Georgia business probate follows the same statutory framework as personal estate probate. But business interests add layers that make the process longer, more expensive, and more operationally disruptive.
What Does It Cost for a Georgia Business to Go Through Probate?
The complex probate cases we’ve handled, including estates with a business, have taken about 25 months and cost $29,700. When disputes arise, over business valuation, operating agreement interpretation, or creditor claims, costs go up.
A business interest requires a formal appraisal, and any dispute over the operating agreement or ownership structure adds attorney time.
How Georgia Calculates Executor Fees — O.C.G.A. § 53-6-60
Executor pay is one of the costs of probate. Georgia’s rule for it is in O.C.G.A. § 53-6-60. If no written pay agreement and no will sets the executor’s pay, Georgia law gives the executor 2.5% of the money they collect for the estate and 2.5% of the money they pay out, and the probate court may also allow up to 3% of the value of any property handed over without being sold.
Attorney Fees in Georgia Business Probate
Georgia probate attorneys charge up to $450 per hour. Business estates require more attorney time than personal estates because they involve:
- Interpreting the LLC operating agreement to determine who controls the business during probate
- Coordinating the business valuation appraisal
- Responding to creditor claims against the business
- Petitioning for Temporary Administrator authority if the business needs to keep operating
The complex probate cases we’ve handled have taken about 25 months. At $450 per hour, that adds up to large attorney fees before any money reaches the family.
What Happens to the Business During Probate
This is the cost that doesn’t appear in the probate fee estimate, the operational cost of a business running without legal authority.
- Cost: $29,700 in the complex probate cases we’ve handled, more with disputes
- Timeline: About 25 months in the complex probate cases we’ve handled, and longer with disputes
- Control: In a one-owner LLC, no payroll, no contracts, and no bank access until a court appoints someone
For a phase-by-phase breakdown of how that timeline unfolds, see How Long Does a Georgia Business Go Through Probate?
Under Georgia law, the LLC entity itself does not go through probate. But the deceased owner’s membership interest does. Under O.C.G.A. § 14-11-506, in an LLC with other owners the executor receives only the rights of an assignee and cannot manage the business unless the operating agreement says otherwise. In a one-owner LLC, the executor becomes a member unless they turn it down in writing within 90 days.
Without a succession plan, a one-owner LLC has no one who can sign for it from the day the owner dies until a probate court appoints someone. If the LLC has other owners, they keep running the business, but no one can act for the owner’s share until then. What that means in practice for a one-owner business:
A bank may block the business accounts once it learns the only signer has died. Payroll requires those accounts.
Vendor agreements and leases cannot be renewed or signed without legal authority.
A court can appoint a Temporary Administrator to preserve business operations. But this requires a petition, court approval, and time. In the gap between the owner’s death and that court order, a one-owner business has no one legally authorized to act.
Why Business Probate Costs More Than Personal Probate
Business valuation. Every estate containing a business interest requires a formal appraisal. Appraisers use IRS Rev. Rul. 59-60 standards to value the interest, which takes time and costs money.
Operating agreement interpretation. If the operating agreement is missing, ambiguous, or conflicts with the succession plan, the court must interpret it. That means more attorney time and a longer timeline.
Multiple interested parties. Co-owners, business creditors, employees, and customers all have interests in what happens to the business. Each one adds complexity.
Ongoing operations during the case. A personal estate can sit dormant during probate. A business cannot. Until a court appoints someone, anyone who acts for a one-owner business does it without legal authority.
How to Keep Your Georgia Business Out of Probate
For a full overview of your options, see Best Estate Planning for Business Owners in Georgia. The three most effective tools are:
A revocable trust that holds the LLC membership interest. When the trust owns the interest, it passes to the successor trustee outside of probate, no court, no timeline, no executor commission. The business continues operating the next day.
A properly drafted LLC operating agreement. Under O.C.G.A. § 14-11-506, an operating agreement can specify what happens to a membership interest upon death. Without this language, the default rule applies and the interest goes through probate. A business succession plan that addresses this is the starting point.
A funded buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement with life insurance funding gives co-owners the mechanism to buy out the deceased owner’s interest immediately. The cost of the plan is a fraction of what probate costs the estate. See How Much Does Business Succession Planning Cost in Georgia for flat-fee pricing.
See also: What It Costs to Die Without a Business Succession Plan in Georgia, a breakdown of every financial consequence beyond probate fees, including forced discounts, lost business value, and estate tax exposure.
