El texto completo de esta guía está en inglés; el resumen anterior está en su idioma. Los resúmenes de las leyes y el inglés siguen siendo la fuente de referencia.
Obtenga un punto de partida personalizado en unos minutos.
Comenzar la evaluación de función gratuita- 1
Confirme su rol
Lea el instrumento del fideicomiso para confirmar que usted es de hecho el fideicomisario en funciones, qué facultades tiene y qué dispone el fideicomiso. Anote cualquier enmienda o refundición.
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Asegure los documentos
Localice el fideicomiso original y cualquier enmienda, y reúna los documentos relacionados (escrituras, estados de cuenta y — cuando corresponda — un certificado de defunción).
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Identifique y proteja los bienes
Haga un inventario de lo que posee el fideicomiso y tome medidas razonables para protegerlo. No mezcle los bienes del fideicomiso con los suyos.
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Identifique a los beneficiarios
Determine quiénes son los beneficiarios calificados. Les deberá deberes de informar y, en general, de rendir cuentas.
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Atienda las notificaciones requeridas
La ley de Georgia prevé un solo aviso a los beneficiarios calificados —dentro de los 60 días siguientes a que el fideicomiso se vuelva irrevocable, sobre la existencia del fideicomiso y el nombre y la dirección postal del fiduciario (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242(a))—, y ningún aviso corre desde su aceptación. Acierte con la fecha: se cuenta desde el hecho, no desde el día en que usted se enteró.
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No se apresure con las distribuciones
Entienda los términos del fideicomiso y sus obligaciones antes de pagar a nadie. Las distribuciones prematuras o incorrectas son una fuente común de responsabilidad del fideicomisario.
La respuesta breve · 10 min de lectura
Named trustee of a Georgia trust? Read the instrument before you act, decide whether to accept (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-202), record the date the trust became irrevocable — the 60-day existence notice counts from it (§ 53-12-242) — gather the documents, list the assets by how they are titled, identify the beneficiaries, and keep the record the accounting will draw on (§ 53-12-243).
Última revisión contra los Estatutos de Georgia y actualización: 2026-10-14.
Before you act: read, then decide
Read the trust instrument and every amendment before doing anything in the trustee's name. Acceptance may be by acts as well as words — taking delivery of the property, exercising powers or performing duties — and after accepting, a trustee may not decline (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-202). A person designated as trustee may act to preserve the property without accepting, if the person rejects as soon as practicable (§ 53-12-202(c)). On accepting, the trustee administers the trust in good faith, in accordance with its provisions and purposes (§ 53-12-240).
The one beginning that matters, and what it asks of you
Georgia counts its one trustee notice from the date the trust became irrevocable — the settlor's death, for most living trusts — not from your acceptance and not from the day you learned of either: within 60 days after that date, the trustee notifies the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence and the trustee's name and mailing address (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242(a)). Record the date of death and the date you accepted; the notice runs from the first, and a court accounting's eligibility from the second (§ 53-12-230). The accounting at least annually runs from the trust becoming irrevocable too (§ 53-12-243(b)).
The documents to find in the first week
The trust instrument and every amendment or restatement; the death certificate; the deeds — a conveyance of real property to a trust of which the settlor was a trustee was recorded (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-25(b)); the account statements and the beneficiary designations; the will, which a custodian files with the probate court with reasonable promptness (§ 53-5-5); any power of attorney, which ended at the principal's death (§ 10-6B-10); and any writing the settlor delivered to the trustee about the reporting duties (§ 53-12-243(d)).
Assets by how they are titled
A trust governs what is titled to the trustee. Property in the decedent's own name passes by will or intestacy through the probate court, with title to real property vesting in the heirs at death subject to an administrator's appointment (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-7); property held with an express right of survivorship passes to the survivor (§ 44-6-190); life insurance and retirement accounts pass by designation (§ 33-25-11). List each asset with its title, its value at the death and where the records are; a certification of trust (§ 53-12-280) is what a custodian asks for before retitling.
The beneficiaries, and what they are owed
Identify the beneficiaries the instrument names and note, for each, whether the person is a qualified beneficiary today — a distributee or permissible distributee of income or principal, or one who would be if the current interests ended or the trust terminated that day (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-2(10)) — and who may receive notice for a minor, an incapacitated or an unborn beneficiary (§ 53-12-8). The qualified beneficiaries receive the existence notice (§ 53-12-242); the beneficiaries to whom income or principal may be distributed during the period receive the accounting (§ 53-12-243(b)); any qualified beneficiary may reasonably request information (§ 53-12-243(a)).
Plazos del fideicomisario en Georgia: lo que disponen las leyes
Revisado contra los Estatutos de Georgia el 2026-10-14. Información general, no asesoría legal; el texto oficial prevalece.
| Cuándo | Plazo | Lo que dispone la ley | A quién | Ley |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You are named trustee and act on it | No day-count. Acceptance is by the instrument's method or by conduct; no notice runs from it. | Accept by substantially complying with a method the trust instrument provides or, where it provides none or the method is not expressly exclusive, by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee, or otherwise indicating acceptance; a designee may act to preserve the property without accepting if the person rejects as soon as practicable. After accepting, the trustee may not decline. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-202 ↗ |
| You accept | At once and throughout; no day-count. | Administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its provisions and purposes; the statutory duties add to the common law's. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-240 ↗ |
| You accept as successor | At once and throughout; no day-count. | Take reasonable steps to compel the predecessor trustee to deliver the trust property and to redress a breach you know or reasonably should know the predecessor committed — the acts a successor answers for; a successor to a trustee who was also the settlor has no duty to sue the settlor-trustee as to the portion the settlor could revoke. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-304 ↗ |
| You accept, or receive trust assets | Within a reasonable time after accepting the trusteeship or receiving the assets; no day-count. | Review the trust assets and make and implement decisions on their retention and disposition, to bring the portfolio into compliance with the trust's purposes, provisions, distribution requirements and circumstances and with the prudent investor rule (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-340); manage the risk of concentrated holdings (§ 53-12-341). | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-342 ↗ |
| You accept | Throughout; no day-count. | Keep the records the accounting presupposes — receipts and disbursements of principal and income, and the assets and liabilities at each period's end. Georgia has no recordkeeping section of its own; the accounting's contents and the common law set the practice. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(2) ↗ |
| The trust becomes irrevocable — the settlor dies, for most living trusts — or an irrevocable trust is created | Within 60 days after the date the trust became irrevocable or was created — counted from the event, not from your knowledge of it and not from your acceptance. | Notify the qualified beneficiaries of the existence of the trust and of the trustee's name and mailing address. Irrevocable trusts in existence on July 1, 2010 are deemed to have waived the notice unless the instrument says otherwise (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242(b)). Georgia has no acceptance notice. | The qualified beneficiaries (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-2(10)) — or a person who may represent and bind a beneficiary (§ 53-12-8), by a method likely to result in receipt — personal delivery, registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, a consented electronic address, or a portal on the statute's conditions (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511) | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242(a) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary reasonably asks | On reasonable request; no day-count. | Provide a report of information, to the extent relevant to that beneficiary's interest, about the assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements of the trust, the acts of the trustee and the particulars of the administration, including the trust provisions that describe or affect the beneficiary's interest — unless the trust provisions or the settlor's delivered writing provide otherwise (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(d)). | The requesting qualified beneficiary | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(a) ↗ |
| Each year of the administration, once the trust is irrevocable | At least annually; the statute sets the cadence, not a calendar date. | Account — a statement of receipts and disbursements of principal and income during the last complete fiscal year or since the last accounting to that beneficiary, and a statement of the assets and liabilities at the period's end. While the settlor who reserved the power of revocation is alive and the power is unreleased, the duties run to the settlor alone and the annual accounting is off (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-46). | Each beneficiary to whom income or principal is required or authorized to be distributed during the period, and any person who may revoke the trust (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(1)), unless a written waiver stands or the trust provisions or the settlor's delivered writing provide otherwise, by a method likely to result in receipt — personal delivery, registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, a consented electronic address, or a portal on the statute's conditions (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511) | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b) ↗ |
| The trust terminates | At the termination; no day-count. | Account for the final period, including a termination on the period's last day, with the same two statements; distribute under the trust provisions, subject to the contest period and a contestant's notice (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-45(b)). Georgia has no distribution-upon-termination section, no statutory reserve and no proposal-and-objection procedure. | Each beneficiary to whom income or principal is required or authorized to be distributed during the period, and any person who may revoke the trust (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(1)), unless a written waiver stands or the trust provisions or the settlor's delivered writing provide otherwise | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b) ↗ |
| A change of trustees | On the change; no day-count. | Account for the period to the beneficiaries in the distribution class and to the successor trustee, with the same two statements. A successor's claim against the predecessor is barred two years after the successor takes office (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(b)). | Each beneficiary to whom income or principal is required or authorized to be distributed during the period, and any person who may revoke the trust (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(1)), unless a written waiver stands or the trust provisions or the settlor's delivered writing provide otherwise; and the successor trustee | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b) ↗ |
| A beneficiary waives the accounting in writing, or withdraws a waiver | While the waiver stands; a withdrawal restores the right for the future. No day-count. | No report or accounting is owed to a beneficiary who has waived the right in writing and has not withdrawn the waiver, or to the unascertainable charitable beneficiaries of a noncharitable trust; the court may still require or excuse an accounting (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(e)). | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(c) ↗ |
| Each year of the administration | At least annually; the statute sets the cadence, not a calendar date. | Distribute all net income derived from the trust at least annually, as the trust provisions and the Principal and Income Act allocate it (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-360); no duty to investigate a beneficiary's resources before distributing (§ 53-12-245). | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-244 ↗ |
| You decide to resign without the instrument's method or a petition | At least 30 days' written notice before; where a vacancy must be filled, the resignation is effective only when the successor accepts. | Give written notice of the resignation; resignation does not relieve liability for prior acts, and the resigning trustee remains liable until the successor accepts where a vacancy must be filled. A petition to the court is served on all qualified beneficiaries. | The qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, and all cotrustees (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-220(a)(2)) | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-220 ↗ |
| You accept | A petition is possible any time after 12 months from the acceptance, and not more often than once every 12 months — optional. | A trustee may petition the court to approve an interim accounting relieving the trustee from liability for the period, with the schedules the section lists, served on the beneficiaries; a final accounting may be required or approved on resignation, removal, death or termination (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-231). | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230 ↗ |
| The settlor of a revocable trust dies | A contest is commenced within two years of the death; a contestant's written notice is followed by a proceeding within 60 days after it was sent. | The trustee may proceed to distribute under the trust provisions after the death, without liability for doing so unless the trustee knows of a pending contest or a potential contestant's written notice is followed by a proceeding within 60 days; a beneficiary of a trust determined invalid returns any distribution. A response clock — shown, never a statement that a distribution is safe. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-45 ↗ |
| A written report that adequately disclosed a claim was sent to a beneficiary | Two years after the date the beneficiary was sent the report. | A beneficiary's claim for breach of trust is barred unless a proceeding is commenced within the two years; a report adequately discloses a claim if it provides sufficient information so that the beneficiary knows of the claim or reasonably should have inquired. A rule the instrument cannot vary (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-7(a)(6)). Whether a report adequately disclosed a claim is explained, never decided. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(a) ↗ |
| No adequately disclosing report was sent | Six years after the beneficiary discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the subject of the claim. | Without a report that adequately disclosed the claim, the claim is barred unless a proceeding is commenced within the six years; a successor's claim against a predecessor within two years after taking office, and a trustee's claim against a cotrustee within two years after it arises (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(b), (c)). | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(a) ↗ |
| You notify a person that a notice or record is available in an electronic portal | At least 90 days after the notification: the person's access is not terminated without consent and the record remains available. | A portal delivery is presumed likely to result in receipt only where the person was granted access and informed that notices and records will be made available there, the record is made available and can be downloaded or otherwise preserved outside the portal, the person is notified of it, and the 90 days of access and availability run; an objection to electronic delivery defeats the presumption. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511(c)(4) ↗ |
| A record sent solely through a portal that disclosed a claim disappears, or the person's access ends without consent | Within 30 days after the event, notice of an alternative means to obtain the record avoids the tolling. | The limitation period of O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307 is tolled where a record sent solely by portal disclosed a claim and access ends without consent or the record is no longer available, unless within 30 days the beneficiary is notified of an alternative means to obtain it; the period recommences when the record is resent. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511(d) ↗ |
| You consider compensation | Before any fee is taken; no day-count. The statute's branches apply in order. | Compensation is as the trust instrument or a written agreement with the settlor provides; absent both, by an agreement with all the qualified beneficiaries or one the court approves; otherwise a corporate trustee's reasonable published schedule, and for an individual trustee one percent of principal received plus an annual fee on the principal's value at the accounting year's end — 1.75 percent of the first $500,000, $8,750 plus 1.25 percent to $1 million, $15,000 plus 1.00 percent to $2 million, $25,000 plus 0.85 percent to $5 million, $50,500 plus 0.50 percent above — prorated by the service in the year. Apportionment among trustees and successors is by time served (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-211); extra compensation by petition (§ 53-12-212). | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-210 ↗ |
| A trustee with discretion to distribute principal proposes a distribution to a second trust | The notice is delivered at least 30 days before the proposed distribution. | Unless the original instrument expressly provides otherwise, the trustee may distribute all or part of the principal to a second trust, independently or with court approval, within the section's limits, by an instrument signed and acknowledged by the trustee and filed with the original trust's records. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-62 ↗ |
| A trustee mails notice of a conversion to a unitrust | A beneficiary's written objection within 60 days after the notice was mailed prevents the conversion. | Unless the instrument expressly prohibits it, a trustee may release the power to adjust and convert the trust into a unitrust on written notice to the settlor if living, the current income beneficiaries and the remainder beneficiaries, with no written objection within the 60 days and the section's further conditions. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-362 ↗ |
| The trust is worth less than $100,000, or the annual fee is 5 percent or more of its value | After notice to the qualified beneficiaries; no day-count. | The trustee may terminate the trust on concluding that the value of the trust property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration, and distributes the property consistently with the trust's purposes; the court may modify or terminate a trust or replace the trustee on the same finding. | The qualified beneficiaries (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-2(10)) — or a person who may represent and bind a beneficiary (§ 53-12-8) | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-65 ↗ |
| A bank, buyer, title company or custodian asks for the trust | No day-count. | The trustee may present a certification of trust in lieu of the instrument: the trust's existence and date, each settlor, each current trustee and how many must act, the relevant powers and their limits, revocability, how property is titled, and that the transaction needs no other consent — signed by each trustee, stating that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in a way that would make it incorrect; recordable with the clerk of superior court. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-12-280 ↗ |
| You hold the original will of a person who has died | With reasonable promptness; no day-count. | File the will with the probate court of the county having jurisdiction; the court may attach for contempt and fine or imprison a person withholding a will until it is delivered. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-5-5 ↗Sucesión relacionada |
| A personal representative qualifies | Within six months after the qualification, unless the will provides otherwise or the court relieves the requirement. | The personal representative files an inventory of all the decedent's property with the probate court and mails a copy to the beneficiaries or heirs; the court may extend the time for good cause. | The probate court; the beneficiaries of a testate estate or the heirs of an intestate estate, by first-class mail | O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30 ↗Sucesión relacionada |
| Each anniversary of the personal representative's qualification | Within 60 days of the anniversary, each year. | The personal representative files a verified accounting of the year's receipts and expenditures with an updated inventory, with the vouchers or an affidavit of their comparison; the court may change the reporting period. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-7-67 ↗Sucesión relacionada |
| A personal representative qualifies | Within 60 days of qualification; once a week for four weeks in the county's official newspaper. Creditors have three months from the last publication; the representative has six months from the first qualification to ascertain the estate's condition. | The personal representative publishes a notice directed to all creditors to notify the representative of their claims; a creditor who fails to give notice within the three months loses equal participation with creditors of equal priority to whom distribution is made before notification. The trust answers for the estate's creditors to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-82(a)(2)(C)); claims rank by § 53-7-40. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-7-41 ↗Sucesión relacionada |
| A person dies leaving a surviving spouse or a minor child | The petition is filed within 24 months of the death. | The surviving spouse, or a guardian or other person acting for the spouse or a minor child, may petition the probate court for year's support — property for 12 months' support and maintenance, preferred before all other debts or demands (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1) — which the court sets apart (§ 53-3-7). Georgia has no elective share. | — | O.C.G.A. § 53-3-5 ↗Sucesión relacionada |
| The trust's tax year ends | By the fiduciary return's due date for the tax year, with the federal Form 1041's timing; the 2026 edition is read when published. | File the trust's Georgia fiduciary income tax return where the trust has Georgia taxable income; the rate is 4.99 percent for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026 (O.C.G.A. § 48-7-20 as 2026 HB 463 amended it). Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax (§ 48-12-1). | — | Georgia Form 501 ↗ |
| The settlor dies with a gross estate above the federal exclusion | Nine months after the death (a six-month extension is available). | File the federal estate tax return where the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the exclusion, or to elect portability of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion. Georgia levies no estate tax of its own. | — | IRS Form 706 ↗Federal |
| The trust's tax year ends | The 15th day of the fourth month after year-end (April 15 for a calendar-year trust). | File the trust's income tax return and issue a Schedule K-1 to each beneficiary who received distributable income. | — | IRS Form 1041 ↗Federal |
The estate, the creditors, and the reserve
Georgia gives a trustee no creditor procedure. Where an estate is opened, the personal representative publishes the notice to creditors within 60 days of qualification and creditors have three months from the last publication (O.C.G.A. § 53-7-41); the estate's claims rank by § 53-7-40, with year's support for the family first (§ 53-3-1). The trust's property answers for the estate's creditors to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (§ 53-12-82(a)(2)(C)). Record every claim you learn of; whether to hold a reserve before distributing is a decision the instrument, the claims and a licensed Georgia attorney of your choosing inform.
Money, taxes, and the record from day one
Open trust accounts in the trustee's name, keep trust money apart from your own, and record every receipt and disbursement as principal or income — the accounting's two statements draw on nothing else (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(2)). The trust files a Georgia fiduciary income tax return (Form 501) beside the federal Form 1041 where it has taxable income; Georgia levies no estate or inheritance tax (§ 48-12-1). Compensation follows the instrument, an agreement or the statute's default schedule (§ 53-12-210); expenses properly incurred are reimbursed (§ 53-12-213).
The checklist, printable
The first months, in order:
- Read the trust and every amendment; decide whether to accept; record how and when you accepted (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-202).
- Record the date of death — the date the trust became irrevocable (§ 53-12-242).
- Secure the house and the records; find the deeds, the statements, the will and any settlor's writing.
- List the assets by title and value; obtain a certification of trust where a custodian asks (§ 53-12-280).
- Identify the qualified beneficiaries and their representatives (§ 53-12-2(10), § 53-12-8).
- Within 60 days after the death, send the existence notice and record the method and the date for each recipient (§ 53-12-242, § 53-12-511).
- Record every creditor and claim; learn whether an estate was opened and who qualified (§ 53-7-41, § 53-12-82).
- Review the investments within a reasonable time (§ 53-12-342); keep the ledger current.
- Calendar the accounting a year from the irrevocability date (§ 53-12-243) and the two-year contest window (§ 53-12-45).
- Note the fee branch that applies before any compensation is taken (§ 53-12-210).
What to avoid in the first months
Distributing before the claims and the contest period are known (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-45; § 53-12-82); mixing trust money with your own (§ 53-12-246); paying yourself before the fee branch is settled (§ 53-12-210); acting alone where a cotrustee must join (§ 53-12-204); and treating an upload to your own file as a delivery — a notice is sent in a manner likely to result in receipt (§ 53-12-511).
When a licensed Georgia attorney is the right next call
TrusteeClear organizes the record, shows the clocks from the dates you record and prepares the existence notice and the certification of trust from your own entries; it decides nothing about who is a qualified beneficiary, whether the instrument varies a duty, whether a claim is valid or whether a distribution is protected. A licensed Georgia attorney of your choosing can advise on each of those before you act.
Preguntas frecuentes
Do I have to accept a Georgia trusteeship?
No. Acceptance is necessary to constitute a person as trustee, and a designee may preserve the property without accepting if the person rejects as soon as practicable (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-202). Acceptance may be by conduct, so acting as trustee before deciding can be acceptance.
What is the first date to record as a new Georgia trustee?
The date the trust became irrevocable — the settlor's death for a revocable trust — because the 60-day existence notice counts from it (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242(a)); then the date you accepted (§ 53-12-202), which a court accounting's 12-month eligibility runs from (§ 53-12-230).
Who gets the Georgia existence notice?
The qualified beneficiaries — the current distributees and permissible distributees of income or principal, and those who would be if the current interests ended or the trust terminated that day (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-2(10)) — or a person who may represent and bind them (§ 53-12-8).
Does a new Georgia trustee publish a notice to creditors?
No; the personal representative of an estate does (O.C.G.A. § 53-7-41). The trust answers for the estate's creditors to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (§ 53-12-82(a)(2)(C)), so the claims belong in the trustee's record.
When is the first accounting due?
The statute asks for an accounting at least annually, at termination and on a change of trustees, to the beneficiaries to whom income or principal may be distributed during the period (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)); the first year runs from the trust becoming irrevocable.
Información general sobre la ley de Georgia, no asesoramiento legal, y el uso de esta página no crea una relación abogado-cliente.