The clerk must administer an oath before giving the personal representative letters of administration or testamentary, and the representative must take the required oath(s).
The clerk shall, before delivering the letters of administration or letters testamentary to the personal representative, administer to the representative, if an executor, an oath for performing the will of the deceased; and, if an administrator, an oath for the faithful performance of the administrator's duty; and, as to both, an oath that all statements in the petition about the representative are true and accurate and the representative is not disqualified from serving because of having been sentenced to imprisonment in a penitentiary as set forth in § 40-20-115 or otherwise. In the alternative, the oaths of the administrator or executor may be sworn or affirmed in the presence of a notary public and the acknowledgment of the representative's oaths, when certified by the notary public, shall be presented to the appropriate clerk. Code 1858, § 2221 (deriv. Acts 1715, ch. 48, § 5); Shan., § 3956; Code 1932, § 8168; Acts 1983, ch. 55, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 30-114; Acts 2019, ch. 332, § 2. Amendments. The 2019 amendment inserted “personal” preceding “representative” near the beginning; substituted “; and, as to both, an oath that all statements in the petition about the representative are true and accurate and the representative is not disqualified from serving because of having been sentenced to imprisonment in a penitentiary as set forth in § 40-20-115 or otherwise. In the alternative, the oaths” for “. In the alternative, the oath” in the middle of the section and substituted “oaths” for “oath” near the end. Effective Dates. Acts 2019, ch. 332, § 3. May 10, 2019. Cross-References. “Oath” defined, § 1-3-105 . Service of process upon nonresident representative, § 30-1-104 . Textbooks. Pritchard on Wills and Administration of Estates (4th ed., Phillips and Robinson), §§ 33, 521, 581. Tennessee Forms (Robinson, Ramsey and Harwell), Nos. 4-707, 4-805. Law Reviews. Selected Tennessee Legislation of 1983 (N. L. Resener, J. A. Whitson, K. J. Miller), 50 Tenn. L. Rev. 785 (1983).