SB 608: Administration of Estates; summary administration of certain estates; provide

Right now, Georgia estates generally go through a standard probate process regardless of size. This bill would add a new option called summary administration to Georgia's estate law (O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 7). Estates could qualify if the estate is worth $75,000 or less (not counting property already exempt from creditors) or if more than two years have passed since the person died, as long as the will does not require regular administration. Anyone with an interest in the estate could file a verified petition asking a court to approve summary administration. If beneficiaries or trusts are involved but do not join the petition, they must be notified. Once a court approves it, assets can be distributed immediately, and the order protects buyers and people who transfer property under it. Creditors and left-out heirs would still have limited windows, generally three months for creditors after publication and up to four years for heirs, to make claims. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.

• Creates a new, faster estate settlement process called summary administration for estates worth $75,000 or less, or for estates open more than two years, as an alternative to standard probate.
• Lets any person with an interest in an estate file a verified petition asking a court to approve summary administration and immediate distribution of assets.
• Requires notice to beneficiaries or trustees who do not join the petition, using the same notice rules as other estate proceedings.
• Sets creditor protections, including a duty to search for creditors before distribution and a right for missed creditors to later collect and recover attorney's fees.
• Gives heirs left out of the process up to four years to enforce their rights against whoever obtained the summary administration order.
• Makes beneficiaries who receive estate property personally responsible, up to the value they received, for a fair share of valid creditor claims.

People handling a deceased relative's estate, heirs and beneficiaries, creditors owed money by an estate, trustees and trust beneficiaries named in an estate, and buyers who purchase property that came from an estate through this new process.

Families dealing with small estates or ones left unresolved for years could settle them faster and with less court involvement than standard probate requires. At the same time, creditors and heirs who are not part of the initial petition would have limited time windows to raise claims or object.

• Code Section 53-7-101 sets eligibility: estates worth $75,000 or less after exempt property, or estates where more than two years have passed since death, and the will does not require regular administration.
• Code Section 53-7-102 requires a verified petition and notice to any beneficiaries or trustees who do not sign onto it.
• Code Section 53-7-103 requires a creditor search affidavit before distribution if the death occurred less than two years earlier, and lets missed creditors sue later and recover attorney's fees.
• Code Section 53-7-103 also lets courts order immediate distribution of assets and shields good-faith purchasers of estate property from later creditor claims.
• Code Section 53-7-104 sets a three-month deadline for unknown creditors to file claims after the order is published, or their claims are barred.
• Code Section 53-7-104 makes beneficiaries personally liable, up to the value of what they received, for a share of valid creditor claims against the estate.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)Primary sponsor
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)

• estate administration
• probate law
• inheritance
• creditor claims
• wills and estates