Not sure which duties apply to your situation?
Start the free role checkKey Georgia Trust Code provisions
Duties of agents
O.C.G.A. § 10-6B-14 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Agent authority that requires specific grant; granting of general authority; prohibited authorizations; petitions for authority
O.C.G.A. § 10-6B-40 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Unauthorized practice of law forbidden
O.C.G.A. § 15-19-51 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Lawful acts by parties involved; financial services advice; legal instruments; title papers
O.C.G.A. § 15-19-52 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Voidable transfer; determination of actual intent
O.C.G.A. § 18-2-74 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Transfer or obligation voidable if incurred without receiving reasonably equivalent value
O.C.G.A. § 18-2-75 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Time for commencement of action
O.C.G.A. § 18-2-79 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Certain communications privileged
O.C.G.A. § 24-5-501 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duties and responsibilities of health care agents
O.C.G.A. § 31-32-7 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Cash surrender value and proceeds of life insurance policies and annuity contracts not liable to attachment, garnishment, or legal process in favor of creditors; proceeds becoming part of insured’s estate
O.C.G.A. § 33-25-11 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Amount of exemption; who may claim exemption; what charges enforceable
O.C.G.A. § 44-13-1 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Exemptions for purposes of bankruptcy and intestate insolvent estates
O.C.G.A. § 44-13-100 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Elimination of estate taxes and returns; prior taxable years not applicable
O.C.G.A. § 48-12-1 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Individual tax rates; credit for withholding and other payments; applicability to estates and trusts
O.C.G.A. § 48-7-20 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Claims by department against estate of Medicaid recipients
O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
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.
Final accounting
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-231 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Equitable accounting
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-232 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duties generally
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-240 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty of prudent administration
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-241 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty to inform as to existence of trust
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242 ↗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 to distribute income
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-244 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
No duty to investigate resources
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-245 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty to avoid conflict of interest
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-246 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty of impartiality
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-247 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Exercise of power of appointment
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-248 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Discretionary powers
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-260 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Powers of trustee; limitation based on fiduciary duties
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-261 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Powers of corporate fiduciaries
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-262 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Incorporation of powers by reference
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-263 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Exercise of power by trustee who is also a beneficiary
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-270 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Certification of trust by trustee
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-280 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Limitation of actions
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Investment standard
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-340 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Concentrated holdings and diversification
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-341 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duties at inception of trusteeship
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-342 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Reviewing compliance
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-343 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Delegation
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-345 ↗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.
Power of adjustment
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-361 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Conversion to unitrust
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-362 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Apportionment of receipts and disbursements when decedent dies or income interest begins
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-401 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Apportionment when income interest ends
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-402 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Limitation on action contesting validity of revocable trust
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-45 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Authority, procedures, and powers of trust directors
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-502 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Role of directors; petitioning court for instructions
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-503 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Directed trustees; role; trustee’s duty as to directed trustee; petitioning court for instructions
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-504 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Power of trustee to distribute income or principal of original trust
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-62 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Spendthrift provisions
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-80 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Limitations on creditors’ rights to discretionary distributions
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-81 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Rules for trusts; consideration of assets of an inter vivos marital trust following death
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-82 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Creditors’ claims against property that is subject to withdrawal right
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-83 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Trustee’s requirements for disclosure by custodian
O.C.G.A. § 53-13-18 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Disclosure to trustee of electronic communications
O.C.G.A. § 53-13-19 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Rules of inheritance when decedent dies without will; effect of abandonment of child
O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Vesting of title to property; right to possession
O.C.G.A. § 53-2-7 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Preference and entitlement
O.C.G.A. § 53-3-1 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Events barring right to support
O.C.G.A. § 53-3-2 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Liability of estate; priority of claims
O.C.G.A. § 53-7-40 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Georgia trustee deadlines: what the statutes provide
Reviewed against the Georgia Statutes on 2026-10-14. General information, not legal advice; the official text controls.
| When | Timing | What the statute provides | To whom | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 ↗Related estate |
| 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 ↗Related estate |
| 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 ↗Related estate |
| 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 ↗Related estate |
| 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 ↗Related estate |
| 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 |
Frequently asked questions
- What are a Georgia trustee's main duties?
- Generally, a Georgia trustee administers the trust in good faith, in accordance with its provisions and purposes (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-240); with the judgment and care of a prudent person familiar with such matters (§ 53-12-241); solely in the interests of the beneficiaries (§ 53-12-246); impartially, with due regard to income and remainder interests (§ 53-12-247); invests as a prudent investor (§ 53-12-340); gives the existence notice (§ 53-12-242); and accounts at least annually (§ 53-12-243). The common law's duties apply beside the statute's (§ 53-12-3).
- Does a Georgia trustee have to notify the beneficiaries?
- Georgia's statute provides one notice: within 60 days after the date of creation of an irrevocable trust or the date a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, 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)). No notice runs from an acceptance. Irrevocable trusts in existence on July 1, 2010 are deemed to have waived it unless the instrument says otherwise (§ 53-12-242(b)).
- When should a Georgia trustee involve an attorney?
- No statute requires one for a trust administration, and a trustee may employ and compensate attorneys, auditors and agents and be reimbursed for expenses properly incurred (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-261, § 53-12-213). Many trustees consult a licensed Georgia attorney of their choosing before a distribution, a sale, a question about who is a qualified beneficiary or what the instrument requires, or a creditor's claim.
General information about Georgia law, not legal advice.