One page that moves a car out of an estate without going near a court, and it fits a much narrower case than people expect. The purpose paragraph sets both conditions: the deceased left no will, and there is no surviving spouse. Everybody who would inherit signs the same sheet to relinquish their claim in favour of one named person, who then applies for the title.
Written against RV-F1310501 (Rev 10-20), issued under Rule 1340-5-13-.02(2)(b) and Tenn. Code Ann. 55-4-101.
Read the two conditions in the purpose paragraph before anything else. Most estates fail one of them, and an affidavit completed for an estate that has a will or a surviving spouse is a wasted trip for however many relatives you gathered to sign it.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank RV-F1310501 from the tn.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual RV-F1310501, rendered from the PDF the Tennessee Department of Revenue publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
Two heirs signing, and the third row deliberately left empty rather than filled in on somebody's behalf. The note under the block is the reason: an absent heir attaches their own affidavit or grants a power of attorney, and nobody signs for them.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Check both conditions first
No will, and no surviving spouse. Those two facts are what this form is for.
Watch out: If either fails, stop. A will means letters testamentary, and a surviving spouse means the surviving-spouse route - both are different transactions at the same counter.
2
You fill this in
Block A, the vehicle
Vehicle identification number, year, make, model and colour, copied from the certificate of title.
Watch out: The certificate itself has to go in with this. The affidavit explains who may sign; it does not replace the document being signed.
3
You fill this in
The sworn sentence
The county, the date, the deceased's name, the day and month of death, and the city and county in Tennessee where they died.
Watch out: It is one running sentence with four blanks in it - day, month, place and county - and it is easy to lose your place halfway along. It also swears that no letters of testamentary or of administration have been issued to any person, so an estate with an administrator already appointed is on the wrong form.
4
You fill this in
Liens and debts
Two lines to describe fully any liens or debts that might become a lien on the vehicle. Write None if there are none.
Watch out: A car loan that was still running is exactly what this line is for. The clerk needs to know before a clean title is issued, not afterwards.
5
You fill this in
Who the vehicle is going to
The new owner's signature, printed name, date and complete mailing address.
Watch out: One person. The whole mechanism is that the heirs agree among themselves and then relinquish in favour of a single named party.
6
You fill this in
Every heir signs
Signature, printed name and date on the relinquishment rows, for all heirs and next of kin.
Watch out: Get them in one room if you can. Collecting separate affidavits from scattered relatives is the part of this that takes months rather than minutes.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
A. Vehicle information
Five boxes describing the car: vehicle identification number, year, make, model and colour.
B. Certification statement
A county and a date, then a single sworn sentence: that the named owner died on a stated day and month in a stated city and county of Tennessee, left no estate necessitating administration, and that no letters of testamentary or of administration have been issued to any person.
Liens and debts
Two lines under the printed words: there are no debts or encumbrances remaining unpaid, which are or may become a lien on said vehicle, except - and then a full description of any there are.
The new owner
By mutual agreement of all the heirs and next of kin who are parties hereto, vesting ownership in a named person, with their signature, printed name, date and complete mailing address.
The heirs' relinquishment
Three rows of signature, printed name and date, under the words: and the undersigned, all heirs or next of kin, relinquish any and all claims in or to said motor vehicle.
The note
Any heir not present at the time of execution should attach a separate affidavit relinquishing their claim, or grant a power of attorney for another to sign for them.
What gets this one rejected
•A will. The form is for a deceased who died intestate, and where there is a will the route is letters testamentary instead.
•A surviving spouse. The purpose paragraph rules the form out where there is one, and the surviving-spouse route is a different transaction entirely.
•An heir missing from the page and no separate affidavit for them. The note at the foot spells out the two ways to deal with an absent heir, and neither is leaving a line empty.
•Somebody signing an heir's name for them. That takes a power of attorney granted by the heir, which is what the note says.
•Letters already issued. The sworn sentence says no letters of testamentary or of administration have been issued to any person, and it is not true if they have.
•A substitute form. The Department's answer is that substitutions to the Affidavit of Inheritance form may not be used.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Three rows, and no more printed. The form gives three heir lines. A larger family does not make it the wrong form; the extra relinquishments come in as separate affidavits attached to it.
•It goes to the county clerk. The instruction is to complete it in its entirety and submit it to your local county clerk's office, with the certificate of title.
Every line here was read off RV-F1310501 (Rev 10-20) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Tennessee Department of Revenue pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
