How to Remove an Executor in Tennessee — Grounds, Steps, and Deadlines (2026)

✓ Verified September 2026

To remove an executor in Tennessee, you ask the court that appointed the Personal representative is the umbrella statutory term (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 30). Tennessee uses “executor” when the person is named in the will, “administrator” when appointed intestate, and “administrator with the will annexed” (administrator c.t.a.) when a will exists but no named executor serves (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115).

Court paperwork and clerk forms generally say “personal representative.” to take the job away, and the court will do it only on a ground the statute recognizes. This guide gives the Tennessee answer in plain English: the grounds, who has standing, what the filing is called, what the court can do the same day to protect the estate, and what happens after.

All facts are from Tennessee law, verified as of September 2026.

Remove an Executor in Tennessee: At a Glance

Here are the Tennessee facts that decide most requests to remove an executor in Tennessee:

When a Court Will Let You Remove an Executor in Tennessee

An executor who is slow, unfriendly, or making decisions you disagree with is not, by itself, removable. Courts appoint a Personal representative is the umbrella statutory term (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 30). Tennessee uses “executor” when the person is named in the will, “administrator” when appointed intestate, and “administrator with the will annexed” (administrator c.t.a.) when a will exists but no named executor serves (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115).

Court paperwork and clerk forms generally say “personal representative.” to carry out the will, and they protect that appointment.

What changes the picture is a breach of duty: money missing or mixed with the executor’s own, an inventory or accounting that was never filed, a sale to a relative below value, a refusal to communicate with beneficiaries for months, a conflict of interest, or a conviction or incapacity that makes the job impossible.

Every state’s statute lists the grounds, and the request to remove an executor in Tennessee succeeds when the facts fit one of them.

Grounds to Remove an Executor in Tennessee

Applied to estates through 30-1-151, the four statutory grounds in Tenn. Code Ann.

35-15-706(b) are: (1) the fiduciary has committed a serious breach of trust (self-dealing, misappropriation, mismanagement of estate assets); (2) lack of cooperation among co-fiduciaries substantially impairs administration of the estate; (3) because of unfitness, unwillingness, or persistent failure of the fiduciary to administer the estate effectively,

the court determines removal best serves the interests of the beneficiaries — this is the ground most often used for failure to file the 60-day inventory, failure to file the required accountings, failure to communicate, or incapacity; or (4) there has been a substantial change of circumstances, or removal is requested by all of the qualified beneficiaries,

the court finds removal best serves the interests of all beneficiaries and is not inconsistent with a material purpose of the estate/will, and a suitable co-fiduciary or successor fiduciary is available.

Disqualification issues raised at or after appointment (minority — under 18, felony conviction, or serious physical or mental incapacity preventing effective administration) are also litigated as unfitness. The petitioner carries the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.

The Steps to Remove an Executor in Tennessee

Step one is to confirm you have standing — Under the 35-15-706(a) standard as incorporated by 30-1-151, the request may be made by a beneficiary (in an estate: a devisee, legatee, heir, or other qualified beneficiary), by a co-fiduciary, or by the settlor-equivalent interested party; and the court may remove the fiduciary on its own initiative. Separately, Tenn. Code Ann.

30-1-201 lets “any interested person” petition the court showing the personal representative is wasting or likely to waste the estate. Creditors with a filed claim and other persons with a direct pecuniary interest in the estate are also treated as interested persons with standing to object.. Step two is the paper trail: write to the Personal representative is the umbrella statutory term (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 30).

Tennessee uses “executor” when the person is named in the will, “administrator” when appointed intestate, and “administrator with the will annexed” (administrator c.t.a.) when a will exists but no named executor serves (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115). Court paperwork and clerk forms generally say “personal representative.” asking for the inventory, the accounting, and an explanation, and keep the letter.

Step three is the filing — A “petition to remove personal representative” (also styled “petition for removal of executor/administrator” or, where the estate file is already open, a motion in the pending estate). It is filed in the pending estate docket in the court exercising probate jurisdiction in the county where the estate was opened. It is typically paired with a petition to compel inventory or accounting under Tenn.

Code Ann. 30-2-601 / 30-2-602, and often with a request for increased bond under 30-1-201. Notice must be served on the fiduciary and other interested parties, and the court sets a hearing. — with the ground stated and the documents attached. Step four is the hearing, where the Personal representative is the umbrella statutory term (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 30).

Tennessee uses “executor” when the person is named in the will, “administrator” when appointed intestate, and “administrator with the will annexed” (administrator c.t.a.) when a will exists but no named executor serves (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115). Court paperwork and clerk forms generally say “personal representative.” answers and the court decides. Many courts let you ask for interim protection in the same filing, which is the part families miss.

Protecting the Estate While the Court Decides

Under Tenn. Code Ann. 35-15-706(c), while a removal request is pending — or in lieu of or in addition to removal — the court may order any appropriate relief available under Tenn. Code Ann. 35-15-1001(b) as necessary to protect the estate property or the interests of the beneficiaries.

That relief menu includes suspending the fiduciary, compelling the fiduciary to perform duties or account, enjoining a breach, ordering restoration of property, appointing a special or successor fiduciary to take possession of assets, and imposing a lien or constructive trust on estate property. In addition: Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-108 lets the probate judge appoint an administrator pendente lite to hold and manage the estate while the dispute is litigated; Tenn.

Code Ann. 30-1-201 lets the court require a bond, or increase an existing bond at any time (bond is not less than the value of the probate estate and not more than double that value), when an interested person shows the personal representative is wasting or likely to waste the estate; and under Tenn. Code Ann.

30-2-602 the clerk cites a delinquent personal representative to appear and settle, with disobedience punishable as contempt.

What Happens After Removal

If the will names an alternate or successor executor, that person is normally appointed and qualifies by taking the oath and posting any required bond. If no willing, qualified successor is named, the court appoints an administrator with the will annexed (administrator c.t.a.) under Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115, who has the same powers and authority the will gave the executor, including power to sell land if the executor had it.

Where the estate is intestate or no testamentary successor exists, the court appoints under the statutory preference in Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-106 (surviving spouse first, then next of kin, then creditors, then any suitable person), and may appoint a neutral third party or the clerk’s designee when the family is in conflict. Note 35-15-706(b)(4) conditions removal on that ground upon a suitable co-fiduciary or successor being available.

Repaying losses: Yes — a removed fiduciary can be held personally liable and surcharged for losses. Removal is only one remedy; Tenn. Code Ann. 35-15-1001(b) (applied to estate fiduciaries through Tenn. Code Ann.

30-1-151 and Tennessee fiduciary law) allows the court to compel the fiduciary to redress a breach by paying money, restoring property, or other appropriate means, to reduce or deny compensation, and to void wrongful acts and trace estate property. The fiduciary’s surety bond under Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-201 et seq. may also be reached, and Tenn. Code Ann. 30-2-602 makes disobedience of a citation to settle contempt of court.

A surcharge is not automatic on removal — the court decides it on the evidence at a hearing, and no outcome is guaranteed.

Other Tennessee rules: (1) Removal grounds are borrowed — Tennessee’s estate removal statute (30-1-151) has no grounds of its own; it points to the Uniform Trust Code trustee-removal standard at 35-15-706, so trust cases are routinely cited in estate removal fights. (2) Inventory: Tenn. Code Ann.

30-2-301 requires a complete, sworn inventory of the probate estate filed with the probate clerk within 60 days after entering on the administration; the requirement is excused if the will excuses it or all residuary distributees/legatees excuse it, unless any residuary distributee or legatee demands one — a demand a beneficiary can make, and a failure to comply is common removal evidence. (3) Accountings: Tenn. Code Ann.

30-2-601 requires the first accounting with the probate clerk within 15 months from the date of qualification, then further accountings annually from the date of qualification until the estate is fully administered; notice of accounting must be served under 30-2-603. (4) Delinquency enforcement: under 30-2-602 the clerk cites a non-settling personal representative to appear and settle on a set day, and disobedience is contempt.

(5) Bond: under 30-1-201 bond may be waived by the will or by all distributees, but any interested person may show waste or likely waste and the court may then require bond; bond runs from not less than the value of the probate estate to not more than double it, and the court may raise or lower it at any time by order.

(6) Attorney requirement: Davidson County and Shelby County local rules generally require a fiduciary in a full administration to be represented by an attorney. (7) Administrator pendente lite (30-1-108) is a distinctly Tennessee interim tool where a will is being contested or the right to administer is in dispute.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The court filing fee to remove an executor in Tennessee is small; the real cost is the hearing. If the Personal representative is the umbrella statutory term (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 30). Tennessee uses “executor” when the person is named in the will, “administrator” when appointed intestate, and “administrator with the will annexed” (administrator c.t.a.) when a will exists but no named executor serves (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115).

Court paperwork and clerk forms generally say “personal representative.” contests the motion, both sides usually retain counsel, and a contested removal can run several months and several thousand dollars in fees, which the court may or may not order the estate to pay.

Uncontested removals — a fiduciary who has stopped responding or has moved away — are faster and cheaper, and courts grant them routinely when the missed filings are on the record.

Two facts decide the economics. First, the estate’s size: a removal fight over a small estate can consume what is left, so beneficiaries of small estates often ask the court to compel the accounting and set deadlines instead of removing the fiduciary outright. Second, the evidence: a missing inventory is proved with a docket printout, while suspected self-dealing needs bank records and sometimes an appraisal.

The stronger the paper, the shorter the case. Ask the court clerk what the Personal representative is the umbrella statutory term (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 30). Tennessee uses “executor” when the person is named in the will, “administrator” when appointed intestate, and “administrator with the will annexed” (administrator c.t.a.) when a will exists but no named executor serves (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-115).

Court paperwork and clerk forms generally say “personal representative.” has actually filed before deciding which path to take, and get the docket printout in writing — it is the exhibit every remove an executor in Tennessee motion starts with.

What to Expect When You Remove an Executor in Tennessee

A request to remove an executor in Tennessee is a contested proceeding inside the probate case, not a separate lawsuit. The court will want the ground stated plainly, the documents that prove it, and a proposed replacement. Hearings are usually short; the decision turns on whether the executor breached a duty, not on whether the family gets along.

Two things surprise people. The first is that the court can act before the hearing — a bond, a freeze on the estate account, or a special administrator — if the estate is at risk. The second is that the estate keeps running while the motion to remove an executor in Tennessee is pending: creditor deadlines, tax filings, and property upkeep do not pause.

Ask the court to address both in the same filing.

Official Tennessee Sources & Resources

• Tennessee Probate Court: https://www.tncourts.gov/ (Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts — court locator, local rules, and forms); Davidson County Probate Court self-help and forms: https://circuitclerk.nashville.gov/probate/ ; Shelby County Probate Court local rules: https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/30th_District_Probate_Court_Local_Rules_(effective%209-1-2024).pdf
• Tennessee Removal Statute: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-30/chapter-1/part-1/section-30-1-151/ (Tenn. Code Ann. 30-1-151) and https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-35/chapter-15/part-7/section-35-15-706/ (Tenn. Code Ann. 35-15-706). The Tennessee General Assembly’s official site is https://www.capitol.tn.gov/
• Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex

This Tennessee guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.

More Tennessee Estate Guides

• Contest a Will in Tennessee
• Tennessee Probate Process
• Dying Without a Will in Tennessee
• What to Do When an Executor Is Not Doing Their Job
• All State Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.