Tennessee law requires an individual to survive a decedent by 120 hours in order to inherit from them under a will or intestate succession.

Tennessee law provides in T.C.A. § 31-3-120 that an individual must survive a decedent by 120 hours in order to recover from their estate.  Specifically, recovery is not allowed if there is a failure to survive by 120 hours under the theories of homestead allowance, years support allowance, exempt property, elective share and intestate succession.  As a result, when two individuals experience simultaneous death or die within a 120 hour period, the individual who failed to survive the decedent by 120 hours is considered to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of intestate succession.  T.C.A. § 31-3-120(a) provides as follows:

(a) An individual who fails to survive the decedent by one hundred twenty (120) hours is deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of the homestead allowance, year's support allowance, exempt property, elective share and intestate succession, and the decedent's heirs are determined accordingly.

Additionally, even if there is a will in place, an individual must survive the testator by 120 hours otherwise they are deemed to have predeceased the testator and will not inherit under the will.  This is true unless the will has specific explicit language dealing with simultaneous deaths or deaths in a common disaster and provides a specific stated period of time the person must survive to take under the will.  Specifically, T.C.A. § 31-3-120(b) provides as follows:

(b) A devisee who fails to survive the testator by one hundred twenty (120) hours is deemed to have predeceased the testator, unless the will of the decedent contains language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths or deaths in a common disaster or requiring that the devisee survive by a stated period of time in order to take under the will.

Additionally, this statute provides that it must be proved by "clear and convincing evidence" that an individual survived the decedent by 120 hours.  This is a high standard under Tennessee law.  Specifically, T.C.A. § 31-3-120(c) provides as follows:

(c) If it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that an individual who would otherwise be an heir or devisee survived the decedent by one hundred twenty (120) hours, it is deemed that such individual failed to survive for the required period. This section is not to be applied if its application would result in property of any nature escheating to the state.