Georgia Estate Guide

North Georgia resource for heirs and executors

I inherited a house in Georgia. What now?

Clear, practical pages for families dealing with a North Georgia estate house: keep it, sell it, empty the contents, or rent it. Written for Gwinnett, Hall, Forsyth, Jackson, and nearby counties.

Start with the decision frame First 30 days checklist

Guides on this site

Free, plain-language guides written for families, checked against official Georgia sources. Educational only, not legal advice.

Inherited a house

Keep, sell the house, sell the contents, or rent. How the choices fit together in Georgia.

Read the decision guide

Executor checklist

A week-by-week plan for the first 30 days after someone dies and you are named to act.

Open the checklist

Out-of-state executor

Serving as executor of a Georgia estate from another state: bond, what you can do from home, trip planning, and the house and contents from afar.

Read the out-of-state guide

Probate inventory

What Georgia's six-month estate inventory requires, how it can be waived, and how to catalog a full house with a photo inventory.

Read the inventory guide

Georgia probate overview

Common form vs solemn form, letters testamentary, and what you can (and cannot) do before appointment.

Read the overview

Empty before you list

Vacant insurance, family removal day, photo inventory, and when an estate sale and removal of items that don't sell fit before realtor photos.

Read the emptying guide

Inherited a house with no will

Who the heirs are under Georgia law, when an administrator is needed, and when heirs can ask for an order that no administration is necessary.

Read the no-will guide

Transfer-on-death deeds

What a named beneficiary records after the owner dies, under Georgia's 2026 update to the transfer-on-death deed law.

Read the TOD deed guide

Probate vs estate sale

Court process for title and authority versus liquidating household contents. Different jobs.

Compare the two

Quick answers

What should I do first if I inherited a house in Georgia?
Secure the house, call the homeowner's insurance carrier the same week, and gather the will, death certificates, deed, and recent bills. Then separate two jobs: who has legal authority over the real estate (a probate question for the court or a Georgia attorney), and what to do with the household contents.
Do I need probate to sell an inherited house in Georgia?
Usually, if the house was titled only in the deceased person's name. Someone with court-issued authority, or another lawful path such as an order that no administration is necessary, a year's support order, survivorship title, or an accepted transfer-on-death deed, is typically needed before a clean sale. Title companies differ on what they accept, so confirm your path with a Georgia attorney before you list.
Where do I file probate in North Georgia?
Usually in the probate court of the county where the person lived when they died. This Guide has pages for the Gwinnett, Hall, Forsyth, and Jackson County probate courts with official links. Statewide standard forms are on gaprobate.gov.

Reviewed by John Young. Last updated . Educational only, not legal advice.

County probate courts

Local court names, addresses, and official links for the counties we see most often.

Need help with household contents?

If the house is full and you need a local team to run a contents sale and removal of items that don't sell in North Georgia, talk with Family Estate Solutions of Georgia (the company that publishes this Guide). They handle household contents only. They do not sell the real estate.

How it works: a free 20-minute consultation by phone comes first. If a contents sale fits, the next step is a complimentary, no-charge walk-through of the house.

Book a free 20-minute consultation Call (706) 471-1740

Disclosure: Family Estate Solutions of Georgia, LLC publishes this Guide and handles household contents only. It does not sell houses, file probate, or give legal advice. Prefer a general question? Contact this Guide.