(For Effective Date, See note.) Mailing of Return to Heirs and Beneficiaries; Relieving Personal Representative of Duty to File Return

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Wills, Trusts, and Administration of Estates
  4. Administration of Estates Generally
  5. Settlement of Accounts
  6. Annual Returns and Intermediate Reports
  7. (For Effective Date, See note.) Mailing of Return to Heirs and Beneficiaries; Relieving Personal Representative of Duty to File Return

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  1. Upon filing the annual return with the probate court, the personal representative shall mail by first-class mail a copy of the return, but not the vouchers, to each heir of an intestate estate or each beneficiary of a testate estate. It shall not be necessary to mail a copy of the return to any heir or beneficiary who is not sui juris or for the court to appoint a guardian for such person. The personal representative shall file a verified statement with the probate court stating that all required mailings of the return to heirs or beneficiaries have been made.
  2. Any heir or beneficiary may waive individually the right to receive a copy of the annual return by a written statement that is delivered to the personal representative. Such waiver may be revoked in writing at any time.
  3. (For effective date, see note.) By unanimous written consent, the heirs of an intestate estate or the beneficiaries of a testate estate may authorize the probate court to relieve the personal representative from filing annual returns with them or with the court or both, in the same manner as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 53-7-1 for the granting of powers to a personal representative. Any such unanimous written consent, regardless of the date of execution, that relieves the personal representative from filing annual returns with the court shall also relieve the personal representative from sending a copy of the return to the heirs or beneficiaries.

(Code 1981, §53-7-68, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1586, § 37; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 1-50/HB 865.)

Law reviews.

- For article surveying wills, trusts, and administration of estates, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 323 (1982).

COMMENT

This new section requires the personal representative to mail a copy of the annual return to the heirs of an intestate estate or the beneficiaries of a testate estate. This section also provides that the heirs or beneficiaries may individually waive the right to receive the inventory or, by unanimous consent, relieve the personal representative of the duty to file the annual returns. Code Sec. 53-7-1(b) describes ways in which the consent of individuals who are not sui juris or who are dead may be given. Under Code Sec. 53-7-1(b), the heirs or beneficiaries may authorize the grant [of] some or all of the powers contained in Code Sec. 53-12-232. Code Sec. 53-12-232(31) allows the fiduciary to serve without making returns. Therefore, it is possible that the heirs or beneficiaries will either relieve the personal representative of the duty to make returns under subsection (b) this Code section or simply by authorizing the grant of all the powers contained in Code Sec. 53-12-232, in the manner described in Code Sec. 53-7-1(b).


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