Georgia
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

The 72-hour rule.

The funeral director who first assumes custody of the body has to file the certificate of death within 72 hours. The certificate must reach the local registrar of the county where the death occurred or the body was found within ten days after the death. Separately, before the body can be cremated or moved out of state, the funeral director needs a disposition permit from the local registrar. (O.C.G.A. 31-10-15(a), (b); 31-10-20)

Who files it.

The funeral director or person in charge of final disposition files the death certificate with the local registrar. The physician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition that caused the death must complete, sign, and return the medical certification to the funeral director within 72 hours after the death, unless the Georgia Death Investigation Act requires an inquiry. If the cause can't be determined within 48 hours, final disposition waits until the attending physician, coroner, or medical examiner authorizes it. (O.C.G.A. 31-10-15(c))

Who can order copies.

Immediate family members, legal representatives, and persons with a direct and tangible interest can order certified copies. Since April 22, 2026, that includes a beneficiary named in a transfer on death deed (O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26).

• -Georgia DPH Vital Records: dph.georgia.gov
• -Cost: $25 for first copy, $5 for each additional copy ordered at the same time
• -Expedited service available through VitalChek

Who can order a death certificate in Georgia?

Certified copies go to people with a direct and tangible interest: a legal spouse, adult children, adult siblings, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, or someone with a tangible interest such as a beneficiary or an insurer. Anyone can order a plain-paper copy with the Social Security number redacted. Certified copies come from Georgia's State Office of Vital Records, Georgia Department of Public Health, in Atlanta; county vital records offices issue copies too, online through the state's ROVER portal or through GoCertificates or VitalChek, in person, or by mail with Form 3912 to the state or county office.

How do I get a death certificate in Georgia?

Order certified copies from Georgia's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Georgia?

$25 per certified copy in Georgia, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

When probate is required.

Georgia doesn't have a simple dollar-threshold for probate. However, simplified procedures exist: estates with bank accounts under $15,000 and no will may use an affidavit. A Year's Support petition (O.C.G.A. 53-3-1) can transfer property to a surviving spouse or minor children without full probate.

If you die without a will.

Georgia intestate succession (O.C.G.A. 53-2-1) determines who inherits:

• -Spouse + descendants: spouse and descendants inherit equally; spouse gets at least one-third
• -Spouse only (no descendants): spouse gets everything
• -No spouse, descendants survive: descendants inherit equally
• -No spouse or descendants: parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives

What goes through probate.

Only assets owned solely by the deceased without beneficiary designations. Joint tenancy property, accounts with named beneficiaries, and life insurance pass outside probate automatically.

Handwritten wills.

Georgia doesn't accept an unwitnessed handwritten will. Every will has to be signed and then attested and signed by two or more competent witnesses in the person's presence (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20). Georgia has no rule that accepts a will just because it was valid where it was signed.

Source: O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20 (unofficial copy of the official code, Public.Resource.Org) ↗Source: HB 327 (2025), amending § 53-4-20 (Office of the Governor) ↗

What is the small-estate limit in Georgia?

$15,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Georgia?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Georgia allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Yes. Georgia authorizes the transfer on death deed under O.C.G.A. §§ 44-17-1 through 44-17-7 (Title 44, Ch. 17). Record it while you’re alive and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death, outside probate, revocable any time before then. After the owner dies, each beneficiary has to sign an affidavit, attach the death certificate, and record it with the clerk of superior court before the transfer is complete (O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2, as amended by HB 413 on April 22, 2026). The nine-month recording deadline that applied to deaths after July 1, 2024 was struck from the statute. Record promptly anyway, and ask the clerk or a Georgia attorney which deadline applies to your death date.

Source: O.C.G.A. §§ 44-17-1 through 44-17-7 (Title 44, Ch. 17) ↗

Time off work after a death in Georgia

Georgia doesn't require a private employer to give bereavement leave, paid or unpaid. Whatever you get is your employer's policy, and it can be changed or refused.

Who it covers. No one. No Georgia employer is required to give time off after a death.

How much. 0 required

Paid or unpaid. n/a (no mandate)

Readers often confuse Georgia's Family Care Act with bereavement leave. Under O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10, an employer with 25 or more employees that already provides sick leave has to let an employee use up to five days of earned sick leave per calendar year to care for an immediate family member, defined as a child, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, or parent, or a dependent shown on the employee's most recent tax return. An 'employee' there means someone who works at least 30 hours a week. It doesn't require anyone to offer sick leave, it doesn't apply to an employer that offers an employee stock ownership plan, and it creates no new cause of action. It covers care of someone living, so it gives nothing after a death. The 2017 version repealed itself on July 1, 2020 unless extended; SB 61 in 2023 removed the repealer, so the section is permanent now. No pregnancy loss leave in Georgia law either.

Source: None. Georgia has no bereavement leave statute. The nearest law is the Family Care Act, O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10, enacted by SB 201 (2017) and made permanent by SB 61 (2023, Act 90), which governs sick leave used to care for a living relative. ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Georgia?

Yes. Georgia enforces pet trusts under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-28, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when your animal dies, or when the last of them dies if you covered more than one, and Georgia sets no year limit on it. Whoever you name in the trust instrument enforces it, and if you name nobody a court appoints someone. Anyone who cares about your animal can ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one who isn't doing the job, and since 2011 that person counts as a beneficiary of the trust, so the trustee has to keep them informed and show them where the money went. Georgia gives no judge the power to cut a pet trust back for holding more than the animal needs, so whatever you fund it with stays in it. Say in the trust where money left at the end should go; if you don't, it falls to your will's residuary clause, and after that to you if you're living or to your heirs if you aren't.

Source: O.C.G.A. § 53-12-28 ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Georgia and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Georgia, O.C.G.A. §§ 53-2-1, 53-2-51 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): the spouse is the sole heir and takes everything.
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): parents change nothing, the spouse is still the sole heir.
• -Spouse + joint descendants: the spouse and children share equally, but the spouse never gets less than one-third.
• -Spouse + blended family: same rule, equal shares with all the decedent's children, spouse guaranteed at least one-third.
• -Source: O.C.G.A. §§ 53-2-1, 53-2-51

Children's shares.

With no spouse, the children take equal shares, and a deceased child's descendants take that child's share per stirpes.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After children come parents, then siblings (a deceased sibling's descendants take per stirpes, and if no sibling survives, nieces and nephews take equally), then grandparents, then uncles and aunts (then first cousins), then the nearest degree of kinship: and if no heir claims within four years, the property goes to the county board of education (O.C.G.A. § 53-2-51).

At a Glance

Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care.

Georgia uses one combined document instead of a separate living will and healthcare power of attorney: the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care. Under O.C.G.A. 31-32-5, any person of sound mind who's 18 or older or emancipated may sign a document that appoints a health care agent, directs the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures, or does both. It takes two witnesses, each of sound mind and at least 18. They don't have to be in the room at the same time, and no notary is required.

POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment).

Georgia recognizes POLST as a medical order for seriously ill patients (O.C.G.A. 31-1-14). A POLST is signed by a physician and travels with the patient across healthcare settings. Unlike an advance directive, a POLST is a medical order.

Where do I get Georgia's advance directive form?

Start with O.C.G.A. 31-32-5 (Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care), linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Georgia require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Georgia requires 2 adult witnesses; notarization isn’t required. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

Cremation regulations.

Georgia sets no waiting period before cremation. What it requires is paperwork: a disposition permit for cremation from the local registrar (O.C.G.A. 31-10-20), a cremation authorization from whoever holds the right to control disposition under O.C.G.A. 31-21-7, and a licensed crematory (O.C.G.A. 43-18-72). Embalming isn't legally required. Burial vaults or grave liners aren't required by state law.

Right of disposition.

O.C.G.A. 31-21-7(b) sets the order: your health care agent under an advance directive, then a designee on a military DD Form 93, then anyone you designated in an affidavit, then your surviving spouse, then your children by majority vote, then your parents, then your siblings by majority vote, then your grandparents by majority vote, then your guardian, then the personal representative of your estate, then the next degree of kinship.

Green burial and organic human reduction.

Green burial is permitted in Georgia. Organic human reduction, the process most states call human composting or natural organic reduction, became legal on July 1, 2025 under Act 82 (SB 241, 2025). The act requires a facility to be licensed by the State Board of Funeral Service, with a limited exception for licensed funeral establishments and crematories, and the Board's rules for those facilities took effect June 10, 2026.

Burying on your own land.

Georgia treats a private, noncommercial burial ground as a family burial plot, and since July 1, 2026 you need a permit from your county or city before you establish one (O.C.G.A. § 36-72A-2). The land has to be at least half an acre, with a permanent access easement for the county or city and for the family and descendants, and a covenant that binds every later owner to maintain the plot. The plot can't sit in a flood plain or within 100 feet of a water well, a registered land surveyor has to map its boundaries, and burial rights can't be sold. Remains have to go in a grave space, a mausoleum, or a columbarium. Burying without a permit can cost up to $5,000 per violation, and a court can order the remains moved. Your county or city can add its own requirements and charge an application fee.

Source: Georgia SB 146 (Act 486, 2026), as signed (Office of the Governor) ↗

Who decides what happens to the body in Georgia

Georgia sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. health care agent as defined in O.C.G.A. § 31-32-2 (the agent named in a Georgia advance directive for health care)
2. DD Form 93 designee, if the decedent died while serving in the armed forces
3. person designated by the decedent in a notarized right-of-disposition affidavit under § 31-21-7(b)(2)(B)
4. surviving spouse
5. sole surviving child, or a majority of surviving children (fewer than half may act if they used reasonable efforts to notify the rest and know of no opposition from more than half)
6. surviving parent or parents (the remaining parent may act alone after reasonable but unsuccessful efforts to locate the absent parent)
7. surviving sibling, or a majority of surviving siblings (same fewer-than-half rule)
8. surviving grandparent, or a majority of surviving grandparents (same fewer-than-half rule)
9. guardian of the person at the time of death, if one had been appointed
10. personal representative of the estate
11. next degree of kinship under descent and distribution (any one person of that degree may act)
12. the responsible public officer, administrator or employee, where disposition is the state's or a political subdivision's responsibility
13. any other willing person, including the funeral director with custody, after attesting in writing to a failed good-faith effort to reach tiers 1-11

Naming someone in advance. Two instruments, and the advance directive outranks the standalone form. First priority is the health care agent named in a Georgia advance directive for health care (O.C.G.A. § 31-32-2); no separate disposition appointment is needed if an advance directive names an agent. Third priority is a dedicated affidavit executed before a notary public in substantially the form set out in § 31-21-7(b)(2)(B), in which the declarant designates a person with the right to control disposition and may attach specific directions the designee must substantially comply with, provided they are lawful and the estate has sufficient resources. A preneed contract under § 31-21-7(a) can separately lock in disposition directions.

When the same tier disagrees. Section 31-21-7(d): the probate court for the county where the decedent resided may award the right of disposition to the person it finds most fit and appropriate and may make decisions about the remains when those sharing the right cannot agree. Where two or more people of the same relationship cannot decide by majority vote, any of them or the funeral home with custody may petition. The court weighs the reasonableness and practicality of the proposed arrangements, the degree of personal relationship with the decedent, the desires of whoever is ready and able to pay, the convenience and needs of other family and friends, the decedent's desires, and how far the arrangements allow participation. Pending a court order or a signed written agreement, a funeral home may refuse to accept or dispose of the remains without liability and may embalm or refrigerate and shelter the body and add that cost, plus legal fees and court costs, to the final disposition bill.

Georgia forfeits the right of disposition in four situations under § 31-21-7(c): being charged with murder or voluntary manslaughter in connection with the decedent's death where the charges are known to the funeral director (the right returns if the charges are dismissed or the person is acquitted), failing to exercise the right within two days of notification of the death or three days of the death, whichever is earlier, being a spouse with a petition to dissolve the marriage pending at the time of death, and being found by the probate court under subsection (d) to have been estranged from the decedent, which the statute defines as a physical and emotional separation from the decedent at the time of death that has existed long enough to clearly demonstrate an absence of due affection, trust, and regard. Paying for the funeral buys no priority: § 31-21-7(d)(4) says so expressly, and adds that being the personal representative confers no greater claim than the person would otherwise have. Georgia's official code is published only through LexisNexis, so the text above comes from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated Title 31 volume (V23, 2019) that the State released under an Open Records Act request. Currency was checked act by act. § 31-21-7 was amended in 2025: Ga. L. 2025, Act 371 (SB 153), the Code Revision Commission's annual editorial revision act, effective July 1, 2025, amends § 31-21-7 at SECTION 31, item (55), in paragraph (c)(4), by replacing "For purposes of" with "As used in". Paragraph (c)(4) is the estrangement forfeiture paragraph, so its definitional sentence now opens "As used in this Code section, the term 'estranged' means". The change is editorial, subsection (b) is untouched, and the quoted priority list, all 13 tiers, and the estrangement definition all stand. That one phrase is the only place the 2019 volume now runs behind the current Code. SB 241 of 2025 amends §§ 31-21-4, 31-21-44.1 and 31-21-44.2 and does not touch 31-21-7, and the Legislative Counsel's 2026 summary lists only § 31-21-6 from this chapter. No link is given because the only readable copy found is an archive.org mirror of an older code volume, which isn't an official source. The section is cited inline instead.

Source: O.C.G.A. § 31-21-7(b) (right to control disposition of remains), enacted by Ga. L. 2009, p. 292, § 1/HB 68; amended Ga. L. 2010, p. 208, § 1/SB 355; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 31/HB 942; and Ga. L. 2025, Act 371/SB 153, § 31(55), effective July 1, 2025

If you can't afford the funeral in Georgia

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. County indigent interment or cremation under O.C.G.A. 36-12-5. Georgia has no statewide burial program and no statewide amount. The governing authority of the county where the death happened, meaning the county commission. Counties farm out the day to day work differently: some run it through the county DFCS office, some through the coroner or medical examiner.

What it pays. Not published. The statute leaves 'the exact amount thereof to be determined by the governing authority of the county' and caps it at actual cost. Every county sets its own figure and its own indigence test, and the figures are not collected anywhere statewide. Ask the county what its current payment is before you sign a funeral contract.

What disqualifies you. O.C.G.A. 36-12-5(a): 'Whenever any person dies in this state and the decedent, his or her family, and his or her immediate kindred are indigent and unable to provide for the decedent's decent interment or cremation, the governing authority of the county wherein the death occurs shall make available from county funds a sum sufficient to provide a decent interment or cremation of the deceased indigent person or to reimburse such person as may have expended the cost thereof voluntarily, the exact amount thereof to be determined by the governing authority of the county but shall not exceed the lesser of the actual costs of interment or cremation.' Two things worth reading twice. The test covers the person who died, their family, and their immediate kindred, so a family with no money qualifies even if the person who died had assets on paper. And the county can reimburse someone who already paid voluntarily, so a relative who has already put money down can still ask. Counties set their own indigence criteria inside the statute's minimum standards.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. Up to $6,000 for funeral expenses. For crimes before May 6, 2015 the funeral cap is $3,000. The overall program cap is $25,000 per victim, per victimization. The other category caps are medical $15,000, counseling $3,000, lost wages $10,000, loss of support $10,000, crime scene sanitization $1,500. No headstone, flower, or burial clothing sub-caps are published. To claim funeral costs you submit an itemized funeral bill, a signed death certificate, and a receipt showing the amount you paid, if you paid.

Georgia crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Georgia's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Georgia unclaimed property ↗

Call the county where the death happened. Not the county where you live, not the county where the person used to live. The statute says the county 'wherein the death occurs' pays. If the person died in a hospital two counties over, that's the county you call. Ask for the county commission or the county manager's office, and ask who handles indigent burials. Some counties route it through DFCS, some through the coroner or medical examiner. The county sets its own dollar amount and its own indigence test, and no statewide figure exists, so get the number from them in writing before you sign anything with a funeral home. The test in the law is wider than most people expect. O.C.G.A. 36-12-5 covers a case where the person who died, their family, and their immediate kindred are all indigent and can't provide for a decent interment or cremation. If your family has no money, say that plainly, even if the person who died owned something on paper. If you already paid part of it, still ask. The statute lets the county 'reimburse such person as may have expended the cost thereof voluntarily.' Bring receipts. One more thing counties handle differently: whether they'll pay a funeral home you picked. Fulton County, for example, lets the family choose the funeral home as long as that home accepts the county fee and provides at least the minimum services. Ask your county the same question. If the person was killed in a violent crime, apply to the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program at the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. It pays up to $6,000 for funeral expenses inside a $25,000 overall cap. For a crime before May 6, 2015 the funeral cap is $3,000. The crime has to have been reported to the proper authorities within 72 hours unless you can show good cause, and for crimes on or after July 1, 2014 you file within 3 years of the crime or of the victim's death. If the victim was a minor, they have until 3 years after their 18th birthday. Send an itemized funeral bill, a signed death certificate, and a receipt for what you paid. Apply at victimscompportal.cjcc.ga.gov, or mail the packet to Georgia Crime Victims Compensation, 104 Marietta Street NW, Suite 440, Atlanta, GA 30303. Questions: (404) 657-1956 or toll free (877) 231-6590. Then search the Georgia Department of Revenue's unclaimed property program for money owed to the person who died.

At a Glance

No Georgia estate tax.

Georgia doesn't impose a state estate tax. The state's estate tax was phased out in 2005 and officially repealed in 2014.

No Georgia inheritance tax.

Georgia doesn't impose an inheritance tax. Beneficiaries inheriting assets from a Georgia decedent pay no state-level inheritance tax.

Federal estate tax.

Georgia residents are still subject to the federal estate tax. The federal exemption is $15 million per individual in 2026.

Does Georgia have an estate tax?

No. Georgia has no state estate tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for a married couple.

Does Georgia have an inheritance tax?

No. Georgia doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

The Georgia Donor Registry.

Georgia maintains a donor registry through Donate Life Georgia. Registration through the Department of Driver Services (DDS) when obtaining or renewing a driver's license is the most common method. (O.C.G.A. 40-5-6)

Your family can't override an adult donor's decision.

Under Georgia law, a registered donor's decision is first-person authorization and it's legally binding. Nobody else can amend or revoke your gift after your death (O.C.G.A. 44-5-146(a)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (O.C.G.A. 44-5-146(g)). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell your family what you decided to reduce conflict and delays.

How to register.

Register online at donatelifegeorgia.org, at any Georgia DDS location, or by mail.

• -Online: donatelifegeorgia.org
• -At the DDS when renewing your license
• -By mail: request a registry card from Donate Life Georgia