Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee

Re: who has authority over an estate

First you need to check the probate records in the county where the land is located (or in the county where the decedent was a resident at the time of death). If there was a will probated, the court will still have a record. If there was no will, then the laws of intestate succession apply and there should have been an estate opened and proof of heirship and an administrator's deed distributing the property to the heirs at law.

If your decedent died more than 3 years ago and there was no probate, there is a procedure the widow (if any) and children can use now to file an affidavit of survivorship showing who inherited the land.

You will probably need to contact a local attorney if an affidavit needs to be filed to determine who the land is presently titled in (assuming there was not a deed done at the time of death of the parent).