Small estate affidavit in Georgia (2026)

Georgia at a glance

Affidavit cap

$15,000

Value counted

Gross value (debts not subtracted)

Waiting period

None

If there is a will

Can't be used (only when there is no will)

File with a court

No

Real estate

Not covered

Court shortcut

Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (O.C.G.A. 53-2-40)

Can you use it?

Enter the date of death and the value. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

A worked example for Georgia

Say a parent who lived in Georgia died on March 1, 2026, leaving $12,000 in a bank account in their name only and no house. $12,000 is within the $15,000 cap for that date of death, so the family can use the affidavit right away.

The rules in Georgia

• The affidavit. If the decedent left no will, a bank may pay a deposit of up to $15,000 directly to the closest relative on that relative's affidavit, without any estate administration. Nothing is filed with a court; all other property needs a probate court order.
• Cap. A bank may release up to $15,000 of an intestate decedent's deposit to the surviving spouse or next relative on affidavit.
• What counts. A deposit in a financial institution (federally or state chartered, incl. other states' insured institutions); the cap applies per deposit at that institution.
• What doesn't count. Everything that is not a bank deposit (real estate, vehicles, securities, other personal property); multi-party/POD accounts governed by Article 8 of O.C.G.A. ch. 7-1.
• Waiting period. No waiting period for family claimants. (If no relative applies within 45 days of death, the bank may instead pay up to $15,000 toward funeral and last-illness bills.)
• Conditions. Decedent must have died intestate. Affidavit must state the claimant's relationship, that there is no known will, and that there are no other known claimants to the deposit. The statute does not expressly bar use while administration is pending.
• Who can sign. In order: surviving spouse; if none, children pro rata; if none, father and mother pro rata; if none, brothers and sisters pro rata.
• Court filing. The bank affidavit is not filed in court. The no-administration route (O.C.G.A. 53-2-40) is a probate court petition.

Houses, land and vehicles

• Real estate. No affidavit for land. Real estate of an intestate decedent can pass by a probate court Order Declaring No Administration Necessary, which must describe the land in the heirs' signed division agreement; otherwise administration is needed.
• Vehicles. At the county tag office: Form MV-1, the title, a certified death certificate and an inheritance document: Letters Testamentary, Year's Support, or Form T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance (no will, no administration, estate not indebted, heirs agree; attach any will that will not be probated). A No Administration Necessary order may replace T-20 only if there is one heir. $18 title fee.

When the affidavit isn't enough

Probate court petition (standard form GPCSF 9) for intestate estates with no dollar cap: all heirs must sign an agreed division, and the estate must owe no debts or every creditor must consent or be served. Notice runs 30 days; if no objection the court may grant it without a hearing.

Good to know in Georgia

• Source limitation: the official Georgia Code is published only through a LexisNexis site behind a terms-of-use gate, and Justia's copy returned a bot challenge, so the $15,000 figure and wording come from the 2019 enacted bill (HB 490) on legis.ga.gov, not from a current code printout. HB 490 raised the cap from $10,000 and shortened the funeral-provider window from 90 to 45 days. A later amendment was not found but could not be ruled out from the codified text.
• Payment under 7-1-239 fully discharges the bank; it is not a general small-estate affidavit and does not reach property other than bank deposits.
• The No Administration Necessary form (GPCSF 9) is for intestate estates only; testate estates generally go through probate of the will.
• Georgia also has a year's support proceeding for a surviving spouse/minor children (not covered here).
• The same $15,000 cap and order (spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings) lets a bank redeem a check or instrument payable to an intestate decedent (O.C.G.A. 7-1-239.1(a), amended by 2019 HB 490 s.2).

Official help and forms

• Georgia official self-help on small estates
• Georgia small-estate form

Sources

• 2019 HB 490 (amending O.C.G.A. 7-1-239), Georgia General Assembly (read October 23, 2026)
• Georgia Probate Court Standard Form 9 - Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (read October 23, 2026)
• Georgia DOR - Vehicle Inherited or Purchased from an Estate (read October 23, 2026)
• Georgia DOR Form T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance (read October 23, 2026)

Legal information, not legal advice. Caps and forms change — confirm with the court or the statute before you sign. How we check: methodology.