Settling an estate is a defined sequence of tasks performed under court supervision within statutory deadlines. It is not difficult work. It is exacting work, and it takes longer than families expect.
Where a will names Calder Bank & Trust, N.A. as executor, or where a court appoints us as administrator, we take possession of the estate assets, identify and pay the valid debts and taxes, and distribute what remains to the persons entitled to it under the will, or under the statute that governs when there is no will. We are accountable to the court, to the beneficiaries and to the creditors, and those three interests are not always aligned, which is the entire reason a disinterested fiduciary exists as an institution.
Where a family member serves as executor and asks us to do the work, we serve as agent for the executor. The executor remains the executor, retains every discretionary decision and signs every document; we prepare, we hold the assets, we do the accounting, and we tell the executor when something being contemplated will cause a problem. That arrangement is common and it is often the better answer, because the family member has information no institution can obtain and we have a tax department and a bonding requirement.
Opening, weeks one through four. We obtain certified copies of the death certificate, locate and lodge the original will with the probate court in the county of domicile, and petition the court for the letters that authorize an executor to act. In Tennessee the court issues letters after a hearing, which in Hamilton County is generally set within two to three weeks of the petition and in the smaller counties in our footprint may be faster or considerably slower depending on the docket. Nothing can be done with the estate assets before letters issue, which is the first thing families are unprepared for.
Marshalling, weeks two through twelve. We open an estate account, obtain a taxpayer identification number for the estate, re-register securities, secure real property and insure it as vacant property, inventory the tangible personal property, obtain date-of-death values for everything, and file the inventory the court requires. Date-of-death valuation is the step that governs the tax return and the beneficiaries’ basis, and getting it wrong is expensive in a way that surfaces years later.
Creditor period. Tennessee requires notice to creditors by publication and by direct notice to known creditors, and the claim period runs four months from the first publication for creditors who received actual notice, with an outside limit of twelve months from death. An estate cannot safely be distributed before the claim period closes. This single statutory requirement is the reason a simple estate takes six to nine months and not six weeks, and no amount of urgency from a beneficiary changes it.
Taxes. A final individual income tax return is due for the year of death. A fiduciary income tax return is required for each year the estate holds income-producing assets. A federal estate tax return is required where the gross estate exceeds the filing threshold, and is worth filing in some estates that fall well below it in order to elect portability of the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount, which preserves a benefit for the surviving spouse that is otherwise lost permanently. The federal return is due nine months from the date of death, extendable six months for filing but not for payment.
Distribution and closing. Once claims are resolved and taxes are paid or provided for, we prepare a final accounting, obtain the beneficiaries’ approval or the court’s, distribute, and petition to close. Where a trust is created under the will, the residue funds that trust and the trust relationship begins, which is a different engagement with a different fee schedule.
A straightforward estate with marketable assets, no real property outside Tennessee and no dispute closes in eight to fourteen months. An estate with a closely held business, out-of-state real property, a disputed claim or an estate tax return runs two years and sometimes longer. We tell families the second number at the first meeting, because the first number is what they have heard and it sets an expectation nobody can meet.
| Document | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The original will and any codicil | A copy is not sufficient to admit a will to probate in Tennessee without an additional proceeding. Find the original. |
| Certified death certificates, ten to fifteen copies | Every institution wants one and most will not return it. The funeral home orders them and additional copies later cost more. |
| Deeds for all real property | Including out-of-state property, which may require a separate ancillary proceeding in that state. |
| Statements for every financial account | Including accounts with a payable-on-death designation, which pass outside the estate but still have to be accounted for. |
| Life insurance policies and beneficiary designations | Proceeds paid to a named beneficiary are not estate assets but are included in the gross estate for tax purposes, a distinction that confuses nearly everyone. |
| Retirement account statements and designations | The designation controls, not the will. This is where the most damaging planning errors are found after death. |
| Three years of income tax returns | The quickest way to discover an asset nobody mentioned. |
| Titles for vehicles, boats and trailers | |
| A list of debts, including anything secured | Mortgages, lines of credit, medical bills that arrive for months afterward, and any personal loan the decedent made to a family member, which is an estate asset whether or not anyone intends to collect it. |
| Safe deposit box location and keys | Access after death is governed by statute. Do not open a box before letters issue, even if you are on the box as a co-lessee. |
The settlement fee is computed on the gross estate as of the date of death, including property that passes outside probate and is included in the gross estate for federal estate tax purposes, less any asset for which no service is rendered. Tiers are cumulative. Where the will fixes our compensation, the will governs. In Tennessee the fee is subject to the court’s approval, and we present the schedule with the final accounting.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Settlement fee, computed on the gross estate as of the date of death | |
| First $1,000,000 | 2.25% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 1.50% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 1.00% |
| Above $5,000,000 | 0.75% |
| Minimum settlement fee | $7,500.00 |
| Additional services, billed as incurred | |
| Federal estate tax return, Form 706Charged where a return is filed, including a return filed only to elect portability of a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion, which is a filing a great many families skip and later wish they had made. | $2,500.00 |
| Fiduciary income tax return, Form 1041, per year | $650.00 |
| Final individual income tax return, Form 1040 | $450.00 |
| Tennessee inheritance or state fiduciary filing, per state | $400.00 |
| Ancillary administration in another statePlus local counsel, whose fee is set by counsel. Georgia and Alabama ancillary proceedings on real property are the two we handle most often. | $3,500.00 |
| Real property: listing, maintenance and sale oversight, per propertyPlus the actual cost of insurance, utilities, securing the property, and the broker’s commission, none of which is ours. | $2,500.00 |
| Tangible personal property inventory and distributionWhere an appraiser, an auctioneer or an estate sale is required, their charges are additional. This line is more work than it sounds and is the source of more family conflict than the securities. | $1,500.00 |
| Closely held business interest, per entity | $5,000.00 |
| Litigation, a challenge to the will, or defense of a claimAt the officer’s hourly rate then in effect, plus counsel. We do not estimate this in a schedule because it is not estimable. | Hourly |
| Extraordinary servicesApproved in advance by the trust committee and disclosed to the beneficiaries. | Quoted |
Attorney fees are separate and are paid by the estate to counsel selected by the executor. We do not receive any part of them and we do not require the estate to use a particular firm, though we will say plainly that an estate with an unusual asset benefits from counsel who has handled that asset before.
If we are named in the will, call (423) 555-0198 and ask for the estate settlement group. We will meet with the family, review the will, and tell you whether we intend to qualify, generally within a week. If we are not named and the family wants us to serve, the persons entitled to appointment can nominate us, and that is a conversation to have with counsel before anything is filed.
There is no charge for the first meeting and no obligation follows from it. Bring the will if you have it, the death certificate if it has been issued, and any list of assets you have already begun. If none of that exists yet, come anyway; the first four weeks are mostly gathering, and a person who has done it two hundred times can shorten them considerably.
Investment and insurance products and trust and fiduciary services are:
Not a deposit · Not FDIC insured · Not insured by any federal government agency · Not guaranteed by the bank or any bank affiliate · May lose value, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Wealth and Trust division, Estate Settlement. Rev. 11/2021. Fee schedule effective January 1, 2026. This page describes our services and is not legal or tax advice. Statutory deadlines and procedures differ by state and change; consult counsel about your own situation.