Glossary
The Georgia probate terms grieving families actually ask about.
Probate is a legal language the family has to learn in a week. Here are the 20terms you'll hear from the attorney, the court, and the bank — defined without the legalese.
Letters Testamentary
The court document the Georgia probate court issues to the executor named in a will, granting them legal authority to act on behalf of the estate. Banks, mortgage servicers, and title companies all want to see Letters Testamentary before they'll talk to anyone about the deceased's assets.
Letters of Administration
The same legal authority as Letters Testamentary, but issued when the deceased left no will. The probate court appoints an administrator (usually the closest adult heir), and the Letters give them the authority to settle the estate.
Executor
The person named in a will to manage the estate. The executor doesn't have legal authority until the probate court appoints them and issues Letters Testamentary.
Administrator
The person the court appoints to manage an estate when there is no will. Same role as an executor, just a different title because the appointment didn't come from the will.
Intestate
Dying without a valid will. When someone dies intestate in Georgia, state law decides who inherits, in what order, and what shares. The order rarely matches what most families assume.
Testate
Dying with a valid will. The opposite of intestate. A testate estate is probated under the terms of the will.
Probate Court
The Georgia court (one per county, 159 total) responsible for administering estates, appointing executors and administrators, supervising guardianships, and handling related matters. Probate is filed in the county where the deceased lived.
Notice to Creditors
A notice published in the county's legal organ (usually a local newspaper) for four consecutive weeks, telling potential creditors of the estate they have three months to file claims. The window has to close before the estate can fully distribute assets.
Year's Support
A Georgia legal mechanism that lets a surviving spouse or minor child receive part or all of an estate (including the house) outside regular probate, in 6–10 weeks. Underused and powerful when it applies.
Solemn Form Probate
One of two ways to probate a will in Georgia. Requires formal notice to all heirs. Slower (6–9 weeks), but the appointment is final once granted — no four-year challenge window.
Common Form Probate
The faster of the two will-probate paths in Georgia (3–6 weeks). The trade-off: heirs have up to four years afterward to challenge the will. Suitable for clean cases where no contest is expected.
Personal Representative
A general term covering both executors (testate cases) and administrators (intestate cases). When you read a probate document and it says “personal representative,” it's referring to whichever role applies to your case.
Heir at Law
A person who is entitled to inherit under Georgia's intestate succession statute when there is no will. Includes spouses, children, parents, siblings, and further-out relatives in a defined statutory order.
Beneficiary
A person or entity named to receive property under a will, trust, life insurance policy, or retirement account. Beneficiaries named in non-probate documents (like a payable-on-death account) receive assets outside the probate process.
Devisee
A person who receives real property (a house or land) under a will. The will itself uses “devise” for real estate gifts; the recipient is the devisee.
Step-Up in Basis
When you inherit property, your tax basis is reset to the property's fair market value at the date of death — not what the deceased paid for it. This usually eliminates most of the capital-gains tax that would have been owed if the deceased had sold the property while alive. Often the single biggest financial advantage of inherited property.
Partition Action
A lawsuit a co-owner of property can file to force the sale or physical division of jointly held real estate. Used in Georgia when heirs co-inherit a house and cannot agree on what to do with it. The court usually orders sale and division of the proceeds.
Garn-St. Germain Act
A federal law that protects heirs from a lender accelerating (calling due) a mortgage just because the borrower died. The loan continues at the existing terms as long as payments stay current. Critical protection during Georgia probate.
Petition to Probate Will
The legal document filed in the Georgia probate court asking the court to recognize a will as valid and appoint the executor. Filed in either common form or solemn form, depending on the path chosen.
Petition for Letters of Administration
The equivalent filing when there is no will. Asks the Georgia probate court to appoint an administrator to handle the estate. Other heirs receive notice and have an opportunity to object or consent.
A term you don't see here?
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