HomeProbate checklist: lawyer vs. family
Georgia probate guide
What does a probate lawyer do, and what is left for the family?
The short answer
A probate lawyer handles the court side. That means the forms, the filings, the notices and the hearings. Most of the rest falls to the family. Someone has to find the papers and keep the house safe. Someone pays the bills, sorts the belongings and keeps the heirs in the loop. A lawyer helps, but the person in charge still answers to the court.
By Georgia Probate Specialist team
On this page
Who does what: the chart
Most families think the lawyer handles everything. The lawyer handles the court. The family handles almost everything else.
The lawyer usually handles
6jobs
- Court forms
- Filing with the court
- Legal notices
- Hearings
- Deeds
- Closing the estate
The family still handles
12jobs
- Papers and bills
- Death certificates
- House checks
- Insurance
- Power and water
- The mail
- Banks and Social Security
- Belongings
- Paying bills
- Receipts
- The heirs
- Keep or sell
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Every lawyer works a little differently, and it depends on what you hire them for. This is the usual split.
A lawyer hired for the estate works for the person in charge, not for each heir. The person in charge is still the one the court holds to every deadline.
Things families forget
These don't show up on the court's list, so they slip. Each one can cost the estate money if no one catches it.
- Bills set to pay on their own.Some keep running after a death.
- Subscriptions and memberships on a credit card.
- Property tax bills.They may go to the house, where no one reads the mail.
- The home insurance.Ask what happens once the house sits empty.
- A car that needs to be moved, insured or sold.
- Life insurance and retirement plans.Call each one and ask who is named.
- A safe deposit box, and who can open it.
- Phone plans and online accounts.
- The last income tax return.Someone still has to file it.
- Medicaid.If your loved one got it for nursing home care, the state may have a claim.
- A reverse mortgage.The lender has its own clock after a death.
The court's deadlines, in order
These are the steps the court expects once someone has letters. A lawyer can track them. The person in charge is the one who has to meet them.
Letters
The court gives the person in charge letters. Now they can act for the estate.
Right after
Open a bank account in the estate's name. The bank will ask for a tax number for the estate. The IRS gives one free, online.
Within 60 days
The notice to creditors starts running in the county paper.
3 months later
Creditors' time to come forward ends, 3 months after the last notice runs.
Within 6 months
An inventory of what the estate owns is due, unless the will or every heir excuses it.
Each year
A yearly report of money in and out is due, unless it was excused.
At the end
Debts get paid in the order the law sets. The heirs get the rest. Then the person in charge asks the court to let them go.
Official court forms
Questions to ask a lawyer first
A good lawyer is worth having when the estate needs one. Go in knowing what you are paying for. The court can set the lawyer's fee if you or the lawyer ask it to.
- Which jobs on the chart will you do, and which are mine?
- How do you charge? By the hour, a flat fee, or another way?
- Who will I talk to, and how fast do you call back?
- Will you help with the house, or only with the court?
- What happens if an heir objects?
Where we come in
Look at the family's side of the chart again. Most of it is about the house and what is in it. That is the side we know.
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We can go look at the house, point you to local people we trust, and lay out your options for it. A printed copy of this checklist comes in the free package.
We are not a law firm, and we don't file anything for you. The court side stays with you or your lawyer.
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Does the probate lawyer clean out the house?
Usually not. Sorting belongings, cleaning and repairs fall to the family or the person in charge. The estate can pay for the work.
Does a probate lawyer pay the estate's bills?
Usually the person in charge pays them from the estate's bank account. The lawyer can tell you the order Georgia law sets for paying debts.
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Georgia?
Not always. Georgia lets families file on their own, and some courts run free clinics. Many families hire one when the heirs disagree or the estate owes a lot.
Who keeps the estate's receipts?
The person in charge. The yearly report and the final steps list what came in and went out, so keep every receipt.
Where these facts come from15 sources
This page explains how things work. It is not legal advice. Each fact here comes from one of these sources.
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6, hiring a lawyer for the estate
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-1, powers and duties of the personal representative
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-41, notice to creditors
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30, inventory within six months
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-32, all heirs can excuse the inventory (a will can too, § 53-7-33)
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-67, yearly return
- GPCSF 32, Petition by Personal Representative for Waiver of Bond and/or Grant of Certain Powers
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-40, the order an estate pays its debts
- O.C.G.A. § 53-8-15, assent: handing property to the heirs
- O.C.G.A. § 53-7-50, discharge of the personal representative
- GPCSF 33, Petition for Discharge of Personal Representative
- IRS, Get an employer identification number (free, online)
- IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person
- Georgia Medicaid (DCH), Medicaid and Estate Recovery fact sheet (Sept. 2017)
- 24 CFR 206.125, reverse mortgage (HECM) after the borrower dies