Records · 5 min read
What the accounting contains
An accounting contains a statement of receipts and disbursements of principal and income that have occurred during the last complete fiscal year of the trust or since the last accounting to that beneficiary, and a statement of the assets and liabilities of the trust as of the end of the accounting period (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(2)). Every receipt and every disbursement, classified between principal and income, and every asset with its value at the period's end, is the record the statements are made from.
The court's schedules
A petition to approve an interim accounting — possible after 12 months from the acceptance, and not more often than every 12 months — sets out the receipts and disbursements since the acceptance or the last accounting; a principal schedule with the principal on hand at the start, additions with dates and sources, assets collected, sold or charged off with the gain or loss, investments made with date, source and cost, deductions with date and purpose, and the principal on hand at the end with each investment's estimated market value; an income schedule; and the assets and liabilities at the period's end (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230(b)). A final accounting carries the same information (§ 53-12-231). A ledger kept this way from day one answers both.
Principal and income
In allocating receipts and disbursements between principal and income, a trustee follows the governing instrument, then any discretionary power of administration it gives, then the Georgia Principal and Income Act (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-360). A receipt or disbursement due before an income interest begins goes to principal and a periodic one due on or after that date to income (§ 53-12-401); when a mandatory income interest ends, the undistributed net income goes to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's estate (§ 53-12-402). A bank's transaction category is not a fiduciary classification; the classification is the trustee's, with counsel where the instrument is unclear.
The delivery record
Because the two-year limitation period runs from the date a written report that adequately disclosed a claim was sent (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(a)), the record of what was sent, when, to whom and how matters as much as the accounting itself. Notice or a record is accomplished in a manner likely to result in receipt — personal delivery, registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, a consented electronic address, or an electronic portal where the person was granted access and told records would be there, the record is made available and can be downloaded, the person is notified, and for at least 90 days the access and the record continue (§ 53-12-511(c)). A record counts as made available only if it can be preserved outside the portal (§ 53-12-511(e)(3)); electronic records and signatures satisfy a writing requirement for notices and accountings (§ 53-12-512).
The statutes, verbatim
Interim accounting
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty to provide reports and accounts
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty of trustee as to receipts and disbursements within scope of Article 17
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-360 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Method of providing notice
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Common questions
Does Georgia require a trustee to keep records?
No section says so in those words, but the accounting's contents — receipts and disbursements of principal and income, and the assets and liabilities at each period's end (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(2)) — and the court's schedules (§ 53-12-230) presuppose a record kept from the start.
How long must a Georgia trustee keep the records?
The statute states no retention period for a trustee's own records. The limitation period a report starts runs two years from its sending, and six years from discovery where no adequately disclosing report was sent (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307), and a portal record must stay available at least 90 days after its notification (§ 53-12-511).
Is an email a valid way to send a Georgia accounting?
Sending to an electronic address the person has consented to use is presumed likely to result in receipt; consent arises from providing or using the address for trust matters (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511(c)(3), (e)(1)); an objection defeats the presumption.
Related reading
The Learning Center is general information about Georgia law — not legal advice, and not a substitute for advice from a licensed Georgia attorney about your specific facts. TrusteeClear is software, not a law firm.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Georgia require a trustee to keep records?
- No section says so in those words, but the accounting's contents — receipts and disbursements of principal and income, and the assets and liabilities at each period's end (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(2)) — and the court's schedules (§ 53-12-230) presuppose a record kept from the start.
- How long must a Georgia trustee keep the records?
- The statute states no retention period for a trustee's own records. The limitation period a report starts runs two years from its sending, and six years from discovery where no adequately disclosing report was sent (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307), and a portal record must stay available at least 90 days after its notification (§ 53-12-511).
- Is an email a valid way to send a Georgia accounting?
- Sending to an electronic address the person has consented to use is presumed likely to result in receipt; consent arises from providing or using the address for trust matters (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511(c)(3), (e)(1)); an objection defeats the presumption.
General information about Georgia law, not legal advice.