Wondering about settling an estate in Georgia?
In this article, you’ll learn about:
Let’s dig in.
When the courts appoint an administrator to an estate, they can choose anyone. This includes creditors or third-party companies. Meaning you and your family lose all control over the estate.
If you want to create a will for your estate or file a petition to become the administrator of an estate, fill out the form below for a free consultation.
Let’s talk about the probate process for settling an estate in Georgia.
The probate process in Georiga is how assets get passed to heirs when someone dies.
During the court proceedings for the probate process:
Most people create a will in Georgia to list their wishes on how to distribute their estate.
Part of the probate process in Georgia is proving the validity of the will.
To prove a will, the courts want to prove that:
If the will gets notarized, this helps build the case of the will’s validity.
But, the probate courts in Georgia will have the witnesses testify that the will is valid.
But, the entire probate process in Georgia is:
The two types of probate processes in the state of Georgia are:
All the heirs have to get notified for solemn form probate.
A family member will need to schedule an appointment with the Georgia probate courts.
The probate courts will appoint a personal representative for the estate.
Common form probate doesn’t need anyone to receive notice of probate.
Common form probate gets used when the situation is straightforward.
And a contest of the will is not anticipated.
The personal representative has to notify everyone of the probate process.
They do this by publishing a notice of the probate process for the decedent in the newspaper.
It has to be a local newspaper where the decedent lived.
But, this is after the Georgia probate courts issue:
And the notice has to get published in the newspaper within 30 days of the death.
This gives creditors a chance to get notified of the decedent’s death.
The creditors have three months to claim what’s owed to them from the personal property.
In Georgia, an executor typically has 24 months to settle an estate.
This means the executor needs to pay off debts, file taxes, and distribute assets within two years.
The clock starts once the court appoints the executor.
However, the process can take longer if the estate is complex or if there are disputes among the beneficiaries.
If the estate is not settled within 6 months, the executor must file a report with the court explaining the status.
Extensions are possible, but the court needs to approve them.
It’s important for the executor to work diligently and communicate with beneficiaries to avoid unnecessary delays.
Read More: How Long Does The Executor Have To Pay The Beneficiaries?
In Georgia, the executor generally has to complete the probate process within 24 months.
During this period, the executor must pay debts, file taxes, and distribute assets to beneficiaries.
If the estate is complicated, it may take longer.
Beneficiaries can expect to receive their inheritance after the estate’s debts and taxes are paid.
This can be within a few months to two years.
If the executor doesn’t distribute the assets in a reasonable time, beneficiaries can petition the court to enforce the distribution.
In this section, we are talking about:
Let’s talk about how to settle an estate in Georgia.
These are all the steps you need to take when settling an estate in Georgia.
Our remote Atlanta law firm has estate planning attorneys that will handle all of this for you.
We help family members with the probate process all over the state of Georgia.
It’s the executor’s legal responsibility to file the will.
The executor has to file the will within 30 days of the testator’s passing.
Let’s say the executor does not probate the will.
Then the Georgia probate courts will distribute the estate per intestate laws.
For estate assets owned by spouses, the surviving spouse has joint tenancy.
The executor will have to find the deceased person’s will.
And they will have to file the will at the local probate courts.
Let’s say that the deceased person never made a will.
You’ll need to go to your local probate courts and get letters of administration.
The Georgia probate courts will appoint an administrator to distribute the estate’s assets.
Usually, this is going to be a family member or surviving spouse.
You’ll have to pay filing fees of about $250 at Georgia probate courts.
The deceased person’s personal representative needs to get a copy of the death certificate.
Then, you will have to provide a copy to the relevant parties.
People that need to get notified of the death and probate cases are their:
This is not an all-inclusive list.
You should notify everyone who the testator did business with.
Let’s say that you don’t notify these companies and agencies.
On one hand, these companies will continue to charge the deceased person.
But, let’s say you keep getting money from things like Social Security.
That money needs to get paid back from the estate’s assets.
And that money will come out of the estate’s remaining assets.
Meaning that the loved ones will inherit less.
You need to inventory all the probate assets.
Especially if you’re going through the Georgia probate legal process.
Inventorying estate assets includes a person’s assets like:
You’ll also need to appraise these probate assets.
Inventorying and appraising estate property is important.
So that you can figure out how to:
Most people who create a will also have a revocable living trust in Georgia.
The executor needs to work with the trustee.
The trustee is in charge of the revocable living trust assets.
And the living trust allows the grantor to leave property to loved ones.
But the trust assets can avoid probate and go straight to the beneficiary designations.
If there’s not a revocable living trust, you can ignore this step.
Let’s say you’re settling an estate on your own.
The Georgia probate courts can help you identify all the probate beneficiaries.
If you hire our probate attorneys, we will notify the beneficiaries and creditors for you.
You have to send certain notices to certain people about the probate proceedings.
The people that you have to notify are:
You have to notify the heirs-at-law so that they have the opportunity to challenge probate.
Unfortunately, this is a part of the Georgia probate laws that you have to follow.
You also have to notify creditors of the probate proceedings.
You have to reach out to creditors and figure out what the decedent owed.
You may not know all the people that are owed money by the decedent.
Or have their contact information like phone numbers or mailing addresses.
You have to post the death in the newspaper so that unknown creditors get notified.
Our probate lawyers can handle this legal process for you.
An executor has a fiduciary responsibility to the named beneficiaries.
This means not losing money with the estate’s assets.
The executor’s goal is to preserve the investments in the testator’s personal property.
If the executor loses money, they can be liable.
This means that if they mismanage the estate assets, they can get sued.
Creditors and named beneficiaries can sue the executor of the estate.
Our legal advice is to not try to “go make money” with the estate property.
Just collect the estate property and get it through the probate process.
Collecting money that’s owed to the estate will take some time.
You have to fill out paperwork and make lots of phone calls.
But, it’s not difficult.
Make sure that you are depositing the collected money into the estate bank account.
The executor handles the bills on the estate property.
This includes things like paying for the:
Administrative expenses include the:
These must get paid out of pocket until the estate closes.
The estate beneficiaries should pay these bills until the Georgia probate process starts.
Bills that should not get paid out of pocket are:
For these final bills, the named beneficiaries should not pay these out of pocket.
They should let the personal representative of the estate handle them.
These bills get handled from the estate’s assets.
And they get handled during the probate process.
Let’s say the family members cannot afford to pay these bills out of pocket.
You’ll need to get legal advice on how to handle this.
Our Atlanta probate lawyers can help you figure this out.
No matter where you’re settling an estate in Georgia.
Let’s say there’s not enough money in the estate to pay all debts owed.
The claims on the estate have to get prioritized.
A year’s support to the family gets prioritized first.
Under Georgia probate laws, a year’s support is a necessary expense.
A year’s support is financial support for 12 months after the decedent’s death.
The surviving spouse and minor children get this.
After the debts and estate taxes get paid, it’s time to distribute the estate assets.
Once everyone gets paid, probate “gets closed.”
And, then, you can distribute the remaining assets to the named beneficiaries.
If there’s not a will, you distribute the remaining assets per intestate laws.
The remaining assets for intestate go to family members.
And then you’re done.
Under Georgia probate laws, there is no time limit on settling an estate in Georgia.
Let’s say your loved one passes away.
After that, there is no time limit for when you have to file the petition for probate.
You can open probate for 2 weeks or 5 years after you get the death certificate.
And you have a legal obligation to file for probate at your local Georgia probate court.
(Executors can get sued for not probating wills by creditors and named beneficiaries.)
You can’t avoid probate in Georgia by just not filing for it.
But, there is a Georgia probate time limit.
We see clients, on average, open probate 18 months after their loved one dies.
After you open probate, you have 5 years to settle an estate in Georgia.
After that 5 year period, the will becomes invalid per state laws.
And the remaining assets in the estate have to go through intestate succession.
That’s why settling an estate in Georgia quickly is important.
On average, it takes 12 to 18 months to settle an estate in Georgia.
It depends on:
Our Atlanta probate attorneys can help avoid a lot of these issues.
Or, at least give you proper legal advice on how to navigate them.
These are some of the most common questions we get about settling an estate in Georgia.
You have 5 years to probate a will in Georgia.
You can avoid probate in Georgia with three options:
Yes, wills have to get probated according to Georgia probate laws.
Let’s say a will does not get probated by the executor.
The probate assets will go through the probate legal process anyway.
The estate assets will not avoid probate by not probating a will.
But the estate property will get split up per intestate laws in the state of Georgia.
The executor has to file an income tax return for the decedent.
The personal representative will have to pay the inheritance taxes in Georgia.
But, inheritance taxes and estate taxes come out of the estate bank accounts.
Decedents can pass down up to $12.06M in property tax-free.
That’s when they are settling an estate in Georgia.
But, that’s for Federal Estate Taxes only, though.
There may be state-level taxes to pay for in the state of Georgia.
A small estate affidavit allows an estate to bypass the probate process.
These get used when there are little to no estate assets.
A small estate affidavit in Georgia does not exist.
In Georgia, all estates have to go through the probate process.
In Georgia, there is no strict deadline to file for probate after a death.
However, it is advisable to file as soon as possible.
Typically, people start the probate process within a few weeks to a few months after the death.
Filing sooner helps to settle the estate efficiently and allows beneficiaries to receive their inheritance without unnecessary delays.
If you wait too long, it might become more complicated to deal with the estate’s assets and liabilities.
If you want the best estate planning attorneys to represent you, fill out the form below.
We have the experience needed to ensure that you, your assets, and your family are protected.
This means that you don’t wrongfully lose assets to creditors and lawsuits.
We also make sure that you reduce your tax liabilities and avoid probate when possible.
This means you and your family don’t get raked over the coals financially.
After you fill out the form below, we will set up your free consultation.
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