Tennessee Chancery and Probate Courts explained

Tennessee has 32 judicial districts with a Chancery Court in each district. Some of these 32 districts have legislatively created Probate Courts.[1] If a particular county did not create a special Probate court, the jurisdiction over the probate stays with the Chancery court.[2]

Tennessee chancery courts

Tennessee's Chancery Courts are courts of equity.[3] Tennessee's Chancery Court was created in the first half of the 19th Century, and remains one of the few distinctly separate courts of equity in the United States.[4] While the Chancery Court and Tennessee's Circuit Court, the court of general civil and criminal jurisdiction, may share a set of procedural rules in each county, there are some distinct rules applying to the separate courts.[5] [6] Parties in the Chancery Court are entitled to have a jury try issues of material fact.[7]

In 2015, Tennessee's Supreme Court created a pilot Business Court.[8] The Davidson County (Nashville) Chancery Court Part III was designated to serve as the Business Court.[9] [10] Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle[11] was the first Business Court and sat on the business court into 2019.[12] In 2017, Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Joe Binkley[13] was appointed a Business Court judge.[14] In 2019, Davidson County Chancellor Anne C. Martin[15] was appointed the Business Court judge and remains in that position (as of July 2024). She was appointed as a Business Court Representative to the American Bar Association's Business Law Section in 2023.[16] Tennessee's Administrative Office of the Courts received a grant from the State Justice Institute to work with the National Center for State Courts to develop a curriculum for expanding business courts in Tennessee and elsewhere.[17]

Tennessee probate courts

The Probate Courts are legislatively created courts with jurisdiction over probating wills, estate administration, conservatorships and guardianships. Only two counties, Shelby[18] and Davidson,[19] [20] have Probate Courts.[21] There are only three probate judges in the state.[22] Unless properly designated to another court, probate and estate matters will reside in a Tennessee county’s Chancery Court.[23]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Circuit, Criminal, Chancery & Business Courts Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . www.tncourts.gov.
  2. https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/probate_manual_final.pdf Probate Committee of the Tennessee Clerks of Court Conference, Probate Guide
  3. Web site: About the Trial Courts Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . www.tncourts.gov.
  4. Fowler . Russell . February 2012 . A History of Chancery and its Equity . Tennessee Bar Journal . 48 . 2.
  5. Web site: Local Rules – Davidson County Courts of Record – Circuit Court Clerk . 2024-05-26 . en-US.
  6. Web site: Local Rules of Practice Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . www.tncourts.gov.
  7. Web site: Tennessee Code 21-1-103 – Right to trial by jury » LawServer . 2024-05-26 . www.lawserver.com.
  8. Web site: Business Court Docket Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . www.tncourts.gov.
  9. Web site: Lee . Chief Justice Sharon G. . March 16, 2015 . In the Supreme Court of Tennessee, No. ADM2015-00467, Order Establishing the Davidson County Business Court Pilot Project .
  10. Web site: Business Court Pilot Project – Chancery Clerk and Master of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County . 2024-05-26 . en-US.
  11. Web site: Ellen Lyle, JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator . 2024-05-30 . www.jamsadr.com . en.
  12. Web site: Lyle . Chanceller Ellen Hobbs . January 31, 2019 . Victor Poteet, et al. v. David Brown Levy, et al., In the Chancery Court for the State of Tennessee, Twentieth Judicial District, Davidson County, No. 15-1264-BC .
  13. Web site: Judge Joe Binkley, Jr. – Trial Courts of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County . 2024-05-30 . en-US.
  14. Web site: Tennessee Supreme Court Endorses Recommendations of the Statewide Business Court Docket Advisory Commission Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . www.tncourts.gov.
  15. Web site: Chancellor Anne C. Martin – Trial Courts of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County . 2024-05-30 . en-US.
  16. Web site: Chancellor Martin Appointed Business Court Representative to ABA Business Law Section Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . www.tncourts.gov.
  17. Web site: Tennessee Business Court Docket Pilot Project Awarded Grant to Create Nationwide Curriculum Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-05-26 . tncourts.gov.
  18. Web site: Probate Court Shelby County, TN - Official Website . 2024-05-30 . www.shelbycountytn.gov.
  19. Web site: Probate Court Clerk – Circuit Court Clerk . 2024-05-30 . en-US.
  20. Web site: Circuit Court History – Trial Courts of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County . 2024-05-30 . en-US.
  21. Web site: The Court System in Tennessee . 2024-05-30 . Justice For All TN . en-US.
  22. Web site: Court System Williamson County, TN - Official Site . 2024-05-30 . www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov.
  23. Web site: Probate Court UT County Technical Assistance Service . 2024-05-30 . www.ctas.tennessee.edu.

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