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Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151 · checked 2026-10-20
How long probate takes in Mississippi
The longest fixed wait in a Mississippi probate is usually the creditor claim period: 90 days from first publication of notice to creditors under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151. An estate cannot be closed safely before that window shuts.
- 1Claim period 90 days
- 2Counted from Notice / letters
- 3Outer limit None stated
- 4Statute Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151
The statute
“within ninety (90) days after the first publication of notice to creditors”
Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151 (read from the FindLaw copy, current as of 2025-01-01). Last checked 2026-10-20.
Worked example: a death on January 15, 2026
| Checkpoint | Date |
|---|---|
| Date of death | January 15, 2026 |
| Earliest small estate affidavit (30 days, Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322) | February 14, 2026 |
| Trigger: first publication of notice to creditors | March 1, 2026 |
| Creditor claim period ends (90 days, Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151) | May 30, 2026 |
Mississippi starts the clock at first publication of notice to creditors, so the end date moves with the court. The example assumes that event comes 45 days after the death (March 1, 2026); a later filing pushes May 30, 2026 back day for day. By comparison the small-estate route — when the estate fits — opens on February 14, 2026.
35 jurisdictions on this site give creditors longer and 1 give them less; the median is 122 days.
Steps that add time
- Getting appointed. Nothing runs until first publication of notice to creditors; the time between the death and the petition is outside the statutory period.
- Notice. Published notice and notice mailed to known creditors start or shorten the claim period; a creditor who should have been mailed notice may get extra time.
- Real estate. Mississippi's small-estate route does not take real property, so an estate with a house in the state generally goes through administration or another court step.
- Accounting and closing. The final account, receipts from heirs and any tax filings come after the claim period ends.
Nearby East South Central timelines
Tennessee: 12 months from death.
Related: Mississippi small estate limit · creditor claim periods compared · executor timeline.
General information from the statute as written on 2026-10-20; not legal advice. Dates are worked examples of the statutory periods, not deadlines for any real estate. The Mississippi probate court and its clerk can confirm how the periods run in a given case.