Title 53 — Title 53

Filing, §53-7-61. Receipts and disbursements. Annual statement to heirs or beneficiaries, §53-7-69.1. Recordation of final receipts, §53-7-65. Refunding bonds, §53-7-66. Reports. Annual returns, §53-7-67. Intermediate reports, §§53-7-73 to 53-7-78. Service of process.

If the estate shall have been distributed to the heirs or beneficiaries without notice of an existing debt, a creditor may compel them to contribute pro rata to the payment of the debt. History. — Code 1981, § 53-7-43, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10. COMMENT This section car…

Except as otherwise provided by the will, any debt not due by its terms at the time for payment of debts of equal priority shall be satisfied and the estate shall be discharged with respect to such debt in such manner as the personal representative deems to be in the best interest…

Personal representatives are authorized to compromise, adjust, arbitrate, assign, sue or defend, abandon, or otherwise deal with or settle debts or claims in favor of or against the estate. A personal representative who declines to litigate any claim may assign the claim to a cre…

Resignation, §53-7-56. Revocation of letters, §53-7-55. Sanctions, §53-7-55. Subsequently discovered estate. Appointment of discharged representative or successor to administer, §53-7-50. Temporary administrator, §53-7-52. Unclaimed funds, §53-7-51. Void because of fraud, §53-7-5…

If funds are in the hands of the personal representative and no person claims such funds, the probate court may nevertheless grant a discharge. History. — Code 1981, § 53-7-51, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1586, § 36. COMMENT This section carries forward …

A temporary administrator may be discharged in the same manner as provided for discharge of personal representatives. History. — Code 1981, § 53-7-52, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10. 616 This section carries forward the substance of former OCGA Sec. 53-7-144. See Code Sec. …

A discharge obtained by the personal representative by means of any fraud is void and may be set aside on motion and proof of fraud. History. — Code 1981, § 53-7-53, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10. COMMENT This section carries forward former OCGA Sec. 53-7-147.

(a) If a personal representative or temporary administrator commits a breach of fiduciary duty or threatens to commit a breach of fiduciary duty, a beneficiary of a testate estate or heir of an intestate estate shall have a cause of action: (1) To recover damages; (2) To compel the …

(a) A personal representative may resign: (1) In the manner and under the circumstances described in the will; (2) Upon petition to the probate court, showing that the resignation has been requested in writing by all heirs of an intestate estate or all beneficiaries of a testate e…

Income received during administration, §53-7-7. Minor heirs, support and education, §53-7-8. More than one personal representative, §53-7-5. EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS —Cont’d Powers and duties —Cont’d Residuum, §53-7-2. Safe deposit boxes, §53-7-5. Temporary administrators, §5…

The superior court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the probate court over the settlement of accounts of personal representatives. History. — Code 1981, § 53-7-60, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10. COMMENT This section carries forward former OCGA Sec. 53-7-160.

If the personal representative resigns, is removed, or dies, an heir of an intestate estate or a beneficiary of a testate estate, the sureties of the personal representative or other personal representatives, or the successor personal representative may petition for an accounting …

Testator’s power to dispense with necessity of return, §53-7-69. Time representative to account for income on property, §53-7-64. Settlement of claims for or against estate, §53-7-45. Temporary administration. Action by temporary administrator for collection of debt, §53-6-31. Ap…

Upon proof of issuance of citation and service of notice pursuant to Code Section 53-7-62, the probate court may proceed to make an account, hear evidence upon any contested question, and make a final settlement between the personal representative and the heirs or beneficiaries. Th…

A personal representative shall account for income on the property administered as follows: (1) The personal representative shall be charged with all income earned during the period of one year after the date of qualification; (2) For the period beginning one year after the date o…

The final receipts on settlements given by heirs or beneficiaries to a personal representative, whether a judicial or an informal settlement, may be admitted to record by the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the superior court in either the county of residence of the pers…

When litigation against the estate is pending or is threatened or when notice of a claim has been given to the personal representative, the personal representative may demand that the heirs or beneficiaries give refunding bonds to indemnify the personal representative against the …

(a) Within 60 days of the anniversary of the date of qualification, in each year, every personal representative required by the laws of this state to make annual returns shall file with the probate court a true and just verified accounting of the receipts and expenditures in behalf …

A testator may, by will, dispense with the necessity of the personal representative’s filing an annual return with the probate court or the beneficiaries or both, provided the same does not work any injury to creditors or persons other than beneficiaries under the will. If a will wa…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a personal representative shall furnish to the heirs of an intestate estate or the beneficiaries of a testate estate, at least annually, a statement of receipts and disbursements. (b) Any heir or beneficiary may waive i…

Except as otherwise provided in the will, income received by an executor during the period of administration from property that is used to pay debts, taxes, expenses of administration, general testamentary gifts, and other expenses chargeable to corpus shall be paid to the income…

Failure to settle and account. Action against representative, §53-7-19. Filing of petitions, §53-7-61.

(a) The return of a nonresident personal representative may be admitted to record upon affidavit of the personal representative’s surety. (b) If a personal representative is dead, the personal representative of the estate of the deceased personal representative or, if at any time…

Powers and duties of personal representatives, §53-7-5. 1010 INDEX EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS —Cont’d Sale or conveyance of property. Appeals, §53-8-13. Assent to passage of title, §53-8-15. Authority of personal representative, §53-8-10. Expensive-to-keep property, §53-8-11.

At or before the time fixed for hearing, any parties at interest may file objections to the personal representative’s report, actions, and accounting, in which case the hearing on the accounting shall automatically be continued until a date certain, when, subject to the probate cou…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section and in paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-9-127, whenever it appears that a question of construction of a will is involved in the accounting, the probate court, upon its own motion or upon the…

Should it appear from the intermediate report that the personal representative is liable to the estate or to any beneficiary of the estate, the probate court is authorized and it shall be the court’s duty to enter a judgment surcharging the personal representative in such amount a…

All parties in interest shall be bound by the order of the probate court on the intermediate report; and thereafter no such person shall be heard in any court, except upon appeal, to contest or question any matters or things covered by the report and the order on the report in th…

Generally, §§53-12-380 to 53-12-431. Probate of wills, §§53-5-1 to 53-5-51. Foreign or out-of-state wills generally, §§53-5-30 to 53-5-41. Foreign personal representatives, §§53-5-42 to 53-5-47. Revised Probate Code of 1998. Effective date of provisions, §53-1-1. Provisions known…

Caveats to wills, executors pending litigation of, §53-7-4. Contracts, §53-7-6. Disposition of income received during administration, §53-7-7. Entire estate, §53-7-2. Enumeration of powers generally, §53-7-6. Generally, §§53-7-1, 53-7-6.

— For article discussing failure of consideration, see 4 Mercer L. Rev. 327 (1953). For article surveying recent legislative and judicial developments in Georgia’s real property laws, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1979). 236 13-4-20 MODIFICATION, EXTINGUISHMENT, AND RENEWAL 13-4-20

(a) Subject to the provisions of this article, a personal representative may sell, rent, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of property, whether personal, real, or mixed, for the purpose of payment of debts, for distribution of the estate, or for any other purpose that is in t…

Boats and other watercraft. Regattas, boat races, marine parades, tournaments and exhibitions, §52-7-19. Regattas, §52-7-19.

Stocks or bonds, either listed or admitted to unlisted trading privileges upon any stock exchange or quoted regularly in any newspaper having a general circulation in Georgia, may be sold at private sale without order from or report to the probate court at a sales price not less …

(a) A personal representative desiring to sell, rent, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of property other than property that is perishable, liable to deteriorate, or expensive to keep or listed stocks and bonds shall file a petition with the probate court stating the property …

(a) Regardless of whether a personal representative has the powers provided by paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 53-12-261 or by the corresponding provision of any statute incorporated pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 53-12-263 or otherwise has similar suc…

Property that is perishable, liable to deteriorate, or expensive to keep. Stocks or bonds. General procedures. Warranty; personal liability of personal representative. Passage of title to heirs or beneficiaries; assent of personal representative. §§ 2513-2520, 2522, 2524, 2525, 25…

A personal representative is authorized to invest estate funds in real property after first obtaining an order to that effect from the probate court or from the superior court. Service shall be made as provided in Chapter 11 of this title to the heirs of an intestate estate or the…

A personal representative is authorized to invest estate funds in: (1) Bonds issued by any county or municipality of this state which have been validated as required by law for the validation of county and municipal bonds; (2) Bonds issued by any county board of education under S…

(a) Whenever by law or by an instrument or court order establishing a fiduciary relationship the personal representative is authorized, permitted, required, or directed to invest funds in direct and general obligations of the United States government, obligations unconditionally g…

(a) Unless otherwise provided in the will, a personal representative is authorized to retain the property received by the personal representative on the creation of the estate, including, in the case of a corporate fiduciary, stock or other securities of its own issue, even though…

(a) In determining whether to appoint a conservator of the estate of a missing individual, the probate court shall take into account any other existing arrangements for the management of the missing individual’s property, such as powers of attorney or trusts, and may determine th…

The petition shall set forth the name of the missing individual, that individual’s place of domicile, the circumstances under which that individual came to be missing, the length of time the individual has been missing, what inquiry has been made as to the whereabouts of the indi…

Oath, §53-9-13. Orders of court, §53-9-14. Termination of conservatorship, §53-9-15. Petition for appointment of conservator, §§53-9-10, 53-9-12. Procedure on petition, §53-9-13. Qualified conservators, §53-9-11. Reports, §53-9-14. Termination of conservatorship, §53-9-15. Death.

The conservator shall within 60 days after appointment make a written report to the probate court setting forth the condition of the estate of the missing individual, together with a schedule of any debts that may be owed by the missing person, an estimate of the income from the …

A missing person for whose estate a conservator has been appointed may at any time petition the probate court that has jurisdiction over the conservator for an order terminating the conservatorship. Upon a finding by the court that the petitioner is in fact the missing individual,…

(a) A petition for administration of the estate, for the probate in common form or solemn form of the will, for year’s support, or for an order that no administration is necessary may be filed for the estate of a missing individual whose death may be presumed or established in the…

If an individual who is domiciled outside this state and possessed of any interest in or claim to or against real or personal property or cause of action located in this state shall have been absent for a period of time under circumstances whereby, pursuant to the law of the plac…

If an individual domiciled outside this state is possessed of any interest in or claim to or against any real or personal property or cause of action located in this state and would, if a domiciliary, be deemed to be missing in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 53-9-…