Tennessee PROBATE — The Small Estates Act is a set of laws that provide a simplified and faster process for settling the estates of deceased individuals in Tennessee. It covers individuals who died with estates of less than $50,000 in Tennessee. The Small Estates Act allows the heirs of the deceased to bypass the traditional probate process, which can be time-consuming and expensive. There are two types of Tennessee PROBATE — The Small Estates Act: Affidavit of Collection and Small Estate Administration. The Affidavit of Collection is the most commonly used option and allows the surviving heirs to collect the assets of the deceased without going through the probate court. The Small Estate Administration is a more formal process and requires the filing of documents in the Probate Court.