Mississippi Estate Planning Checklist: Every Document You Need

Mississippi is one of the most affordable states for estate settlement — no state estate tax, no inheritance tax, and a $75,000 small estate threshold that lets heirs bypass court entirely. But that simplicity only works if you have the right documents in place. Without them, your family faces Chancery Court proceedings that cost hundreds in filing fees and require a licensed attorney.

Here is the complete document checklist for a Mississippi estate plan, in the order you should execute them.

1. Last Will and Testament

This is the foundation. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-1, your will must be signed by you and attested by two credible witnesses in your physical presence. Add a self-proving affidavit (§ 91-7-7) so the Chancery Court can admit the will without tracking down your witnesses later.

Key decisions in your will:

• Name an executor (and waive the surety bond requirement to save your estate hundreds in premiums)
• Name a guardian for minor children
• Include a testamentary trust clause if children are under 21 to avoid court-supervised guardianship of their inheritance

2. Durable Power of Attorney

Mississippi does not make powers of attorney durable by default. Under the older Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act (§ 87-3-105), you must include exact durability language: "This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal." Without that sentence, your agent's authority dies the moment you become incapacitated — the exact moment you need it most.

3. Advance Health Care Directive

Mississippi's statutory form (§ 41-41-209) covers both a living will (end-of-life treatment preferences) and health care proxy (naming someone to make medical decisions). Execute this at the same signing ceremony as your will and POA.

4. Transfer-on-Death Deed for Real Property

The Mississippi Real Property Transfer-on-Death Act (§§ 91-27-1 et seq., effective 2020) lets you pass your home directly to named beneficiaries outside of probate. The deed must be recorded with the county Chancery Clerk before your death. Recording fee: $26 for the first five pages.

This single document can keep your family's largest asset out of Chancery Court entirely.

5. Payable-on-Death Designations on Bank Accounts

Walk into your bank and add POD (payable-on-death) beneficiaries to every checking, savings, and CD account. Upon your death, the named beneficiary claims the funds by presenting a death certificate. No probate, no waiting period.

6. Beneficiary Designation Review

Check every retirement account (401k, IRA), life insurance policy, and annuity to confirm the beneficiaries are current. Two critical Mississippi-specific traps:

• ERISA preemption: Mississippi's automatic divorce revocation statute (§ 91-29-7) does not apply to employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. If you divorce and forget to update your 401(k) beneficiary form, your ex-spouse legally inherits the account under federal law.
• Naming your estate as beneficiary: If a retirement account lists "my estate" instead of a named person, the account loses its probate-bypass protection and gets pulled into Chancery Court.

7. The $75,000 Probate-Bypass Test

After completing steps 4 through 6, add up what remains in your probate estate — only assets that do not have a named beneficiary, joint owner, or TOD/POD designation. If that total stays under $75,000, your heirs can use a Small Estate Affidavit (§ 91-7-322) to collect everything without court involvement, 30 days after death.

This is the strategic goal: move assets out of probate through beneficiary designations and TOD deeds until the probate estate is small enough for the affidavit threshold.

When to Update Your Plan

Review your Mississippi estate plan whenever you experience:

• Marriage, divorce, or remarriage
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Purchase or sale of real property
• Moving to Mississippi from another state (your old state's documents may not meet Mississippi's strict requirements)
• A significant change in health or financial situation

Get the Complete Kit

The Mississippi Basic Estate Planning Kit includes every template on this checklist — will, POA, advance directive, TOD deed — plus a step-by-step Chancery-Ready Execution Protocol designed for Mississippi's strict compliance standard.

See more Mississippi guides →