My aunt from Tennessee passed away in March 2013 and I am to inherit $15,000 from her. Will I have to pay inheritance taxes?

You shouldn't. Any taxes should be paid by the estate.

Agreed; do not think Tennessee has an inheritance tax.

Estate taxes tgat are paid by your aunt's estate probably are zero. It depends on the size of her estate.

Her lawyer said that after the taxes I will be getting "next to nothing". Evidently Tennessee does have an inheritance tax. Does anyone know for certain Tennessee law?

State inheritance taxes rarely exceed 10%, and are usually LESS than that.

A phone call to the Tennessee Department of Taxation or a visit to their website should get you definitive answers.

Her lawyer said that after the taxes I will be getting "next to nothing". Evidently Tennessee does have an inheritance tax. Does anyone know for certain Tennessee law?

What he probably meant is that after the expenses of the estate there will be little left. People make wills that they can't necessarily fulfill. Your aunt's will may have specified a bequest of $15K for you, but she may have made the will when she had a larger estate and now there is little left. But as ATE suggested, taxes alone shouldn't eat up the estate.

You can ask the lawyer for a full accounting of the estate.