippi law reaches more distant next of kin in equal degree, computed under the state's civil-law method of computation, before an estate would ever escheat to the state, which happens only when no qualifying relative can be located at all.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Mississippi's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Mississippi Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Mississippi

Mississippi offers two simplified alternatives to full Chancery Court administration, and the state's 2020 reform raised the dollar ceiling on both.

The Small Estate Affidavit of Successor lets qualifying heirs collect a decedent's personal property, such as bank accounts, without any Chancery Court petition. Under Mississippi Code Section 91-7-322(1), it is available when the value of the decedent's entire probate estate, wherever located and excluding all liens and encumbrances on it, does not exceed $75,000, at least 30 days have passed since death, and no personal representative has already been appointed or has an appointment pending. The $75,000 test looks at the whole probate estate, not only at the personal property the affidavit is used to collect, so an estate that includes a house can exceed the cap even when the bank accounts alone come nowhere near it.

Section 91-7-322(2) also fixes the order of who may sign as the "successor": the decedent's spouse; if there is no surviving spouse, any child; if there is no surviving spouse or children, any grandchild; and if there is no surviving spouse, children, or grandchildren, then either parent or any sibling of the decedent.

Muniment of Title serves a different purpose. Under Mississippi Code Section 91-5-35(1), it applies only when a person dies testate owning real property in Mississippi and the will purports to devise that realty. Passing title to Mississippi real estate is the entire function of the device, so a will that leaves no Mississippi real property behind cannot be probated this way. The petition must also show that the value of the decedent's probate estate in Mississippi, exclusive of any interest in real property and of exempt property under Section 91-7-117, did not exceed the sum set in Section 91-7-322, currently $75,000, and that all known debts of the decedent and the estate have been paid, including estate and income taxes.

Rather than appointing an executor to administer the estate, the will is admitted to probate as a muniment of title on a signed and sworn petition, and the admitted will then serves as proof of title to the devised realty. Since the 2020 reform, that petition is signed and sworn by the personal representative, meaning an executor, an administrator with the will annexed, or a personal representative serving in another jurisdiction. If no such representative is serving, it is signed and sworn instead by the decedent's spouse, if then living, together with the devisees of the Mississippi real property. This route can be faster than full Administration precisely because it skips the step of appointing and supervising a personal representative.

Neither simplified option is available for every estate. Larger estates, estates with significant real property complications, or estates where an executor needs authority to manage ongoing business affairs or resolve disputed claims typically still require full Administration through the Chancery Court.

Does Mississippi Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

Mississippi has no state estate tax. The Mississippi Department of Revenue confirms that no estate tax return is required for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2005. Mississippi also has no state inheritance tax and no state gift tax. Only the federal estate tax can apply to a Mississippi estate, and in 2026 that tax exempts the first $15,000,000 per person, meaning it affects only a very small number of the largest estates nationally.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

Many straightforward Mississippi estates, especially those that qualify for the Small Estate Affidavit of Successor or Muniment of Title, can move through the process without hiring a probate attorney. An attorney becomes genuinely worth engaging when a will is likely to be contested, when heirship must be judicially determined because family relationships are unclear or disputed, when the estate includes a business interest, or when the estate is a blended family situation that intestate succession's fixed categories do not handle cleanly. For a broader look at when a probate attorney is worth the cost, see Probate by State.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Mississippi as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Mississippi, particularly for a contested estate, a disputed heirship determination, a business interest, or a blended family. Dollar thresholds and statutes change; verify current figures directly with the Mississippi Chancery Court or the cited official source before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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