What Families Need to Know After a Death in Georgia

Georgia probate is handled in the county Probate Court — an accessible, relatively informal system compared to many states. The state's most distinctive feature is "Year's Support," which gives surviving spouses and minor children a powerful claim on estate assets before creditors. Understanding this — and Georgia's uncapped small-estate shortcut — shapes almost every decision in the first weeks after a death.

Probate
Probate & Small Estate Rules in Georgia

Georgia probate is filed with the Probate Court in the county where the deceased lived. Unlike many states, Georgia's Probate Court is a dedicated, accessible court — not a division of a general trial court — which makes the process more straightforward for families handling estates without an attorney.

Georgia has no general small-estate affidavit with a dollar cap. The main shortcut is a petition for an order declaring no administration necessary (O.C.G.A. §53-2-40), available for any estate value when the death was intestate, no personal representative is appointed, all heirs agree on the division, and creditors are paid or consent. A separate, narrower bank-deposit affidavit (O.C.G.A. §7-1-239) lets a bank release up to $15,000 in a decedent's account directly to family in priority order (the surviving spouse first, then children, then parents, then siblings) when there is no known will and no other known claimant.

The bank-deposit affidavit covers only bank and credit union deposits. Real estate can pass without full administration through an order that no administration is necessary — the court records that order in the deed records of each county where the deceased owned land (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-40) — or through a Year's Support award. Otherwise it passes through formal probate, unless it was held with survivorship rights or in a living trust. When formal probate is required, the executor — or "administrator" if there is no valid will — files a petition with the county Probate Court. Within 60 days of qualifying, the personal representative must publish a notice to creditors once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-7-41). Creditors who do not come forward within 3 months after the last notice lose their right to share equally with other creditors in anything already distributed.

Georgia sets a default executor fee when the will or a written agreement does not: 2.5% of money the personal representative receives plus 2.5% of money paid out, with additional compensation for property distributed in kind (O.C.G.A. § 53-6-60). The will, a written agreement with the deceased, or an agreement signed by all beneficiaries or heirs can set a different amount. Uncontested Georgia estates typically close in six to twelve months, depending on the court's schedule and the complexity of the assets involved.

If you are weighing whether to hire an attorney, see probate lawyer costs by state for typical fee ranges, including Georgia. Executor pay is covered in executor fees by state.

Wills
Will Signing Requirements in Georgia

A valid Georgia will requires the testator's signature plus the signatures of two competent witnesses, age 14 or older, who sign in the testator's presence (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-20, 53-4-22). Notarization is not required for the will itself to be valid. However, if the testator and witnesses sign a self-proving affidavit before a notary at the time the will is executed, witnesses do not need to appear in court later to confirm the will's authenticity — a practical step that can simplify the probate process significantly.

Georgia does not recognize holographic wills. A handwritten, unwitnessed will has no legal effect under Georgia law, regardless of how clearly it expresses the deceased's intentions. If you find a document that appears to be a handwritten will without witness signatures, it will not be admitted to probate.

If the deceased died without a valid will, Georgia's intestate succession laws under O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1 determine who inherits. A surviving spouse with no children or other descendants inherits everything. If there are children, the spouse and the children share equally, but the spouse always receives at least one-third. If there is no surviving spouse, the estate passes to children, then parents, then siblings, and then more distant relatives in a defined order.

Advance Directive
Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care

Georgia uses a single combined form: the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care. This document covers both a living will — your written instructions about treatment preferences — and the designation of a health care agent who makes medical decisions if you become incapacitated. Most states use two separate documents; Georgia consolidates them into one.

To be valid, the Georgia Advance Directive must be signed by the person making it and witnessed by two adults of sound mind, who do not have to be present at the same time (O.C.G.A. § 31-32-5). Notarization is not required. Neither witness can be the named health care agent, someone who knowingly stands to inherit or gain financially from the person's death, or someone directly involved in the person's health care. No more than one witness may be an employee, agent, or medical staff member of the facility where the person is receiving care.

Georgia also uses a POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form for patients with serious illness. The POLST is a physician-signed medical order — not a patient-signed document — and governs immediate clinical decisions in emergency and care-facility settings. It is distinct from the advance directive and can coexist with it. The POLST governs what emergency responders and facility staff will do in a crisis; the advance directive governs longer-term decision-making and names a health care agent.

For families settling an estate: the health care agent's authority under the advance directive ends at death. The document has no effect on the estate or its distribution. Its relevance ends when the patient dies.

Year's Support
Year's Support in Georgia

Year's Support is one of Georgia's most important — and most distinctive — estate law features. It gives a surviving spouse and minor children the right to petition the Probate Court for a set amount of estate property sufficient to support them for twelve months after the death.

The petition lists the property the family asks to have set aside. If no one objects after notice is published, the court awards that property. If someone objects, the court sets an amount sufficient to maintain the standard of living the spouse and minor children had before the death, considering their other resources and the estate's solvency (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-7). The award can be substantial — it could encompass most or all of the estate in some cases. The key legal consequence is priority: Year's Support takes precedence over virtually all creditors, including most unsecured debts. The estate's bills are paid after Year's Support is satisfied, not before.

This has significant practical implications. If the surviving spouse is the sole heir and the Year's Support award equals the entire estate, formal probate may not be necessary at all — the spouse receives everything through the Year's Support process. This can be a faster and cheaper path than opening full probate.

Minor children of the deceased can also petition for Year's Support. If there is no surviving spouse, minor children may claim it directly. If both a surviving spouse and minor children exist, both may have claims — the court will allocate accordingly.

The deadline for filing a Year's Support petition is 24 months from the date of death (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-5). Surviving spouses and families should be aware of this deadline and contact the county Probate Court early if they intend to pursue this path.

Vehicle Transfer
Transferring a Vehicle After Death in Georgia

Georgia heirs can often transfer a vehicle without probate. When the deceased left no will, no administration will be opened, the estate owes no debts, and the heirs agree on who receives the vehicle, they complete Form T-20 (Affidavit of Inheritance of a Motor Vehicle) and submit it with the title application (Form MV-1) and a certified death certificate. If there is only one heir, a copy of a "No Administration Necessary" order can be used instead of the T-20.

If there is a will that will not be probated, the heir submits a copy of the will with the title application. If the estate is going through probate, the executor or administrator presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the Probate Court. In each case, an heir without Letters must title the vehicle in their own name before selling it (Georgia Department of Revenue).

If the vehicle was jointly titled with right of survivorship, the surviving co-owner presents a certified copy of the death certificate to the Georgia DOR to remove the deceased's name from the title. No probate is required in this situation.

Vehicles held in a revocable living trust transfer directly to the successor trustee upon the grantor's death, without any court involvement. This is one of the practical reasons families in Georgia use living trusts — they can keep vehicles and other titled property out of the probate process entirely.

Medicaid Recovery
Medicaid Estate Recovery in Georgia

Georgia Medicaid, administered by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), seeks repayment from the estates of deceased members. Under DCH's rule (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-3-8), recovery applies to members of any age who were permanently institutionalized, and to members who were 55 or older when they received nursing facility services, personal care services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.

What the state can reach

Georgia defines the estate broadly. It includes property under the probate code and property that passes by joint tenancy, right of survivorship, life estate, trust, annuity, Individual Retirement Account, homestead, or any other arrangement (Rule 111-3-8-.02). The rule also voids any trust provision that tries to deny recovery. In practice, moving assets outside probate does not by itself protect them from a Georgia Medicaid claim. Get advice from an elder law attorney before relying on a trust or a beneficiary designation for that purpose.

When recovery is exempt or delayed

• Small estates: estates with a gross value of $25,000 or less are exempt, and DCH waives claims against the first $25,000 of any estate subject to recovery for deaths on or after July 1, 2018.
• Surviving family: recovery waits until the member's surviving spouse has died, and applies only when there is no surviving child under 21 and no blind or permanently disabled child.
• The home: DCH will not pursue a lien on the home of a permanently institutionalized member while a sibling who has an equity interest and lived there at least one year before admission, or a child who lived there at least two years and provided care that kept the member at home, is residing there. That sibling or child must prove residency with clear and convincing evidence and carries the burden of proof.
• Hardship: heirs may ask DCH to delay or waive recovery for undue hardship, and have a right to a hearing.

What an executor should do

The personal representative, or the facility or case manager, must report the member's death to DCH within 30 days. DCH then sends a written notice stating the amount it intends to recover, which can increase if more claims are processed. If a personal representative distributes estate property to heirs without meeting these obligations, the rule says the personal representative may be held personally liable for the Medicaid amount, up to the full value of estate property in their custody or control. Contact DCH before you distribute anything. See our guide to Medicaid estate recovery for how the federal rules work.

Intestacy
What Happens Without a Will in Georgia

When someone dies without a valid will, Georgia's intestacy law (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1) decides who inherits. Georgia is not a community property state, so the deceased person's property is divided the same way whether it was earned during the marriage or before it.

• Spouse and no descendants: the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.
• Spouse and children: the spouse and each child share equally, but the spouse's share cannot be less than one-third of the estate. Descendants of a child who has died take that child's share.
• No spouse: the children, and the descendants of any child who has died, inherit.
• No spouse or descendants: the estate passes to other relatives by closeness of kinship, starting with parents and siblings and moving outward to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and more distant relatives.

An unmarried partner receives nothing under intestacy, no matter how long the relationship lasted. Georgia intestacy is separate from Year's Support, which a surviving spouse or minor children can claim in addition. See Year's Support and our guide to what happens if you die without a will.

Taxes
Estate Tax in Georgia

Georgia has no state estate tax. State law says that on and after July 1, 2014, no estate taxes are levied by the state and no state estate tax returns are required (O.C.G.A. § 48-12-1). Only the federal estate tax applies, and only above $15 million per person for 2026 deaths. Inherited property generally gets a stepped-up basis to its fair market value at death (26 U.S.C. § 1014). See does your estate pay taxes.

Death Certificates
Getting a Death Certificate in Georgia

Georgia death certificates come from the Georgia Department of Public Health, Vital Records. The fee is $25 for the first certified copy and $5 for each additional copy of the same record (DPH fee schedule, updated March 2026). Payment is required before the record is issued, and DPH does not accept personal checks. If the record is found, the certified certificate is included in the fee. If it is not, DPH issues a not-on-file letter.

Order 8–12 copies at once. Ten copies cost $70 ($25 plus nine at $5), which is far less than ordering again later. Banks, insurers, the Department of Revenue, and the Probate Court usually each need an original certified copy. See how many death certificates you need and how to get a death certificate. Start an order at the Georgia DPH Vital Records page.

Bereavement Leave
Bereavement Leave in Georgia

Georgia does not have a state law requiring private employers to provide bereavement leave, and federal law does not either. The Family and Medical Leave Act covers serious health conditions, birth, adoption, and certain military reasons, but not bereavement. Time off after a death is up to your employer's policy.

Many employers offer 3–5 days of paid time off for the death of an immediate family member. Check your handbook for the policy and for which relatives qualify, and ask whether you can combine it with vacation or sick time. See bereavement leave by state.

Resources
Georgia Estate Resources

• Georgia Courts: Probate Court — how the county Probate Courts work
• State Bar of Georgia: For the Public — a Find a Lawyer tool and a legal aid and pro bono resource center
• Georgia Legal Services Program — a nonprofit funded in part by the Legal Services Corporation that serves people with low incomes. Ask whether your matter qualifies; its website does not list estate matters specifically
• Georgia Medicaid: Estate Recovery — notice and claim information
• Georgia DPH Vital Records — death certificate orders and fees

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the small estate threshold in Georgia?

Georgia has no general small-estate affidavit with a dollar cap. The main shortcut, a petition for an order declaring no administration necessary, applies to any estate value when the death was intestate, all heirs agree, and creditors are paid or consent. A separate bank-deposit affidavit can release up to $15,000 directly to certain family members.

Does Georgia have a state estate tax?

No. Georgia does not have a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and it affects only estates above the federal exemption threshold (currently $15 million per individual).

What is Year's Support in Georgia?

Year's Support is a Georgia-specific right that allows a surviving spouse and minor children to petition the Probate Court for estate assets sufficient to cover 12 months of support. It takes priority over almost all creditors and must be filed within 24 months of death (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-5). The petition proposes the property to be set aside; if no one objects, the court awards it. If someone objects, the court sets an amount sufficient to maintain the family's prior standard of living for a year.

Does Georgia recognize holographic wills?

No. Georgia does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills. A valid Georgia will requires the testator's signature plus two competent witnesses, age 14 or older, who sign in the testator's presence (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-20, 53-4-22).

How does Medicaid estate recovery work in Georgia?

Georgia Medicaid seeks repayment for nursing home, home and community-based, and related costs paid for members who were 55 or older, and for institutionalized members of any age. Georgia's rule defines the estate to include assets that pass outside probate, such as joint tenancy, trusts, annuities, and IRAs. Recovery waits until a surviving spouse has died and is not allowed while a child under 21 or a blind or disabled child survives. Estates of $25,000 or less are exempt, and the first $25,000 of any estate is waived for deaths on or after July 1, 2018.