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A Georgia trustee accounts at least annually, at the trust's termination and on a change of trustees to each beneficiary to whom income or principal may be distributed during the period and to any person who may revoke the trust: the receipts and disbursements of principal and income, and the assets and liabilities at the period's end (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)). A written report that adequately discloses a claim starts a two-year period (§ 53-12-307).
Dènye revizyon ak Georgia Statutes yo ak mizajou: 2026-10-14.
What Georgia asks a trustee to account for
The 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)). It goes at least annually, at the termination of the trust and upon a change of trustees — when the trustee also accounts to the successor (§ 53-12-243(b)(1)). No court rule sets its form.
Separately, on reasonable request by any qualified beneficiary, the trustee provides 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 (§ 53-12-243(a)). Net income is distributed at least annually (§ 53-12-244), allocated between principal and income under the trust's provisions and the Principal and Income Act (§ 53-12-360).
Who receives it, the waiver, and the override
The accounting goes to each beneficiary of an irrevocable trust to whom income or principal is required or authorized in the trustee's discretion to be distributed during the period covered by the report — including on the trust's termination on the period's last day — and to any person who may revoke the trust (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(1)). That is the distribution class for the period, not every qualified beneficiary and not whoever asks.
No report or accounting is owed to a beneficiary who has waived the right in writing and has not withdrawn the waiver, or to the unascertainable charitable beneficiaries of a noncharitable trust (§ 53-12-243(c)); the duties, and the common-law duty to keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed, do not apply to the extent the trust provisions provide otherwise or the settlor directed otherwise in a writing delivered to the trustee (§ 53-12-243(d)); the court may still require or excuse an accounting (§ 53-12-243(e)). While the settlor who reserved the power of revocation is alive and the power is unreleased, the duties are owed to the settlor alone (§ 53-12-46).
The record behind the accounting
Georgia has no recordkeeping section, but the accounting's two statements presuppose a ledger of every receipt and disbursement, classified between principal and income, and an asset list with values at each period's end — the same record a court accounting's schedules draw on (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230(b)). A certification of trust tells a bank how trust property is titled (§ 53-12-280), and the duty of loyalty (§ 53-12-246) is easiest to show when trust money never mixes with the trustee's own.
Dat limit administratè Georgia: sa lwa yo prevwa
Verifye ak Georgia Statutes yo nan dat 2026-10-14. Enfòmasyon jeneral, pa konsèy legal; tèks ofisyèl la ki kòmande.
| Kilè | Delè | Sa lwa a prevwa | Bay kiyès | Lwa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 ↗Siksesyon ki gen rapò |
| 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 ↗Siksesyon ki gen rapò |
| 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 ↗Siksesyon ki gen rapò |
| 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 ↗Siksesyon ki gen rapò |
| 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 ↗Siksesyon ki gen rapò |
| 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 two-year period a report can start, and the six-year path
A beneficiary's claim against the trustee for breach of trust is barred unless a proceeding is commenced within two years after the date the beneficiary was sent a written report that adequately disclosed the existence of the claim — a report adequately discloses a claim if it provides sufficient information so that the beneficiary knows of the claim or reasonably should have inquired into its existence (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(a)). Where no such report was sent, the claim is barred six years after the beneficiary discovered or reasonably should have discovered its subject. The period counts from the sending, as 2025 HB 327 wrote it, and the instrument cannot vary it (§ 53-12-7).
How a report is sent is § 53-12-511's question: 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 downloadable, the person is notified, and for at least 90 days the access and the record continue. A record sent solely through a portal that disclosed a claim tolls the period if access ends without consent or the record disappears, unless within 30 days the beneficiary is notified of an alternative means to obtain it (§ 53-12-511(d)). Whether a given report adequately disclosed a claim is a question for a licensed Georgia attorney of your choosing; the record of what was sent, when and how is what the question turns on.
At termination: the accounting and the distribution
At the termination of the trust the trustee accounts for the final period, including a termination on the period's last day, to the distribution class (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)). The distribution follows the trust's provisions; after a settlor's death it proceeds subject to the two-year contest period and a contestant's written notice (§ 53-12-45). Georgia has no distribution-upon-termination section, no statutory reserve and no proposal-and-objection procedure; a small trust may be terminated as uneconomic after notice to the qualified beneficiaries (§ 53-12-65).
When the court is involved
At any time following 12 months from the acceptance, and not more often than once every 12 months, a trustee may petition the court to approve an interim accounting relieving the trustee from liability for the period, setting out the receipts and disbursements, a principal schedule, an income schedule and the assets and liabilities, served on the beneficiaries (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230). On resignation, removal, death or termination, a beneficiary or the successor may petition to require a final accounting, or the trustee may petition to approve one (§ 53-12-231); nothing restricts an equitable accounting (§ 53-12-232). The court is the superior court, or the probate court in an Article 6 county (§ 53-12-6, § 15-9-127).
When a licensed Georgia attorney is the right next call
TrusteeClear keeps the ledger and the asset list and records each accounting you send, to whom and how; it does not prepare the accounting, decide who is in the distribution class for a period, read the instrument or the settlor's writing for an override, or conclude that a report adequately disclosed a claim. A licensed Georgia attorney of your choosing can advise on each of those.
Kesyon moun poze souvan
Who receives a Georgia trust accounting?
Each beneficiary of an irrevocable trust to whom income or principal is required or authorized to be distributed during the period, and any person who may revoke the trust; on a change of trustees, the successor as well (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(1)). A beneficiary's written waiver, the instrument or the settlor's delivered writing may displace it (§ 53-12-243(c), (d)).
How often does a Georgia trustee account?
At least annually, at the termination of the trust and upon a change of trustees (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243(b)(1)); the statute sets the cadence, not a calendar date, and the court may require or excuse an accounting (§ 53-12-243(e)).
What starts the two-year limitation period in Georgia?
The date the beneficiary was sent a written report that adequately disclosed the existence of the claim; without such a report the claim is barred six years after discovery (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(a)). A successor's claim against a predecessor runs two years from taking office (§ 53-12-307(b)).
Can a Georgia trustee deliver an accounting through an online portal?
Yes, and the delivery is presumed likely to result in receipt 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; an objection defeats the presumption (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511(c)(4)).
Does a Georgia trustee have to file accountings with a court?
No routine filing. A trustee may petition for approval of an interim accounting after 12 months from the acceptance (O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230), and a final accounting may be required or approved on resignation, removal, death or termination (§ 53-12-231).
Dispozisyon ki aplikab yo
Interim accounting
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-230 ↗Eksplikasyon klè e senp; tèks egzak lwa a poko ateste nan bibliyotèk nou an. Gade lwa ofisyèl la nan lyen ki anwo a.
Duty to provide reports and accounts
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-243 ↗Eksplikasyon klè e senp; tèks egzak lwa a poko ateste nan bibliyotèk nou an. Gade lwa ofisyèl la nan lyen ki anwo a.
Limitation of actions
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307 ↗Eksplikasyon klè e senp; tèks egzak lwa a poko ateste nan bibliyotèk nou an. Gade lwa ofisyèl la nan lyen ki anwo a.
Method of providing notice
O.C.G.A. § 53-12-511 ↗Eksplikasyon klè e senp; tèks egzak lwa a poko ateste nan bibliyotèk nou an. Gade lwa ofisyèl la nan lyen ki anwo a.
Bon pratik
- Louvri yon kont trust dedye; pa janm melanje lajan trust la ak pa ou.
- Kenbe chak resi epi anrejistre chak dekesman kou li fèt.
- Swiv byen yo nan valè dat lanmò (oswa finansman trust) ak valè aktyèl yo.
- Dokimante rezon chak distribisyon epi kenbe kominikasyon benefisyè yo.
Enfòmasyon jeneral sou lwa Jòji, se pa konsèy legal.