Georgia Wills, Probate and Estate Law

Anyone 14 or older may make a will unless they lack mental capacity or full freedom of action. The will must be in writing and signed by the will-maker (or by another person in the will-maker's presence and at their direction), and attested and signed in the will-maker's presence by at least two competent witnesses.

No. Georgia has no separate rule for handwritten wills; every will, handwritten or not, must be signed and attested by at least two competent witnesses.

Yes. The will-maker and the witnesses may sign an affidavit before a notary public, either when the will is signed or later while they are all alive. With the notary's certificate attached, the will can be admitted to probate without testimony from the witnesses. The statute gives the affidavit wording.

If there is a surviving spouse and no descendants, the spouse inherits everything. If there are children, the spouse and children share equally (a deceased child's descendants take that child's share), but the spouse always receives at least one-third. With no spouse: children (or their descendants), then parents, then siblings (or nieces and nephews), then grandparents, then aunts and uncles (or first cousins), then more distant relatives.

Instead of a percentage elective share, Georgia provides year's support: the surviving spouse and minor children may petition the probate court to set aside property for their support for 12 months after the death, whether or not there is a will. Year's support is paid ahead of most other debts. The petition must be filed within 24 months after the date of death.

Order declaring no administration necessary: when a person dies without a will and no personal representative has been appointed, any heir may petition the probate court if the estate has no debts (or all known creditors consent or are served) and all heirs have agreed in writing how to divide the property. There is no dollar limit. If real estate is involved, the order is recorded in the deed records of each county where the decedent owned land. Year's support can also pass property to a spouse and minor children without full administration.

Main steps: file a petition in the probate court of the county where the decedent lived (to probate a will in common or solemn form, or for letters of administration if there is no will); the court issues letters to the executor or administrator (with bond unless excused); publish notice to creditors once a week for four weeks, starting within 60 days after qualifying; prepare an inventory and file it with the court, and mail copies to beneficiaries or heirs, within six months after qualifying (unless waived or relieved); pay debts and distribute property; petition for discharge. The Council of Probate Court Judges publishes standard forms for each petition.

Creditors must give the personal representative written notice of their claims within three months after the last publication of the notice to creditors. A creditor who misses the deadline loses the right to share equally with other creditors of the same priority who have already been paid, but can still be paid if assets remain after higher-priority debts.

The person named in the will serves as executor. With no will, if the heirs do not unanimously choose an administrator, the court appoints in this order of preference: the surviving spouse (unless a divorce or separate maintenance case was pending), other heirs or their majority choice, another eligible person, a creditor, then the county administrator. An administrator of an intestate estate must post bond unless all heirs unanimously consent to waive it.

A deed to land must be in writing, signed by the grantor, and attested by two witnesses: an officer (such as a notary public, a judge of a court of record, or a court clerk) and a second, unofficial witness. It must be delivered to the buyer. Notaries and judges of courts of record may attest anywhere; other officers only in their own county.

A power of attorney must be signed by the principal (or by another person in the principal's presence at their express direction) and attested in the principal's presence by a competent witness and by a second person who meets the officer-attestation rule (such as a notary public); neither may be a named agent. It is durable unless it expressly says otherwise.

Advance directive for health care (can name a health care agent): a person of sound mind who is 18 or older or emancipated signs it in writing, attested by two witnesses who are 18 or older. A witness cannot be the health care agent, someone who would knowingly inherit or benefit financially from the death, or someone directly involved in the person's health care; no more than one witness may work for the facility providing care. Notarization is not required.

No state estate or inheritance tax. Georgia levies no estate tax for deaths on or after July 1, 2014, and has no inheritance tax.

Georgia replaced the separate living will with the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care, a statutory form whose Part Two lets a person state treatment preferences if they have a terminal condition or are permanently unconscious (including withholding life-sustaining procedures, nourishment or hydration). Any person of sound mind who is 18 or older or emancipated may sign it. It must be in writing, signed by the person (or by another in their presence and at their express direction), and attested by two witnesses who are 18 or older. A witness cannot be the health care agent, someone who would knowingly inherit or benefit financially from the death, or someone directly involved in the person's health care, and no more than one witness may work for the facility providing care. Notarization is not required.

Georgia calls the agent a "health care agent," appointed in Part One of the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care. The agent makes health care decisions when the person cannot (or does not want to), and can also be given authority after death over autopsy, organ and body donation, and final disposition. Signing rules are the same as for the whole directive: in writing, signed, and attested by two qualified adult witnesses; the agent cannot be a witness. Notarization is not required.

Georgia has not adopted the Uniform Trust Code; trusts are governed by the Revised Georgia Trust Code of 2010. Unlike most states, a Georgia trust is NOT revocable unless the trust document expressly reserves the power to revoke or modify. A power to revoke includes a power to modify, and any revocation or modification must be in writing and signed by the settlor. Assets must be retitled to the trustee to be governed by the trust; trust property passes under its terms without probate, while property left in the decedent's own name may need probate, an order of no administration necessary, or year's support.

After qualifying, the personal representative publishes notice to creditors once a week for four weeks, starting within 60 days. Unless the will or court relieves the duty, the representative prepares an inventory of all the decedent's property, files it with the probate court, and mails a copy to the beneficiaries (or heirs) within six months after qualifying. The representative pays debts, files annual returns unless relieved, distributes the estate, and then may petition the probate court for discharge, listing all known heirs or beneficiaries and stating that the estate has been fully administered.

Letters are issued by the probate court of the county where the decedent lived. With a will, the executor files a Petition to Probate Will in Common Form (GPCSF 4) or Solemn Form (GPCSF 5) and receives Letters Testamentary. Without a will, an heir or other eligible person files a Petition for Letters of Administration (GPCSF 3); if heirs do not unanimously choose an administrator, the court appoints by statutory preference (surviving spouse first). An administrator must post bond unless all heirs consent to waive it. The Council of Probate Court Judges publishes standard forms used statewide.

Georgia does not use a statutory affidavit of heirship for real estate. Instead, the identity or interest of an heir can be resolved by petition to the probate court (or superior court) to determine heirs. When there is no will and the heirs agree on dividing the property and there are no unpaid debts (or creditors consent), an heir can petition for an Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (GPCSF 9); the order is recorded in the deed records of each county where the decedent owned land.

Non-probate options in Georgia include: joint and payable-on-death bank accounts, which belong to the surviving party or beneficiary (O.C.G.A. § 7-1-813); transfer-on-death registration of securities under the Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration Act (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-60 and following); property held in a funded trust (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-40); joint ownership with right of survivorship; and, without full probate, an Order Declaring No Administration Necessary or a year's support order for the spouse and minor children (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-40).

For health care, Georgia has a statutory form, the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care (O.C.G.A. 31-32-5), offered free by the Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services. It can name a health care agent, state choices about life support and nutrition/hydration, and nominate a guardian; Part Four (signature and witnessing) must be completed. You sign and date it (or acknowledge doing so) in the presence of two witnesses who are of sound mind and 18 or older; a witness cannot be your health care agent, someone who will knowingly inherit or gain financially from your death, or someone directly involved in your health care, and only one witness may be an employee, agent or medical staff member of the facility where you are receiving care. Using the form is never required.

Wills, estates and related matters are handled by the Probate Court in each county; the statewide Probate Court Information System is the case-management system covering licenses, wills, guardianships and other estate responsibilities of the Probate Court.

At the County Tag Office (Georgia Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division). Bring the MV-1 Title/Tag Application, the original title in the deceased's name (with any liens released, Form T-4), and one inheritance document: certified Letters Testamentary, a certified Year's Support order, a copy of a will that is not being probated, or, if there is no will, Form T-20 (Affidavit of Inheritance) with a certified death certificate (with one heir, a copy of an Order of No Administration Necessary can replace the T-20). Form MV-16 may be needed for a family-member transfer and tax exemption. The title fee is $18. An inheritor using the T-20 or without letters must title the vehicle in their own name before selling it.