When a loved one passes away, you may expect to receive certain assets and pieces of property as part of an inheritance. However, unless your loved one set up a living trust or followed a similar process, your loved one’s property could end up in Georgia probate court.
The probate process in Georgia takes several months or longer to conclude. This can be frustrating, as you may be counting on the assets you’ll receive to work through a financial situation. To help with these concerns, you may apply for a cash advance on your inheritance from Rockpoint Probate Funding while the case remains in probate.
We’ll discuss how Georgia probate law works, helping you determine whether a cash advance is a good idea for your situation.
How Long Does Georgia Probate Take?
Although a typical Georgia estate will require eight to 12 months to go through probate, some cases take quite a bit longer, based on a few considerations.
- Complexity: If estates have unusual assets or a significant number of creditors, they can take longer to move through Georgia probate.
- Value: Estates with a significant amount of value need longer to go through probate because of the time required to take inventory.
- Disputes: If the heirs or creditors are arguing about the distribution of the assets, probate takes significantly longer to complete.
Ways To Speed Up Georgia Probate
If your loved one dies without a will, the probate court may apply intestate succession in an attempt to speed up the process. Georgia Code § 53-2-1 spells out the distribution under these circumstances. The recipients could include a spouse, children, step-children, siblings, parents, and others, depending on who is surviving.
Another way to speed up the process in Georgia is through Georgia Code § 7-1-239.1. If an heir will receive money from a bank account worth less than $15,000, probate may not be necessary. This statute is sometimes called the small estate affidavit.
However, even with these provisions, the estate distribution process in Georgia probate can still take several months or longer. Because of these delays, some people consider seeking a cash advance on the inheritance from Rockpoint Probate Funding.
Executor of the Estate
Once an estate is in Georgia probate, the court will name someone as an executor for the case. If a will exists, the will lists the executor. If no will exists, the court will select someone as a personal representative. Both people do the same jobs regarding the distribution of the estate.
The executor takes several steps, including:
- Publishing notification of the person’s death in a local newspaper
- Giving creditors up to 60 days to file any claims
- Creating a list of the estate’s inventory
- Appraising the value of the items in the inventory
- Paying any creditors for the estate
- Paying any taxes that the estate owes
- Selling assets as necessary to pay creditors and taxes
- Distributing the remaining assets to the heirs
- Closing the Georgia probate process with a formal court filing
Georgia Code § 53-6-60 specifies the executor compensation. Executors can receive a payment for the time they spend working on items for the estate.
Why Is Georgia Probate Necessary?
Probate is a legal process that often must occur after someone dies. The court oversees the transfer of the decedent’s assets to the heirs, following all legal requirements. Probate also attempts to ensure that your loved one’s wishes are fulfilled in the distribution of assets.
Should disputes occur over the inheritance or unknown creditors suddenly decide to file a claim against the estate, probate can sort through these issues.
Following these legal requirements can take several months, even in a simple asset inheritance case in Georgia. With disputes involved, the process could take a year or longer.
Can We Just Skip Probate?
A few situations allow the family to avoid having to go through probate. However, your loved one usually needs to do some estate planning ahead of time to take advantage of these options.
- Joint tenancy: When the decedent jointly owns the assets together with a spouse or another heir, the assets automatically pass to the other owners.
- Beneficiary: For an asset with a direct beneficiary named, such as a life insurance policy or a retirement account, the asset can be passed directly to that person.
- Living trust: Upon the decedent’s death, assets can pass into a revocable living trust that the decedent set up earlier. With no assets in the decedent’s name, there’s no reason to go to probate. The instructions with the trust determine how and when the assets pass to the heirs.
- Transfer on death deed: With some assets, your loved one in Georgia may create a transfer on death deed. This document would pass the asset directly to the person listed on the deed upon your loved one’s death.
- Heirs in agreement: As one final option, Georgia Code § 53-1-2 allows the heirs to ask the court to skip probate if they all agree on the distribution of assets. Creditors would need to agree, too. This process is possible even if the decedent did not leave a will.
Trust Rockpoint Probate Funding for Help With Seeking a Cash Advance
Should your loved one’s assets be unable to skip probate, receiving your inheritance could become a drawn-out process. You may need to follow a lot of steps over several months. Not every probate case in the state goes smoothly, lengthening the process.
If your loved one’s estate seems to be stuck in Georgia probate with no sign of resolving, you could gain access to the value of some of the assets early. At Rockpoint Probate Funding, we can help determine whether a cash advance is a good idea.
We use the value of your inheritance to determine the amount you could receive in a cash advance. We do not rely on your employment history or credit score, and you can use the money however you see fit. Reach out to us today at (888) 263-8588 for a free discussion of your situation.
