Georgia Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Georgia probate cases are heard in the Probate Court, a standalone court with its own elected judge in each of the state's 159 counties, not a division of a larger trial court. Georgia's intestate succession law guarantees a surviving spouse at least one-third of the estate even when several children also inherit.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Georgia

Georgia is unusual among states in that probate is not handled by a division of a general trial court. Each of Georgia's 159 counties, more counties than every state except Texas, has its own freestanding Probate Court with a single elected judge who holds exclusive jurisdiction over probating wills and administering decedents' estates in that county. A case is filed in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or, if the decedent was not domiciled in Georgia, in the county where they owned property.

Georgia does not use the Uniform Probate Code's formal/informal track terminology. For probating a will, Georgia's own probate code offers two tracks. Common form probate is an ex parte proceeding: the executor petitions the court, and the court can admit the will without giving formal notice to the heirs, which makes it faster, but the resulting order stays open to challenge by an interested party for 4 years afterward. That 4 year clock carries an important exception: a minor heir who demands proof in solemn form may interpose a caveat within 4 years after reaching the age of majority, which is 18 in Georgia, so the window can run until that heir turns 22 rather than closing 4 years after the order (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-19). Solemn form probate requires formal notice to all heirs at law, served at least 30 days before the hearing; once granted, it is immediately conclusive against everyone who was actually served with notice, including anyone who waived service or was served through a guardian ad litem. It is not immediately conclusive against the world, though: as to an heir who was entitled to notice but was never effectively served, the order is only as conclusive as common form probate would have been, and as to all other persons it becomes conclusive six months after it is entered (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-20).

For an intestate estate, meaning one with no will, the court instead appoints an administrator under Letters of Administration, following a statutory priority order that typically starts with the surviving spouse and then moves to the next of kin. Georgia also has a distinct simplified track for intestate estates called a Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary, available under O.C.G.A. § 53-2-40 when the decedent died intestate, no personal representative has already been appointed in Georgia, every heir agrees in writing on how to divide the property, and there are no unresolved creditor claims. This petition has no dollar ceiling at all; eligibility turns on those conditions, not on estate value.

Intestate Succession in Georgia: Who Inherits Without a Will

Georgia's intestate succession statute, O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1, works differently from many other states in one important respect: it does not distinguish whether the decedent's children are also the surviving spouse's children. There is no blended-family carve-out. Instead, a surviving spouse and the decedent's children share the estate per capita, meaning as equal individual shares, subject to one floor: the spouse's share can never fall below one-third of the estate, no matter how many children survive. With one child, the estate splits evenly, half to the spouse and half to the child. With two or more children, the spouse takes exactly one-third, and the remaining two-thirds splits equally among the children, with a deceased child's share passing to that child's own descendants per stirpes. If the decedent left a spouse but no children or other descendants, the spouse takes the entire estate.

Georgia is a common-law, separate-property state, not a community-property state, so this statutory share applies to the full probate estate.

If no spouse or descendant survives, Georgia's code moves through a table of kinship degrees: first to parents, in the second degree, sharing equally; then to siblings, in the third degree, sharing equally, with a deceased sibling's descendants taking that sibling's share per stirpes; then to grandparents, in the fourth degree; then to aunts and uncles and their descendants, in the fifth degree, with the statute's degree-based approach continuing outward for more distant kin.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Georgia's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Georgia Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Georgia

Georgia offers two distinct simplified mechanisms, and they are easy to confuse with one another because they use different eligibility tests and dollar limits. For thresholds, waiting periods and forms, see our guide to the Georgia small estate affidavit.

The narrower of the two, a financial-institution-specific affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239, lets a bank release a decedent's deposits directly to a family member when the decedent has no more than $15,000 on deposit at that particular financial institution. That $15,000 figure is an eligibility ceiling rather than a withdrawal cap: an account holding more than $15,000 falls outside the statute entirely, and the family cannot simply draw $15,000 out of a larger balance this way. It applies only when there is no will, and it follows a strict order of priority rather than an open list of eligible relatives: the surviving spouse first; if there is no surviving spouse, the children pro rata; if there are neither children nor a spouse, the father and mother pro rata; and only if none of those survive, the brothers and sisters pro rata. Whoever stands first in that order may present the affidavit at any time with no waiting period. If the deposit remains unclaimed after 45 days, the bank may itself apply up to $15,000 toward funeral or last-illness expenses.

The broader mechanism, the Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary, has no dollar ceiling at all. It carries threshold conditions of its own instead: the decedent must have died intestate, and no personal representative may already have been appointed in Georgia, so an estate with a will, or one where an administrator has already qualified, cannot use this route. Where those conditions are met, it is available when every heir agrees in writing on how to divide the estate and there are no unresolved creditor claims, making it Georgia's practical equivalent of a summary administration track even though the statute does not use that label.

Does Georgia Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

No. Georgia's state estate tax was formally eliminated effective July 1, 2014, and the state levies no separate inheritance tax on beneficiaries. The only exception involves decedents who died before January 1, 2005, who may still fall under legacy rules tied to the old federal state-death-tax-credit system, a scenario that is now rare in practice.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

When a will contest is likely, heirs disagree, the estate holds a business, or a blended family raises questions under the per capita rule, get a free case evaluation from a Georgia probate lawyer on the petition and any caveat (attorney advertising). For an estate that clearly qualifies for the no-administration-necessary petition or one of the smaller affidavits, many families handle the filing without one. See Probate by State for how Georgia's process compares to neighboring states.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Georgia as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Georgia, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, or a blended family. Figures and thresholds change; verify current details directly with the applicable Georgia Probate Court or O.C.G.A. Title 53 before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What court handles probate in Georgia?

The Probate Court of the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or where they owned property if they lived outside Georgia. Each of Georgia's 159 counties has its own Probate Court with an elected judge.

Who inherits if you die without a will in Georgia?

A surviving spouse and children split the estate per capita, but the spouse's share can never be less than one-third, regardless of how many children survive. If there are no children, the spouse takes the entire estate. O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1.

What is Georgia's small estate threshold?

A bank-deposit affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239 applies only when the decedent died intestate with $15,000 or less on deposit at that financial institution. The $15,000 is an eligibility ceiling, not a withdrawal limit, so an account holding more than $15,000 cannot use this route at all, and the statute pays out in a fixed order: spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings. Separately, a no-administration-necessary petition under O.C.G.A. § 53-2-40 has no dollar cap, but it is available only for an intestate estate with no personal representative already appointed in Georgia, and only where every heir agrees in writing on how to divide it.

Does Georgia have an inheritance tax or estate tax?

No. Georgia eliminated its state estate tax effective July 1, 2014, and it has no separate state inheritance tax.

What is the difference between common form and solemn form probate in Georgia?

Common form probate is faster and does not require formal notice to heirs, but the resulting order can be challenged for 4 years, and a minor heir may still interpose a caveat within 4 years after turning 18. Solemn form probate requires 30 days' notice to heirs and is immediately conclusive against everyone actually served with notice; an heir who was entitled to notice but was never effectively served is not bound that way, and as to all other persons the order becomes conclusive six months after entry.

How long does probate take in Georgia?

Practitioners commonly estimate 2 to 6 months to admit a will through solemn form probate, with full estate administration often taking longer depending on complexity and the 6-month period after the personal representative qualifies, during which the personal representative is not required to pay estate debts and creditors generally cannot sue the personal representative to recover the decedent's debts (O.C.G.A. § 53-7-42).

Does a will avoid probate in Georgia?

No. A will still generally needs to be admitted through probate, either common form or solemn form. What a will avoids is Georgia's intestate succession order, meaning your own choices control distribution instead of the statutory per capita split.