What are Georgia’s small estate rules?
Under O.C.G.A. 53-2-40, when someone dies without a will and no personal representative has been appointed in Georgia, any heir can petition the probate court for an order that no administration is necessary. All heirs must agree on the division, and the estate must owe no debts or the creditors must consent or be served. For bank deposits, O.C.G.A. 7-1-239 lets a bank pay family up to $15,000 per institution.
Sources: GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (eff. July 2021), checked October 19, 2026; Georgia Probate Court Standard Forms, checked October 19, 2026; HB 490 (2019), deposits of deceased intestate depositors, checked October 19, 2026.| Rule | Georgia |
|---|---|
| Who can use it | Only when the person died without a will and no personal representative has been appointed in Georgia |
| Dollar limit | The petition form sets none. Bank-deposit affidavit: $15,000 per institution |
| Waiting period | None stated. Creditors who haven’t consented are served at least 30 days before the order |
| Where it goes | A petition to the probate court in the county where your parent lived. A judge’s order is required. Bank deposits: straight to the bank |
| Official form | GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary |
| Signing | Petition and each heir’s consent sworn before a notary or a probate court clerk |
| Real estate | Yes, through the no-administration order, with a legal description in the heirs’ agreement |
What will Kin Papers fill in for Georgia?
Kin Papers is building a Georgia file that fills in GPCSF 9 and the heirs’ agreement from your answers, writes the letters banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus ask for, prepares IRS Form 56, and keeps a dated deadline tracker. It won’t file anything for you or give legal advice.
Join the Georgia waitlist
We’re building Georgia’s small-estate form filled in from your answers, with the letters, IRS Form 56 and a deadline tracker. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the day it opens.
How does the no-administration petition work?
Any heir files GPCSF 9 with the probate court in the county where your parent lived. The petition lists the heirs, the property, including any real estate with a legal description good enough to pass title, and the debts. Every heir signs the agreement on how to divide the estate, and creditors who haven’t consented are served at least 30 days before the court can grant the order. A lender holding a security deed on real estate must consent, or be served and not object.
Is there an official form?
Yes. The Council of Probate Court Judges publishes GPCSF 9, effective July 2021, with instructions. Its instructions say it should be used only when the person died without a will.
How does the $15,000 bank rule work?
Under O.C.G.A. 7-1-239, as amended by HB 490, a bank holding $15,000 or less for someone who died without a will can pay it, without administration or a no-administration order, to the surviving spouse, then the children, then the parents, then the siblings, on an affidavit. If no family member applies within 45 days, the bank can pay funeral and last-illness providers instead.
What if there’s a will or the heirs don’t agree?
Then the no-administration order isn’t available, and the estate goes through probate of the will or administration in the probate court. The court’s clerk can explain the filings, and a lawyer can advise on your situation.
Is Kin Papers a law firm?
No. Kin Papers isn’t a law firm and doesn’t give legal advice. This page explains what Georgia’s statutes and probate court forms say, with links to each. It doesn’t say which route fits your parent’s estate.
Common questions about small estates in Georgia
Does Georgia have a small estate affidavit?
Not a general one. Georgia’s main small-estate route is a probate court order that no administration is necessary (O.C.G.A. 53-2-40), for estates without a will. The only no-court affidavit is for bank deposits of up to $15,000 per institution under O.C.G.A. 7-1-239.
Who can a Georgia bank pay without a court?
When someone dies without a will and has $15,000 or less on deposit at a bank, the bank can pay it on an affidavit to the surviving spouse, then the children, then the parents, then the siblings. The affidavit states the relationship, that there’s no known will and that there are no other known claimants. HB 490 raised the limit from $10,000 in 2019.
Do all the heirs have to agree?
Yes. GPCSF 9 requires every heir to agree on how the estate will be divided, with each heir’s signature sworn before a notary or a probate court clerk. An heir who is a minor or incapacitated needs a guardian or guardian ad litem.