What happens to bank accounts when someone dies in Georgia?

The short answer

You don't have to sort every account this week. A joint account goes to the other owner on it. A payable-on-death account goes to the person named. An account in their name alone belongs to the estate, and someone needs letters from the court to reach it. With no will, a bank may pay an account of $15,000 or less to close family.

By Georgia Probate Specialist teamPublished October 18, 2026Updated October 18, 2026

On this page

01How the account is set up decides who gets it
02When the bank locks the account
03What letters from the court do
04The $15,000 rule for small accounts
05Paying for the funeral
06If you were married to them, or have young children

How the account is set up decides who gets it

Banks may use other names for these. Ask the bank to tell you, in writing, how each account is set up.

How the account is set up	Who gets the money
Joint, with another owner still living	The other owner. A will can't change that.
Payable-on-death, with a person named	The person named. A will can't change that.
In their name alone, with no one named	The estate. Someone needs letters to reach it.

For a joint account, Georgia law says the money belongs to the other owner. The one exception is clear and convincing proof that the owners meant something else when they opened it.

If two or more people are named on a payable-on-death account, they share it.

Do you need probate?

When the bank locks the account

When a bank learns of the death, it may stop payments out of an account in one name. Bills set to pay on their own can bounce.

Make a list of the bills that came out of that account. Call each one, and set up a new way to pay the ones that must go on, like the house insurance.

Don't take money out with their card or online login, even for the funeral. Until the court gives someone letters, no one has the power to act for the estate.

What letters from the court do

Letters are the court's paper that lets one person act for the estate. With letters, the person in charge can close the accounts in your loved one's name. They move the money into a new account in the estate's name.

The bank will ask for a tax number for the estate. The IRS gives one free, online.

Each bank may want its own certified copy of the letters. State law sets the fee at $10 for each certified copy.

The estate pays its bills from that account, in the order the law sets. Year's support comes first, then the funeral, then the costs of running the estate.

Letters of administration vs. testamentary Executor duties and pay

The $15,000 rule for small accounts

With no will, if the account holds $15,000 or less, the bank may pay it to close family on a sworn form. The spouse comes first, then the children, then the parents, then brothers and sisters. If no family asks within 45 days of the death, the bank may pay up to $15,000 toward funeral and last-illness bills. That rule is in the 2025 Code of Georgia (§ 7-1-239). Ask the bank.

The law lets the bank pay this way. It doesn't make the bank do it.

No Administration Necessary

Paying for the funeral

The funeral often comes before anyone has letters. A family member may pay first. Keep every receipt.

Georgia law puts the funeral second in line for estate money, after year's support. Ask a probate lawyer how a family member who paid can be paid back from the estate.

Money in a joint or payable-on-death account belongs to the person who gets it. That person can choose to use it for the funeral.

If you were married to them, or have young children

A surviving spouse, or children under 18, can ask the court for year's support. It sets aside money or property for a year of living costs. The petition is due within 24 months of the death.

Year's support

Quick answers

Questions people ask

Can I use my mom's bank account after she died?

Not if it was in her name alone. That money belongs to the estate, and someone needs letters to reach it. A joint account with you, or one that names you as payable-on-death, is yours.

Does a joint bank account go through probate in Georgia?

Usually not. The money belongs to the other owner on the account, and a will can't change that.

How do I get money out of my dad's bank account without probate?

With no will, if the account holds $15,000 or less, the bank may pay it to close family on a sworn form. Otherwise, someone usually needs letters. Ask the bank.

Does the bank freeze the account when someone dies?

It may, for an account in one name. Bills set to pay on their own can stop. Call the bank, and ask what it needs from you.

Where these facts come from9 sources

This page explains how things work. It is not legal advice. Each fact here comes from one of these sources.