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Harrison County, MS Probate Information
Quick facts
| Topic | Harrison County details |
|---|---|
| Court | Harrison County Chancery Court (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159). |
| Probate filings go to | Harrison County Chancery Clerk, Chancery Court Clerks Department. |
| First Judicial District, Gulfport | 1801 23rd Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39501. Mailing: P.O. Drawer CC, Gulfport, MS 39502. Main office: (228) 865-4036. Chancery Court Clerks Department: (228) 865-4095. Fax: (228) 214-1513. Department fax: (228) 865-4054. |
| Second Judicial District, Biloxi | 730 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39530. Mailing: P.O. Box 544, Biloxi, MS 39533. Main office: (228) 435-8220. Chancery Court Clerks Department counter: (228) 435-8280. Fax: (228) 435-8292. Department fax: (228) 435-8281. |
| Hours | The chancery clerk does not publish counter hours online. Call Gulfport at (228) 865-4036 or Biloxi at (228) 435-8220 before making a trip, and ask about any same-day filing cutoff. |
| Filing fee | Harrison County's Chancery Court Filing Fees table, effective January 1, 2020, lists $163.00 to open an estate, testate or intestate, and $153.00 for muniment of title only. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 sets the chancery clerk's estate filing structure at an $85.00 clerk's fee plus $10.00 to the Comprehensive Electronic Court Systems Fund, $40.00 to the Judicial System Operation Fund and $5.00 to the Civil Legal Assistance Fund, a $140.00 statutory floor. Confirm the current total with the Chancery Court Clerks Department. |
| Attorney required | Yes for a full estate. Uniform Chancery Court Rule 6.02 requires an executor or administrator, unless the fiduciary is licensed to practice law in Mississippi, to retain an attorney for the full appointment. The $75,000 small estate affidavit, effective July 1, 2020 (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322), needs no court filing and no attorney. |
| E-filing | Attorneys file through Mississippi Electronic Courts, MEC. A self-represented party may hold a read-only PAMEC account but may not file electronically. Every estate is opened with a paper filing at the chancery clerk's counter. MEC hub: https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php. |
| Case search | Harrison County publishes a chancery hearing docket at http://harrison2.co.harrison.ms.us/dockets/chancerycourt.asp. For case files, use MEC and PAMEC through https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php. Remote PAMEC access needs registration and fees apply; free viewing is available at the chancery clerk's office during business hours. |
| Local forms | Harrison County publishes a Certificate of Fiduciary, a Scheduling Order for Estates and an Order for Instructions to Personal Representative on the chancery clerk's Downloads page. A statewide Chancery Clerk Cover Sheet is linked from the Mississippi Judiciary's chancery courts page. |
| Remote appearance | Ask the Chancery Court Clerks Department. Remote or video attendance is set by the chancellor and district practice, and term orders are posted in the chancery clerk's office under Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-3(2). |
| Website | https://www.harrisoncountymschanceryclerk.gov/chancerycourt.asp |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Know the assets and the debts before anything is filed, because the number decides the route and the route decides whether a Harrison County courthouse is involved at all. A probate estate of $75,000 or less in personal property, excluding liens and encumbrances, can use the small estate affidavit thirty days after death, effective July 1, 2020 (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322). Anything larger is a chancery court filing in Gulfport or Biloxi, which Harrison County prices at $163.00 on its own schedule effective January 1, 2020, and which requires a Mississippi attorney under UCCR 6.02. Sunset's asset discovery searches more than 2,300 institutions.
Know how each asset is titled and whether it names a beneficiary, because property held with survivorship rights and accounts with a named beneficiary never reach the estate. In Harrison County that can be the difference between an afternoon at a bank counter and an estate settlement that runs through a full year of court deadlines.
Which court handles jurisdiction
Harrison County includes Gulfport, Biloxi, D'Iberville, Long Beach and Pass Christian. Probate for Harrison County is filed with the Harrison County Chancery Clerk at a Harrison County courthouse. The county has two judicial districts and chancery court is held in both (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159; Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-3(1)): the First Judicial District location at 1801 23rd Avenue in Gulfport, and the Second Judicial District location at 730 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd in Biloxi.
Venue for proving a will and granting letters testamentary is the chancery court of the county where the testator had a fixed place of residence (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-1). Venue for letters of administration uses the intestate-estate ladder in Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-63. Those ladders are not identical, and both turn on the county, not on Harrison County's two judicial districts. Harrison County sits in Mississippi's 8th Chancery Court District with Hancock and Stone counties, which is how chancellors are assigned. Do not go to another county to file a Harrison County estate, and call the Harrison County Chancery Clerk before filing to confirm whether the Gulfport or Biloxi counter should take the case.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the death certificate, the original will if there is one, and a list of what the decedent owned and owed.
- Choose the route before anyone files. If the whole probate estate is $75,000 or less in personal property, excluding liens and encumbrances, and thirty days have passed since death, the small estate affidavit effective July 1, 2020 (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322) is handed to the bank, employer or other holder. It is not filed with the chancery clerk, it costs nothing at the courthouse and it needs no attorney. If the decedent left a will devising Mississippi real property, all known debts are paid and the rest of the Mississippi probate estate is within the Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322 sum, muniment of title under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35 may be the route, and Harrison County prices that filing at $153.00 on its schedule effective January 1, 2020. Otherwise, the estate goes through full administration.
- Retain a Mississippi attorney. Uniform Chancery Court Rule 6.02 requires every fiduciary, unless licensed to practice law in Mississippi, to retain an attorney for the full appointment, and the chancellor approves the fee.
- The attorney prepares the petition to probate the will and for letters testamentary, or the petition for letters of administration, with a copy of the will attached as an exhibit (UCCR 6.15), personally signed and sworn by the fiduciary (UCCR 6.14).
- File on paper at the Chancery Court Clerks Department, either at 1801 23rd Avenue in Gulfport for the First Judicial District or at 730 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd in Biloxi for the Second Judicial District, with the statewide chancery clerk cover sheet. Call the clerk first to confirm which counter takes the filing. Every Mississippi estate is opened conventionally on paper even though attorneys then file electronically through MEC at https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php. The original will stays with the clerk (UCCR 9.03).
- Pay the court cost deposit when the petition is filed (UCCR 9.01). Harrison County's own published table lists $163.00 for an estate, testate or intestate, effective January 1, 2020, against the $140.00 floor Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 sets. Confirm the current figure with the chancery clerk.
- The chancery court, or the chancery clerk in vacation, which means between terms of court, admits the will to probate in common form and grants letters testamentary or letters of administration (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-1; Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-63; Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-141). Nothing the clerk does is final until the court approves it (Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-147).
- Take the oath and file it with the clerk, and post bond if the court requires one (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-41). Harrison County's estate scheduling order form has the oath signed and filed with the clerk immediately after the order of appointment is entered.
- Make reasonably diligent efforts to identify creditors, mail each one notice, and file the affidavit with the clerk saying so. Only then does the duty to publish arise (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-145). The order is affidavit first, publication second.
- Publish the notice to creditors in a newspaper in the county for three consecutive weeks and file proof of publication with the clerk (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-145). The newspaper sets its own charge; the court does not.
- Creditors probate and register their claims with the clerk, which is Mississippi's phrase for presenting a claim to the clerk of the court that granted letters. A claim not registered within 90 days after the first publication is barred (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151).
- Handle inventory, accounts, debts and taxes. Harrison County's estate scheduling order form sets the inventory to be presented within ninety days of the order of appointment unless the will waived it, and an annual or final accounting within a year of the order opening the estate unless the court excuses it.
- Close the estate with the final accounting, the decree of distribution and the discharge. Harrison County's instructions form tells a personal representative that the estate may be closed once the 90-day creditors' period has run and the final accounting is approved by the court (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151).
Executor duties
| Local duty | What Harrison County's estate documents say |
|---|---|
| Read the court's written instructions | The Harrison County chancery clerk publishes the Eighth Chancery Court District's Order for Instructions to Personal Representative, so a family can see what the court expects before the estate is opened. |
| Sign the Certificate of Fiduciary | The Harrison County Certificate of Fiduciary has the fiduciary agree to protect and preserve the estate's funds, make no expenditures of estate funds without prior court approval, consult the attorney on any questionable expenditure before making it, and notify the clerk in writing of any change of address, phone number or email. The form also states that violating court orders can lead to contempt. |
| Use an estate checking account | The district's instructions form calls for an estate checking account at a bank that returns copies of checks. Those copies serve as vouchers for an accounting. The account should be styled as the estate of the decedent with the personal representative named, and the nature of each payment should be written on the check. |
| Sales, distributions and property removal | A court order is required before any distribution of estate assets and before estate assets are removed from Mississippi. Personal property may not be sold or disposed of before the 90-day creditors' period expires. Real property may not be sold before the 90-day creditors' period expires, and then only with a court order (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151). |
| Receipts | The district's instructions form tells the personal representative to take a receipt from every person who receives estate assets. |
| Status reports | If the estate cannot be closed within a year of the date of death, estate counsel contacts the court annually with a status report. That is a reporting obligation, not a deadline to finish. |
| Calendar local estate dates | In an intestate Harrison County estate, the district's scheduling order form has a suit to determine heirship filed and set within four months of the appointment order. In any estate, an inventory is presented within ninety days of appointment unless the will waived it. |
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Harrison County
Mississippi does not publish a statewide probate form packet. The Mississippi Judiciary links a statewide Chancery Clerk Cover Sheet from its chancery courts page, and the Uniform Chancery Court Rules prescribe what must be filed. In a full Harrison County estate, the petition is drafted by the attorney required by Uniform Chancery Court Rule 6.02.
| Form or document | How it is used in Harrison County |
|---|---|
| Statewide Chancery Clerk Cover Sheet | Use the statewide cover sheet with the paper filing and confirm the current filing practice with the Chancery Court Clerks Department. |
| Certificate of Fiduciary | Harrison County publishes a Harrison-captioned Certificate of Fiduciary with a blank for the judicial district and cause number. |
| Scheduling Order for Estates | The Eighth Chancery Court District estate scheduling order sets the local sequence for oath, creditor affidavit, publication, heirship, inventory and accounting dates. |
| Order for Instructions to Personal Representative | This local order explains how a Harrison County personal representative is expected to handle estate money, vouchers, property, receipts, distributions and status reports. |
Harrison County does not publish a fill-in petition to open an estate, and it does not publish its own small estate affidavit. The small estate affidavit, effective July 1, 2020 (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322), is a statewide personal-property route presented to the holder rather than filed with the court.
Fees
Harrison County publishes its own Chancery Court Filing Fees table, effective January 1, 2020. It lists figures above the $140.00 statutory floor in Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9, so do not use a different Mississippi county's total for Harrison County.
| Fee item | Amount | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Estate, testate or intestate | $163.00, effective January 1, 2020 | Harrison County's own published total for opening a decedent's estate. |
| Muniment of title only | $153.00, effective January 1, 2020 | Harrison County's own published total for a muniment of title filing under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35. |
| Statutory floor | $140.00 under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 | Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 includes the $85.00 clerk's estate filing fee, $10.00 to the Comprehensive Electronic Court Systems Fund, $40.00 to the Judicial System Operation Fund and $5.00 to the Civil Legal Assistance Fund. |
| Certifying a copy of a filed document | $1.00 per complete document under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 | Ask the Chancery Court Clerks Department what a certified set of letters will cost, because copies and certification can be separate. |
| Copies made by the clerk's office | $0.50 per page under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 | The same statute lists this copy charge for papers of record or on file when the clerk's office makes the copy. |
| Publication and service costs | Actual charges under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 | The newspaper's charge for publishing notice to creditors is the newspaper's charge, not a court-set filing fee. The clerk may demand actual service and publication costs at filing if the filer asks the clerk to pay them. |
Timeline
- After the order opening the estate is entered, the personal representative signs the oath and files it with the clerk.
- The creditor affidavit is filed after the appointment order, oath and letters, and before publication of notice to creditors (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-145).
- In an intestate estate, the Harrison County scheduling order form has a suit to determine heirship filed and set within four months of the appointment order.
- Within ninety days of the appointment order, the matter is reset before the court and an inventory is presented, unless the will waived it. The scheduling order form allows the parties and counsel to be excused from that date if the inventory is presented to and approved by the court beforehand.
- Within one year of the order opening the estate, an annual accounting or final accounting is filed, unless the court specifically excuses it.
- If the estate cannot be closed within one year from the date of death, estate counsel contacts the court annually with a status report. That is not a deadline to finish the estate.
- A party who fails to comply with the scheduling order may face contempt, sanctions, costs and attorney's fees as the court finds appropriate.
Local nuance
Harrison County-specific considerations
| Local issue | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Two judicial districts | Harrison County has two judicial districts and two chancery filing counters. The First Judicial District filing counter is in Gulfport, and the Second Judicial District filing counter is in Biloxi. Chancery court is held in both (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159; Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-3(1)). The clerk publishes no boundary for estate filings, so call before filing and ask which counter should take the case. |
| One office, two counters | The Harrison County Chancery Clerk is the filing office in both buildings. A family is dealing with the same office, but with different counters, mailing addresses, phone numbers and fax numbers. |
| Separate chancery clerk website | The chancery clerk runs harrisoncountymschanceryclerk.gov, where the Chancery Court Clerks Department, fee table, downloads and docket search are posted. |
| Local hearing docket | The clerk publishes a chancery court docket search by party name or date. It shows scheduled hearings for the current day and future dates, with the courtroom, date, time and presiding chancellor. It is not a way to read the case file. |
| Hancock and Stone courtroom display | Because Harrison County is in the 8th Chancery Court District with Hancock and Stone counties, a Harrison County case may be set in a courtroom in one of those counties. The Harrison docket says to report to the location displayed. The case remains a Harrison County case filed with the Harrison County Chancery Clerk. |
| Land records are a different counter | The chancery clerk is also the county's land records officer. The office's recording fee calculator and typed-document notice concern land records, not the cost or format of a chancery court estate petition. |
| No online hours | The office does not publish counter hours online. Call the Gulfport or Biloxi office before driving to the courthouse. |
Recent updates
| Change | Date | What it means in Harrison County |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Electronic Courts completion | June 19, 2023 (chancery courts); June 30, 2025 (statewide completion announced) | Harrison County chancery matters are in MEC, but an estate is still opened with a paper filing at the chancery clerk's counter. Attorneys use MEC, and public access starts at https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php. |
| Small estate affidavit and muniment of title changes | July 1, 2020 | The small estate affidavit figure became $75,000, excluding liens and encumbrances, under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322, and the muniment of title procedure was rewritten under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35. |
| Uniform Chancery Court Rules amended | April 18, 2024 | The rules that govern fiduciary matters, including the attorney requirement in UCCR 6.02, were revised and amended. |
| Separate legal aid intake numbers | January 1, 2026 | The Mississippi Center for Legal Services, whose Gulfport office serves Harrison County, uses intake number 1-800-519-2915. The statewide directory is at mslegalservices.org. |
| Harrison County chancery docket online | February 9, 2022 | The chancery clerk made scheduled chancery dockets searchable by party name or date. |
Page last reviewed: August 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Harrison County path | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse with a co-owned home | Start with the deed. If the home passes by survivorship and the remaining probate estate is $75,000 or less in personal property, excluding liens and encumbrances, the small estate affidavit effective July 1, 2020 (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322) is handed to the bank or employer thirty days after death, with no court filing, no fee and no attorney. If there is a will devising the house and all known debts are paid, muniment of title under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35 may be the route, and Harrison County prices that filing at $153.00 on its schedule effective January 1, 2020. If letters are needed, the petition is filed in Gulfport or Biloxi and a Mississippi attorney is retained first under UCCR 6.02. | Sunset's asset discovery searches more than 2,300 institutions, so a spouse knows what is jointly held, what is in the decedent's name alone and what already carries a beneficiary before deciding whether a Harrison County courthouse is involved. |
| Out-of-state adult child with a small estate | If thirty days have passed and the whole probate estate is $75,000 or less in personal property, excluding liens and encumbrances, the Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322 affidavit goes to the bank or employer rather than the chancery clerk. If letters are needed, the child must retain a Mississippi attorney under UCCR 6.02, the petition is filed on paper at the Chancery Court Clerks Department in Gulfport or Biloxi, and the child should call the clerk to confirm which office takes the filing. Any phone or video attendance is set by the chancellor and district practice. | Sunset assembles the account inventory and the paperwork from a distance and connects the family to a vetted local attorney, so a son or daughter in another state is not flying to Gulfport to find out what their parent owned. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | The Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322 affidavit cannot reach the house. If the child left a will devising Mississippi real property and all known debts are paid, muniment of title under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-35 may carry title. Otherwise this is a full administration, filed on paper at the Gulfport or Biloxi courthouse for $163.00 on Harrison County's schedule effective January 1, 2020, with a Mississippi attorney retained first under UCCR 6.02. The Harrison County scheduling order for an intestate estate has a suit to determine heirship filed and set within four months of the appointment order. The district's instructions form directs the personal representative not to sell real property before the 90-day creditors' period has run, and then only with a court order (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-151). The chancellor fixes both the fiduciary's compensation and the attorney's fee (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159; Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-299), and neither may be based on the value of the real property (UCCR 6.12(B)). | Sunset finds the mortgage, the insurance, the utility accounts and the liens attached to the property, and connects the family to a vetted local probate attorney for the sale. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Harrison County Chancery Clerk, Chancery Court Clerks Department | Takes estate filings at both courthouses and publishes the fee table, estate scheduling order, instructions to a personal representative and chancery docket search. Staff can take filings and point to posted forms, but cannot give legal advice or prepare the petition. | Gulfport: 1801 23rd Avenue, (228) 865-4036, department line (228) 865-4095. Biloxi: 730 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, (228) 435-8220, counter (228) 435-8280. https://www.harrisoncountymschanceryclerk.gov/chancerycourt.asp |
| Harrison County chancery court docket search | Search scheduled chancery hearings by party name or date. It shows the party, courtroom, date, time and presiding chancellor for current and future dates. | http://harrison2.co.harrison.ms.us/dockets/chancerycourt.asp |
| Mississippi Electronic Courts and PAMEC | Statewide case system. Attorneys file through MEC. A self-represented party can hold a read-only PAMEC account for remote viewing, which needs registration and carries fees. Documents filed in the system can be viewed free at the clerk's office during business hours. | https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php. Helpdesk: 601-576-4650 or [email protected]. |
| Mississippi Judiciary chancery courts page | Lists Mississippi's chancery court districts and links the statewide Chancery Clerk Cover Sheet. | https://courts.ms.gov/trialcourts/chancerycourt/chancerycourt.php |
| Uniform Chancery Court Rules | Rules governing Mississippi fiduciary matters, including the attorney requirement in UCCR 6.02, petition attachments in UCCR 6.15 and original-will custody in UCCR 9.03. | https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/uniform_chancery_rules.pdf |
| Mississippi Center for Legal Services, Gulfport office | Civil legal aid provider whose Gulfport office serves Harrison County. Estate administration is not on the list of matters it publishes, so use it to check eligibility and ask whether any help is available. The statewide directory is at mslegalservices.org. | Intake: 1-800-519-2915. Gulfport office: 520 E. Pass Rd Ste. J, Gulfport, MS 39502, 1-228-896-9148, toll free 800-498-1804. https://www.mslegalservices.org/organization/mississippi-center-for-legal-services-gulfpor |
| mslegalservices.org | Public legal information site maintained by Mississippi's two civil legal aid providers, with a topic library, online forms and a directory searchable by service area. | https://www.mslegalservices.org/find-legal-help/directory/area |
When to hire an attorney
In a Harrison County full estate, the attorney requirement is a rule, not a suggestion. Uniform Chancery Court Rule 6.02(A) requires every fiduciary, unless licensed to practice law in Mississippi, to retain an attorney or firm of attorneys for representation, advice and assistance during the full appointment, and the chancellor approves the fee (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159). The $75,000 small estate affidavit, effective July 1, 2020 (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322), needs no court filing and no attorney because it is presented to the holder and does not create a fiduciary appointment. A Harrison County family that cannot afford counsel should check eligibility with the Mississippi Center for Legal Services through mslegalservices.org or 1-800-519-2915, understanding that estate administration is not on the matters it publishes. Sunset connects the family to a vetted local probate attorney, which in Mississippi is the step the rules require.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 institutions to help identify bank accounts, investments, insurance, retirement accounts and other assets before the family chooses a Harrison County estate settlement route.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset organizes the asset information, family details and document checklist so the papers the Harrison County chancery clerk and the Uniform Chancery Court Rules call for are ready for the attorney to review and file.
Find a local probate attorney. Mississippi requires an executor or administrator to retain counsel under UCCR 6.02, so Sunset helps connect the family with a vetted probate attorney familiar with Harrison County practice on the Mississippi coast.
Sunset is free for families. You can start the estate settlement work without paying Sunset, whether the answer is a bank-presented affidavit, muniment of title or a full chancery court estate.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Harrison County, Mississippi?
File with the Harrison County Chancery Clerk, at a Harrison County courthouse. The county has two judicial districts and chancery court is held in both: the First Judicial District location at 1801 23rd Avenue in Gulfport, (228) 865-4036, and the Second Judicial District location at 730 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd in Biloxi, (228) 435-8220 (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159; Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-3(1)). Each has its own Chancery Court Clerks Department counter. Mississippi's venue rule fixes probate at the county where the decedent had a fixed place of residence (Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-1 for a will, Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-63 for an intestate estate), and no statute makes the judicial district the filing unit, so call the chancery clerk to confirm which of the two offices takes the case.
Why does Harrison County have two courthouses for probate?
Harrison County is one of ten Mississippi counties divided into two judicial districts, and Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-3(1) requires chancery court to be held in each judicial district of a county that has two. The First Judicial District sits in Gulfport, and the Second Judicial District sits in Biloxi. It is the same elected chancery clerk in both buildings, with a separate counter, mailing address, phone and fax at each. The clerk publishes no map of which side of the county goes where, so call before filing.
Do I need a lawyer to probate an estate in Harrison County?
For a full estate, yes. Uniform Chancery Court Rule 6.02(A) requires every fiduciary who is not a Mississippi-licensed lawyer to retain an attorney for the full appointment, and the chancellor approves the fee (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159). The one route that needs no attorney is the small estate affidavit under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322, effective July 1, 2020, which is presented to the bank or employer thirty days after death when the whole probate estate is $75,000 or less in personal property, excluding liens and encumbrances. That affidavit is not filed with any court.
What does it cost to open a Harrison County estate?
Harrison County's own Chancery Court Filing Fees table, effective January 1, 2020, lists $163.00 for an estate whether testate or intestate, and $153.00 for a muniment of title only. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-9 sets the chancery clerk's estate filing structure at $85.00 plus $10.00 to the Comprehensive Electronic Court Systems Fund, $40.00 to the Judicial System Operation Fund and $5.00 to the Civil Legal Assistance Fund, a $140.00 floor. The clerk's page says filing fees must be paid when the case is filed, so confirm the current amount with the Chancery Court Clerks Department before you go.
Can I e-file a Harrison County probate case?
Attorneys file through Mississippi Electronic Courts, MEC, which has been live in every Mississippi chancery court since June 19, 2023. A self-represented party may not file electronically and can hold only a read-only PAMEC account. Every Mississippi case, including an estate, is opened with a paper filing at the chancery clerk's counter, so the petition and the original will go over the counter in Gulfport or Biloxi even in a case that runs electronically afterward. Start at https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php; the MEC helpdesk is 601-576-4650.
Does Harrison County have its own probate forms?
The petition is drafted by the attorney UCCR 6.02 requires. Harrison County publishes a Harrison County Certificate of Fiduciary, the Eighth Chancery Court District's Scheduling Order for Estates and its Order for Instructions to Personal Representative, so a family can see the court's expectations in advance. A statewide chancery clerk cover sheet goes with the filing; confirm it with the clerk.
How do I look up a Harrison County chancery court case?
For a hearing, the chancery clerk publishes its own chancery court docket search at http://harrison2.co.harrison.ms.us/dockets/chancerycourt.asp, by party name or date, showing the party, the courtroom, the date and time and the presiding chancellor. It searches the current day and future dates only and needs at least the first three characters of a name. For the case file itself, Mississippi uses MEC and its public access side, PAMEC: remote viewing needs a registered account and fees apply, and documents filed in the system can be viewed free at the chancery clerk's office during business hours. Start at https://courts.ms.gov/mec/mec.php.
Could my Harrison County hearing be held in another county?
It can. Harrison County sits in Mississippi's 8th Chancery Court District with Hancock and Stone counties, and the clerk's docket notice says Harrison County cases scheduled in Hancock or Stone counties will display that county instead of a courtroom, and that you should report to the displayed location at the date and time shown. The case is still a Harrison County case filed with the Harrison County Chancery Clerk.
Can I attend a Harrison County probate hearing by phone or video?
That is set by the chancellor and by the district's practice, not by a statewide rule, so ask the Chancery Court Clerks Department before planning around it (Miss. Const. art. 6, § 159). A chancery district's term dates are set by an annual order entered by October 1 of the preceding year and posted in the chancery clerk's office of every county in the district (Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-3(2)). Make no assumption either way.
Do I have to travel to the Mississippi coast to settle a Harrison County estate?
Not always. If the estate qualifies for the small estate affidavit effective July 1, 2020, under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-322, there is no court filing because the affidavit goes to whoever holds the property. If letters are needed, a Mississippi attorney has to be retained under UCCR 6.02, and that attorney handles the court filing, though the opening filing itself is on paper and the original will stays with the clerk. Whether any hearing can be attended remotely is a question for the clerk, not an assumption.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.