Tennessee § 16-16-107 - Original jurisdiction.

§ 16-16-107. Original jurisdiction.

The county court has original jurisdiction in the following cases: The probate of wills; The granting of letters testamentary and of administration, and the repeal and revocation of letters testamentary and of administration; All controversies in relation to the right of executorship or of administration; The settlement of accounts of executors and administrators; The partition and distribution of the estates of decedents; and for these purposes, the power to sell the real and personal property belonging to the estates, if necessary to make the partition and distribution, or if manifestly for the interest of the parties; To sell real estate for the payment of debts of a decedent as provided in former §§ 30-602 and 30-603; The appointment and removal of guardians for minors and conservators for persons adjudicated incompetent, and all controversies as to the right of guardianship and conservatorship, and the settlement of guardian and conservator accounts; The partition, sale or division of land; The changing of names and the legitimation of children; The issuance of inquisitions of unsoundness of mind; and The binding out of apprentices, and all controversies between master and apprentice. In counties having a county judge, the county judge shall have the powers enumerated in subdivision (a)(1). Subsection (a) shall only apply in counties having a population, according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census, of: not less than not more than 12,800 12,900 27,100 27,200 43,100 43,200 62,300 62,400 182,000 182,100 In counties having a population of not less than thirty-nine thousand fifty (39,050) nor more than thirty-nine thousand one hundred fifty (39,150), according to the 2000 federal census of population or any subsequent federal census, the circuit court clerk, who also serves as the general sessions court clerk, shall serve as the clerk of the court with probate jurisdiction in any such counties. Code 1858, §§ 4201, 4202 (deriv. Acts 1797, ch. 41; 1805, ch. 2, § 1; 1815, ch. 115; 1835-1836, ch. 6, § 2; 1849-1850, ch. 27, § 1; 1849-1850, ch. 77, § 1; 1849-1850, ch. 185, § 1; 1851-1852, ch. 338, §§ 1, 2; 1853-1854, ch. 53, § 1); Acts 1873, ch. 64, § 1; Shan., §§ 6027, 6029; Code 1932, §§ 10225, 10227; impl. am. Acts 1951, ch. 202; Acts 1976, ch. 529, § 5; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 16-709; Acts 2003, ch. 310, §§ 1, 6-10; 2005, ch. 24, §§ 1, 2; 2011, ch. 47, § 14. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2003, ch. 310, § 8, effective July 21, 2003, provided that subsection (a) shall only apply in counties having a population of not less than thirty-nine thousand fifty (39,050) nor more than thirty-nine thousand one hundred fifty (39,150), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census. Acts 2005, ch. 24, § 1 deleted Acts 2003, ch. 310, § 8, effective April 5, 2005. Former §§ 30-602 and 30-603, referred to in (6), have been amended and renumbered as §§ 30-2-402 and 30-2-403 . Acts 2003, ch. 310, § 9, effective July 21, 2003, provided, in part, that, in any county with a population of not less that twelve thousand eight hundred (12,800) nor more than twelve thousand nine hundred (12,900) according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census, the clerk who is serving as clerk of the court with probate jurisdiction on June 30, 2003, shall continue to serve as the clerk of the court with probate jurisdiction after the effective date of this act. Acts 2005, ch. 24, § 1 provided that Acts 2003, ch. 310, § 8 is amended by deleting that section in its entirety. Acts 2005, ch. 24, § 3 provided that, for the purpose of transferring records, files and other documents relating to probate matters in counties having a population of not less than thirty-nine thousand fifty (39,050) nor more than thirty-nine thousand one hundred fifty (39,150), according to the 2000 federal census of population or any subsequent federal census, from the office of the county court clerk to the office of the circuit court clerk, the act shall take effect April 5, 2005. For all other purposes, including the transfer of duties and authority over probate matters to the circuit court clerk, the act shall take effect on July 1, 2005. Acts 2011, ch. 47, § 107 provided that nothing in the legislation shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the eligibility for services or the rights or responsibilities of individuals covered by the provision on the day before the date of enactment of this legislation, which was July 1, 2011. Acts 2011, ch. 47, § 108 provided that the provisions of the act are declared to be remedial in nature and all provisions of the act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes. For table of U.S. decennial populations of Tennessee counties, see Volume 13 and its supplement. Amendments. The 2011 amendment rewrote (a)(1)(G) which read: “The appointment and removal of guardians for minors and persons of unsound mind, and all controversies as to the right of guardianship, and the settlement of guardian accounts;”. Effective Dates. Acts 2011, ch. 47, § 110. July 1, 2011. Cross-References. Jurisdiction of chancery courts of probate and related matters, §§ 16-16-201 , 16-16-202 . Textbooks. Pritchard on Wills and Administration of Estates (4th ed., Phillips and Robinson), §§ 39, 44, 317, 323, 535, 554, 601, 602. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 11 Tenn. Juris., Equity, § 30; 12 Tenn. Juris., Executors and Administrators, §§ 7, 54, 66; 17 Tenn. Juris., Jurisdiction, § 24; 20 Tenn. Juris., Partition, § 7; 25 Tenn. Juris., Wills, § 45. Law Reviews. Decedent's Estates: The Rights of Adopted Persons Under Tennessee's Descent and Distribution and Adoption Statutes to Take by Intestate Succession or by Will or Trust, 22 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 339 (1992). The Tennessee Court System — The County Court (Frederic S. Le Clercq), 8 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 419. Attorney General Opinions. General sessions court of Jackson County. OAG 10-80, 2010 Tenn. AG LEXIS 86 (6/3/10).