The short answer · 9 min read
A signed Georgia trust governs only what is titled to its trustee: a deed of real property to a trust of which you are a trustee must be recorded (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-25(b)). While you are alive with the power to revoke unreleased, the trustee's duties are owed to you alone (§ 53-12-46); an amendment is a signed writing (§ 53-12-40); at your death the trust becomes irrevocable and the 60-day existence notice runs (§ 53-12-242).
Last reviewed against the Georgia Statutes and updated on 2026-10-14.
Funding: a trust governs what is titled to it
A transfer of property in trust requires a transfer of legal title to the trustee; a transfer that names the trust as grantee is deemed made to the trustee (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-25(a)). For an interest in real property to become trust property in a trust of which a transferor is a trustee, the conveyance is additionally recorded in the appropriate real property records (§ 53-12-25(b)) — so a deed signed and left in a drawer funds nothing. Accounts are retitled to the trustee or made payable to the trust on death; property may be added from any source the instrument does not prohibit and the trustee accepts (§ 53-12-26). A certification of trust (§ 53-12-280) is what a bank or a title company asks for.
While you are living: your trust, your control
A settlor has no power to modify or revoke a trust in the absence of an express reservation of that power, so a Georgia revocable trust says so (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-40(a)); a power to revoke includes a power to modify. While the settlor who reserved the power is alive and the power has not been released, the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor, the trustee has no duty to account annually to the beneficiaries or to keep them informed, and the settlor may direct the trustee as to property held for a beneficiary's personal use (§ 53-12-46(a)(1)). A trustee of a revocable trust is not liable to a beneficiary for an act performed under the written direction of the person holding the power to revoke (§ 53-12-303(b)).
Your successor trustee
The instrument names the successor and the method of acceptance; a vacancy that must be filled is filled by the person the instrument designates, then as it provides, then by the qualified beneficiaries' unanimous agreement, then by the court (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-201(e)). An individual may serve regardless of citizenship or residency (§ 53-12-200); a nonresident consents to service through the Secretary of State unless the nonresident designates a Georgia agent (§ 53-12-320). Tell your successor where the instrument is and that acceptance may be by conduct (§ 53-12-202).
Keeping it current
Any revocation or modification of an express trust is in writing and signed by the settlor (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-40(c)); in modifying the instrument, the settlor does not enlarge the trustee's duties without the trustee's express consent (§ 53-12-41), and a trustee is not liable for failing to follow an amendment of which it had no notice (§ 53-12-42). Keep the amendments with the original and tell the trustee. A marriage, a divorce, a birth, a death or a move is the usual reason to revisit the beneficiaries, the successor and the designations outside the trust.
If you can no longer manage it
A settlor's powers of revocation, amendment and distribution may be exercised by an agent under a power of attorney only to the extent the trust instrument and the power expressly authorize it (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-43(a); § 10-6B-40(a)(1)(A)), and by a conservator only to the extent the conservatorship law allows (§ 53-12-43(b)). A trust that becomes irrevocable by reason of the settlor's incapacity is treated, for the estate's creditors after the death, as a revocable trust is (§ 53-12-82(a)(2)(C)). The instrument says who serves if you cannot; the power of attorney (§ 10-6B-5) and the advance directive for health care (§ 31-32-5) say who acts for you outside the trust.
What happens at your death
The trust becomes irrevocable. 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); the accounting duty of § 53-12-243 begins; a contest is commenced within two years and the trustee may distribute meanwhile subject to a contestant's notice (§ 53-12-45); the trust's property answers for the estate's creditors to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (§ 53-12-82(a)(2)(C)); and the family's year's support, where a surviving spouse or minor child remains, is preferred before most debts (§ 53-3-1). Georgia levies no estate tax (§ 48-12-1).
Where to keep the original
With the deeds and the amendments, where the successor can find it; a copy with your attorney. Electronic records and signatures are recognized for notices, accountings and other records relating to a trust, but the writing and signature that create or declare the trust are outside that rule (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-512), so the signed original matters.
When a licensed Georgia attorney is the right next call
Whether a deed is in recordable form, whether an account should be retitled or made payable on death, how an agent's authority over the trust is worded, and whether an amendment should be a restatement are questions of the instrument and the titles. TrusteeClear organizes and explains; a licensed Georgia attorney of your choosing can read the instrument with you.
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General information about Georgia law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- Does my Georgia trust control my house if the deed was never recorded?
- For an interest in real property to become trust property in a trust of which a transferor is a trustee, the conveyance is recorded in the real property records (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-25(b)); an unrecorded deed leaves the question to the instrument and the title.
- Who does my trustee answer to while I am alive?
- To you alone, while you have reserved the power to revoke and have not released it; the annual accounting to the beneficiaries is off for that time (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-46(a)(1)).
- How do I amend my Georgia trust?
- In a writing signed by you (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-40(c)); the trustee's duties are not enlarged without the trustee's express consent (§ 53-12-41), and a trustee is not liable for following the old terms until it has notice (§ 53-12-42).
- Can my agent under a power of attorney amend or revoke the trust?
- Only to the extent the trust instrument and the power of attorney expressly authorize it (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-43; § 10-6B-40).
- What happens to the trust when I die?
- It becomes irrevocable; the trustee notifies the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242), accounts at least annually (§ 53-12-243), and distributes under the trust's provisions subject to the two-year contest period (§ 53-12-45) and the estate's creditors where the probate estate is inadequate (§ 53-12-82).
General information about Georgia law, not legal advice.