Mississippi Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step estate settlement guidance for executors in Mississippi.
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Mississippi Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 82 counties have detailed data.
Showing 36 of 82 counties. Search by county name or show the full list.
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Mississippi Probate Guides
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Mississippi Probate Guide
Mississippi probate guide for Chancery Court, the Chancery Clerk filing office, small estate affidavits, notice to creditors, inventory, and estate costs.
How to Avoid Probate in Mississippi
How to avoid probate in Mississippi: survivorship accounts, POD designations, beneficiary forms, the transfer-on-death deed, small estate affidavits, and trusts.
Mississippi Small Estate Affidavit
Mississippi's small estate affidavit lets a successor collect up to $75,000 in personal property 30 days after death, with no Chancery Court administration.
Mississippi Probate Timeline
Mississippi probate timeline with chancery court deadlines: 90-day inventory, 90-day creditor claim window after publication, and the final account.
Mississippi Executor Duties
Mississippi executor duties guide: get letters from chancery court, file the 90-day inventory, notice creditors, and file accounts with the chancery clerk.
How Much Does Probate Cost in Mississippi
Mississippi probate costs explained: the $85 Chancery Clerk filing fee, newspaper publication, appraisal costs, and court-set executor and attorney fees.
Browse Mississippi guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
2Executor Duties
1Taxes & Deadlines
3Planning Documents
5Property Transfer
1Mississippi Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Mississippi probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Mississippi probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Mississippi probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Mississippi probate resource questions
Are these Mississippi probate resources county-specific?
No. This map shows state-level source links from Settled data. Use it with the Mississippi county page and the county office handling the estate before filing.
Which Mississippi source should I use first?
Start with the official court, form, or agency source for the task, then confirm local requirements with the county filing office, clerk, register, or office that accepts the filing.
Does the Mississippi Probate Resource Map replace attorney review?
No. The map is source navigation. It helps families find current public sources, but it does not decide eligibility, prepare filings, or replace advice from counsel.
Mississippi probate resource map by source type
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
Show all Mississippi self-help resources (7 links)
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- State of Mississippi Judiciary - Chancery Courts (districts and overview)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
- Mississippi Legal Services (MSLegalServices.org / Mississippi Center for Legal Services & North Mississippi Rural Legal Services)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
- Mississippi Department of Human Services - Division of Aging and Adult Services
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
- Mississippi State Department of Health - Death Certificates
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
- Mississippi Department of Revenue
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
County filing-office sources
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
- State of Mississippi Judiciary - Chancery Court Clerks directory (official, dated January 17, 2024)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- The Mississippi Bar - Lawyer Referral Service
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-14.
Settled pairs these Mississippi source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Types of Probate in Mississippi
Mississippi offers several probate procedures depending on estate value and circumstances.
The full court process
Legal name: Formal Probate
Court-supervised administration for estates that do not qualify for a shortcut.
- Timeline
- 6-12+ months
- Attorney
- Recommended
A shorter path for qualifying estates
Legal name: Simplified Probate
A shorter court process that may be available for qualifying estates.
- Timeline
- Varies
- Attorney
- Recommended
A shortcut for smaller estates
Legal name: Small Estate Procedure
A limited shortcut for qualifying small estates.
- Timeline
- Varies
- Attorney
- Optional
Mississippi Estate Law Overview
Mississippi Estate Tax Info
Mississippi has no state estate tax, no state inheritance tax, and no state gift tax. Mississippi also imposes no value-based state probate tax (unlike Virginia). Mississippi does have a state individual income tax (a flat rate that is being phased down).
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession determines who receives a Mississippi decedent's probate property when there is no valid will. Probate of an intestate estate is handled in chancery court, and the filing office is the chancery clerk of the county where the decedent resided.
View spouse inheritance rules
Under Miss. Code 91-1-7, if the decedent leaves no child or descendant of a child, the surviving spouse takes the entire estate, real and personal, in fee simple, after payment of debts.
Under Miss. Code 91-1-7 the surviving spouse takes 'a child's part' in fee simple. The estate is divided into equal shares, one for the surviving spouse and one for each child, so with a spouse and two children each takes one-third. Mississippi does NOT use a fixed spousal fraction in this situation.
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Children and their descendantsEqual parts among children; descendants of a deceased child take by representation
- 2Brothers and sisters, and father and mother, and descendants of deceased siblingsIf no descendants, the estate passes to the decedent's brothers and sisters and the father and mother, in equal parts, with descendants of a deceased brother or sister taking by representation
- 3Grandparents, uncles, and auntsIf no descendants, siblings, or parents, the estate passes to the grandparents and the uncles and aunts in equal parts
- 4Next of kin in equal degreeIf none of the above, the estate passes to the next of kin of the intestate in equal degree, computed under the rules of descent
Mississippi Homestead Protection
Mississippi homestead protection is a value- and acreage-capped creditor exemption, not an unlimited constitutional homestead. Under Miss. Code 85-3-21 a householder may hold a residence exempt from execution or attachment up to $75,000 in value, on land not exceeding 160 acres. Mississippi separately provides an ad valorem (property tax) homestead exemption under Title 27, Chapter 33, and estate protections (exempt property and one year's support) under Title 91, Chapter 7.
Size limits & qualifications
Inside city limits: 160 acres maximum (value cap $75,000)
Outside city limits: 160 acres maximum (value cap $75,000)
Property types: Owner-occupied residence and the land it sits on, up to 160 acres, Buildings on the homestead parcel
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With spouse, no minor children:
Residence generally follows the will, survivorship terms, beneficiary or TOD arrangements, or intestacy; the surviving spouse's occupancy right and the renunciation (elective) right under Miss. Code 91-5-25 et seq. are analyzed separately.
With minor children:
No Florida-style devise restriction modeled. Minor children's rights arise through the estate exempt property (Miss. Code 91-7-117) and the one year's support (Miss. Code 91-7-135), plus homestead creditor protection.
Exempt Property
Mississippi protects a surviving spouse and children through two estate-level allowances - the exempt property set apart by appraisers (Miss. Code 91-7-117) and a one year's support allowance (Miss. Code 91-7-135) - and separately exempts a debtor's property from creditors under Title 85, Chapter 3. These protections are limited and source-specific.
View exempt items
Family Allowance
One year's provision for the comfortable support of the spouse and children, including provision embraced in the exempt property; the sum is set by the court if existing provisions are insufficient (no fixed statutory dollar cap) - Under Miss. Code 91-7-135 the court or chancellor sets apart out of the decedent's effects one year's provision for the spouse and the children who were being supported by the decedent (or for the spouse if there are no such children, or for the children if there is no spouse). If provisions are insufficient, the court determines the sum necessary for comfortable support for one year.