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A Georgia will is signed by the testator and attested by two or more competent witnesses (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20); a self-proving affidavit before a notary spares the witnesses' testimony at probate (§ 53-4-24). Whoever holds the original files it with the probate court with reasonable promptness after the death (§ 53-5-5); the personal representative then settles the estate (§ 53-7-1).
Dernière vérification par rapport aux Georgia Statutes et mise à jour : 2026-10-14.
The original, and where it lives
Keep the signed original where it can be found and tell the person you named as executor where it is. A person having possession of a will files it with reasonable promptness with the probate court of the county having jurisdiction after the death, and the court may attach for contempt and fine or imprison a person withholding it (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-5). A copy with your attorney is a safeguard, not a substitute: probate proceeds on the original unless the court is satisfied about a lost or destroyed one.
How it was signed, and proving it
A will is in writing, signed by the testator or by another in the testator's presence and at the testator's express direction, and attested and subscribed in the testator's presence by two or more competent witnesses (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20); an individual 14 or older may make one (§ 53-4-10), with a decided and rational desire as to the disposition of property (§ 53-4-11). Georgia recognizes no holographic will. A will may be made self-proved, at execution or later during the lifetimes of the testator and the witnesses, by the affidavits of the testator and the attesting witnesses before a notary, evidenced by the certificate the statute prints — so the witnesses need not testify at probate (§ 53-4-24).
Your personal representative
The person you name as executor offers the will for probate (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2) and, on qualifying, is a fiduciary who settles the estate as expeditiously and with as little sacrifice of value as is reasonable (§ 53-7-1): the inventory within six months of qualification unless the will or the court relieves it (§ 53-7-30), the notice to creditors within 60 days (§ 53-7-41), the annual return within 60 days of each anniversary (§ 53-7-67), and compensation as the will or an agreement provides or by the statutory commissions (§ 53-6-60). A will that waives bond, inventory and returns changes the office's paperwork, not its duties.
What changes a will
A codicil is executed and attested with the same formality as a will (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20(c)); handwritten changes on the original are not. A later marriage, a divorce, a birth or an adoption bears on who takes and should send you back to the instrument; a will names a guardian for minor children and the executor, and both deserve a second look as the years pass.
A will and a trust together
A will governs the probate estate; a trust governs what is titled to its trustee. A "pour-over" will leaves the probate estate to the trustee of a trust, and the trust's provisions then control it — the will and the trust are read together, each by its own rules: the will's two witnesses (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20), the trust's signed writing (§ 53-12-20). A trustee named in the will to hold a testamentary trust takes office under the trust code's rules (§ 53-12-202), and the estate's interested persons include the trustee and the beneficiaries of such a trust (§ 53-5-2).
What happens at your death
The will is filed (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-5) and proved in common form or in solemn form — the latter on notice to the heirs served at least 30 days before (§ 53-5-22) — in the probate court of the county; in a county of more than 90,000 the probate court is an Article 6 court with an attorney judge (§ 15-9-120). The surviving spouse and minor children may petition for year's support within 24 months (§ 53-3-5), preferred before most debts (§ 53-3-1); claims rank by § 53-7-40; what the will does not reach passes by intestacy (§ 53-2-1). Georgia levies no estate tax (§ 48-12-1).
When a licensed Georgia attorney is the right next call
Whether the signing met the statute, whether the self-proving affidavit was done, whether a codicil or a new will is the right change, and how a will and a trust fit together are questions of the documents. TrusteeClear organizes and explains; a licensed Georgia attorney of your choosing can read them with you.
Questions fréquentes
Does a Georgia will have to be notarized?
No. A will is valid with the testator's signature and the attestation of two or more competent witnesses (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20); a notary comes in only for the self-proving affidavit, which makes the witnesses' testimony at probate unnecessary (§ 53-4-24).
What happens if I keep my original will at home?
Whoever has possession of it after your death files it with the probate court with reasonable promptness; the court may compel a person withholding a will to deliver it (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-5). Tell your executor where it is.
Can I change my Georgia will by writing on it?
A codicil is executed and attested with the same formality as a will — a signed writing with two or more witnesses (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20(c)); marks on the original are not a codicil.
What does my executor have to do after my death?
Offer the will for probate (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), and on qualifying settle the estate: the inventory within six months (§ 53-7-30), the notice to creditors within 60 days (§ 53-7-41), the annual return within 60 days of each anniversary (§ 53-7-67), and distribution by the will and the priority of claims (§ 53-7-40).
Does a will avoid probate in Georgia?
No — a will is the instruction for the probate estate. Property titled to a trustee, held with survivorship or payable by designation passes outside the will; what remains passes through the probate court under the will or, without one, by intestacy (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1).
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