HB 327: Official Code of Georgia Annotated; amend various titles

Georgia law governing wills, trusts, estates, and related family law provisions is spread across Titles 7, 10, 19, 29, 44, and 53 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. This bill amends dozens of those Code sections at once. It updates the rules for trust directors (people given specific powers over a trust without being a full trustee), clarifies how trustees can be appointed, removed, or held liable, and creates new statewide rules for electronic trust records and signatures. The bill also updates family law by replacing references to 'artificial insemination' with the broader term 'assisted reproduction,' including in vitro fertilization, across birth registration, legitimation, and inheritance statutes. It expands DNA testing procedures for determining kinship in probate disputes, sets new notice and reporting duties for personal representatives of estates, and raises the amount of money probate judges may distribute to minors or people needing a conservator from $15,000 to $25,000. Most changes take effect as part of the ongoing revision of Georgia's Title 53 trust and estate code enacted through this Act.

• Rewrites large parts of Georgia's trust code (Title 53) covering trustee appointment, removal, powers, duties, and the role of 'trust directors' who hold specific powers over a trust.
• Replaces references to 'artificial insemination' with the broader term 'assisted reproduction' (including in vitro fertilization) throughout birth, legitimation, and inheritance statutes.
• Raises the amount of money a probate court judge may distribute directly to minors or adults needing a conservator, from $15,000 to $25,000 (O.C.G.A. § 29-6-1).
• Creates detailed new procedures for court-ordered DNA testing to resolve kinship disputes in probate cases, including rules on disinterment, costs, and privacy of genetic material.
• Establishes statewide rules allowing electronic records and electronic signatures for trust administration, notices, and reports.
• Adds new notice, accounting, and creditor-claim procedures that personal representatives of estates must follow, including timelines for filing annual returns and notifying beneficiaries.

Trustees, trust directors, and beneficiaries of Georgia trusts; personal representatives and heirs handling estates; probate and superior court judges; banks and trust companies acting as fiduciaries; parents and children involved in legitimation, paternity, or assisted reproduction cases; and institutions managing charitable gifts or endowments.

The bill changes how trusts and estates are administered day to day in Georgia, including who can be a trustee, how disputes over inheritance and paternity get resolved, and how much money probate courts can hand over to minors without a formal guardian, affecting families settling estates and children born outside traditional marriage or through fertility treatment.

• Section 19 raises the probate court's discretionary distribution cap for minors and adults needing a conservator from $15,000 to $25,000.
• Sections 33-48 rewrite Title 53's inheritance rules for children born out of wedlock, adding detailed standards for proving paternity, including DNA testing and sworn acknowledgments.
• Section 46 creates an extensive new DNA testing procedure (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-27) for resolving kinship disputes in estate cases, covering disinterment, lab standards, costs, and confidentiality of genetic material.
• Sections 64-95 substantially revise Georgia's trust code, updating definitions of 'donor,' 'qualified beneficiary,' and 'trust instrument,' and clarifying trustee and trust director duties, removal standards, and liability limits.
• Section 96 adds a new article (53-12-510 to 53-12-513) allowing electronic notices, records, and signatures for trust administration, aligning with federal e-signature law.
• Sections 10-22 replace 'artificial insemination' with 'assisted reproduction' across multiple family law and vital records statutes governing legitimacy and parental rights.
• Section 28 updates the standard of care for institutions managing charitable gifts, allowing consideration of a donor's personal values in investment decisions.
• Section 92 updates unitrust conversion procedures, changing references from superior court to the court generally.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-14Act 310
3. 2025-05-14House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-31Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-31Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2025-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
• Mary Margaret Oliver (D, HD-84)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-57)
• John F. Kennedy (R, SD-18)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2025

   176 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 2 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #129

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2025

   49 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 2 excused)

   PASSAGE: Senate Vote #368

• trusts and estates
• probate law
• paternity and legitimation
• assisted reproduction law
• DNA testing