Georgia Executor and Estate Kit: the $15,000 Small Estate Route, First Month Checklist and Estate Ledger

Who it is for

Whoever is settling the estate of someone who lived in Georgia. Through a court office. Filed with the probate court of the county.

Not the right fit if

The person didn't live in or own property in Georgia, or a will contest or family dispute means you need an estate attorney. Not a form preparation or legal service.

Why it is different

• Sources, checked November 2026: Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Georgia (Nolo); Georgia Probate Court Standard Form GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (eff. July 2021); GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (eff. July 2021), as posted by the Rockdale County Probate Court; Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services: Instructions and statutory affidavit for obtaining a deceased depositor's funds (O.C.G.A. 7-1-239); Write a Will (Georgia.gov); Do I Need a Will? (Georgia Division of Aging Services, rev. August 2016); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Georgia (Nolo, updated September 2025).
• All 12 Georgia facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.

What is inside

• Georgia small estate route. A bank may pay not more than $15,000 of an intestate depositor's funds to the family on the statutory affidavit, without administration. The probate court's 'no administration necessary' order has no dollar limit. Real estate goes through the probate court's order declaring no administration necessary, a copy of which is recorded in the deed records where the property is (Nolo's summary). Real estate has its own affidavit or petition. Named on the official pages: Order declaring no administration necessary. No waiting period after the death: the probate courts' standard form GPCSF 9 (eff. July 2021) sets none. Heirs who don't sign the petition must be served at least 30 days before the court can grant it. Signed before a notary. The petition is verified under oath before a notary or the probate clerk, and each heir's consent must be sworn the same way. Through a court office. Filed with the probate court of the county. GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary. A Georgia Probate Court Standard Form. Order declaring no administration necessary: For a person who died without a will, when the estate owes no debts (or creditors consent) and all the heirs agree on how to divide it. The form sets no dollar limit. Under the deceased-depositor affidavit, the bank pays the surviving spouse first, then children, parents and siblings.
• How a Georgia will had to be signed. Two witnesses, who watch the signing and also sign. The state's page says they shouldn't be beneficiaries. Allowed. The state aging division's brochure describes a self-proving affidavit that can remove the need for witness testimony at probate; it doesn't say who takes it. Not recognized unless witnessed: Georgia.gov (updated June 2026) says a will must be signed in front of two witnesses, who also sign. It doesn't describe any handwritten-will exception. A beneficiary who witnesses could lose the gift (Nolo, citing O.C.G.A. 53-4-23).
• Georgia estate ledger (Excel). Assets, debts, payments and distributions; it compares the countable assets with $15,000 and sends real estate to its own procedure.
• First 30 days, tracker and letters. The first month in order, a documents and accounts tracker, and plain letters to a bank, a utility and Social Security.