Estate planning rules in Georgia
Key takeaway
Georgia estate planning rules address wills, estate administration, trusts and guardianship, including an executor's duties and authority over estate property. Georgia rules also address the continuation of a decedent's business, distributions to heirs and beneficiaries, and the authority of guardians and conservators appointed by a court.
Wills and testamentary gifts
A Georgia self-proved will carries a rebuttable presumption of compliance with execution requirements. Georgia dispenses with witness testimony once the will and affidavit are filed.
Georgia specific gifts abate in the same manner if general and demonstrative gifts are insufficient.
Estate administration and distributions
A Georgia personal representative is a fiduciary with a general duty to settle the estate as expeditiously, and with as little sacrifice of value, as is reasonable under the circumstances.
A Georgia executor renders an inventory of all estate property and debts and files an annual or final return within 60 days of each appointment anniversary until discharged.
A Georgia personal representative publishes a general notice to creditors within 60 days of qualification, asking creditors to present their claims. Georgia personal representatives give heirs or beneficiaries at least an annual statement of receipts and disbursements, unless an exception applies.
Georgia administrator commissions normally equal two and one-half percent of money received and money paid out. A Georgia probate judge may also allow up to three percent of the value of property distributed in kind.
Georgia title to estate property remains in the personal representative until the representative assents to distribution to heirs or beneficiaries.
Trust terms and representation
A Georgia settlor can vary the trust chapter's provisions through the trust instrument, except for the requirements governing the creation and validity of express trusts.
Georgia bars a settlor from representing and binding a beneficiary in a trust termination or modification under Article 4 of the trust chapter.
Georgia permits certain representatives, including a conservator for the estate under the conservator's control, to represent and bind others to the extent no conflict of interest exists concerning the particular question or dispute.
Guardianship and conservatorship authority
Georgia appointed guardians and conservators lack authority to act until letters of guardianship or conservatorship issue.
Thresholds and rates change. Check the state's own current figures.
Common questions
What conditions apply to a Georgia petition declaring no administration necessary?
A Georgia petition declaring no administration necessary applies when the decedent died intestate. Georgia conditions the petition on unanimous consent of the heirs at law to the agreed division of the estate.
How does written consent affect notice in a Georgia probate proceeding?
A Georgia probate party's written consent to the relief sought operates as a waiver of notice and consent to that relief. Georgia recognizes the written consent whether signed before or after the petition is filed.