Georgia Probate Inventory: How to Catalog Personal Property Before the Six-Month Deadline

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By John Young, owner of Family Estate Solutions of Georgia, LLC. Published October 12, 2026. Last updated October 12, 2026. Educational only, not legal advice.

A Georgia personal representative must usually prepare an inventory of all the estate's property, file it with the probate court, and mail a copy to the beneficiaries or heirs within six months after qualifying, unless the will or the heirs relieve that duty. That court inventory is a legal filing. The room-by-room photo inventory of the house is a separate, practical record, and building it early makes the court inventory easier and the family calmer.

This Guide is for the executor or administrator standing in a parent's house in Buford, Lawrenceville, Gainesville, Cumming, or Jefferson, wondering how anyone is supposed to list forty years of belongings. It explains what Georgia law asks for, how the duty can be waived or relieved, and a simple method for cataloging the contents before the deadline. It is educational, not legal advice. A Georgia probate attorney should guide the actual filing.

What Georgia law requires

The inventory rule lives in O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30. In plain terms, unless the will provides otherwise or the duty is relieved, the personal representative must:

Prepare an inventory of all the property of the person who died. Not just the house, and not just the valuables. All of it.
File the inventory with the probate court in the county where the estate is open.
Mail a copy by first-class mail to the beneficiaries (when there is a will) or the heirs (when there is no will).
Do both within six months after qualification. The probate court may extend the time for good cause.
Verify it. The inventory must state that it is a true statement of all the property within your knowledge, and it is verified the same way as a petition filed in probate court.
State that it was mailed, and name any beneficiary or heir who waived the right to receive it.

A few details surprise families. A copy does not have to be mailed to a beneficiary or heir who is not sui juris (for example, a minor), and the court does not have to appoint a guardian just for that purpose. When there are co-executors or co-administrators, the inventory is made jointly by all of them (O.C.G.A. § 53-7-31). And the stakes are real. Unless the inventory was waived or the will dispensed with it, failing to return a correct inventory is grounds for removal as personal representative (O.C.G.A. § 53-7-34).

Your exact six-month date runs from when you qualified, so ask your attorney or the probate clerk to confirm it from the court file and put it on the calendar the same day.

What the statute does not tell you

The statute says what must happen, not what the page must look like. Georgia's current law does not lay out a formal appraisal procedure for the inventory, and the standard probate forms list on gaprobate.gov does not post a simple estate inventory form the way it posts forms for petitions such as no administration necessary or leave to sell. Before you draft anything, ask the probate court in your county (for example Gwinnett, Hall, Forsyth, or Jackson) and your attorney what format the court expects and how values should be shown.

When the inventory can be waived or relieved

Georgia offers three main paths. Each one has conditions, so treat this as a map for your conversation with counsel, not a do-it-yourself form guide.

1. An individual heir or beneficiary waives the right to receive it. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-32(a), any beneficiary or heir may individually waive the right to receive the inventory. The waiver must be a signed writing delivered to the personal representative, and that person may revoke it in writing at any time. This does not relieve you of making the inventory. It only means you do not have to mail that person a copy, and the inventory you file names them as having waived.

2. All heirs or beneficiaries consent to relieve the duty to make it. Under § 53-7-32(b), the beneficiaries or heirs may, by unanimous written consent, authorize the probate court to relieve the personal representative of the duty to make the inventory. That consent also relieves you from sending copies. Unanimous means everyone, and the statute ties the process to the same consent rules used for granting powers to a personal representative, including rules for heirs who cannot sign for themselves. Your attorney will know how your court handles it.

3. The will dispenses with the inventory. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-33, a person may use the will to excuse the personal representative from making an inventory to the court, to the beneficiaries, or both, as long as that does not injure creditors or people other than beneficiaries under the will. Some wills include language like this. Have your attorney read the will before you assume it applies.

Even when the formal inventory is excused, keep a record of what was in the house and what happened to it. Relief from a filing is not relief from handling estate property carefully, and a record is the best answer when a sibling later asks where Mom's sewing machine went.

Court inventory vs photo inventory

Families often use the word "inventory" for two different things.

The court inventory is the verified document filed with the probate court and mailed to heirs or beneficiaries. It covers all of the decedent's property, which can include real estate, bank and investment accounts, vehicles, and household goods. Your attorney usually shapes how it is organized and valued.

The photo inventory is a working record of the house itself: dated, room-by-room pictures of every space, plus close-ups of valuables, stored in a shared folder every heir can see. It is not filed with the court. It is the raw material that makes the household-contents part of the court inventory much easier to prepare, and it settles most "who took what" arguments before they start.

The two work together. The photo inventory captures what was there on a specific date. The court inventory states what the estate owns. A settlement report from an estate sale later documents what was sold and for how much. Kept side by side, those three records tell a clear, honest story of the contents from the day of death to the final accounting.

What belongs on a household contents inventory

Real estate, accounts, and retirement assets belong on the court inventory too, and your attorney will help with those. This Guide focuses on the personal property inside the house, because that is where families disagree most and where a contents company can actually help.

Furniture and rugs. Room by room. Note pieces family members have asked about, and any signed or labeled maker marks.
Jewelry and watches. Photograph each piece on a plain surface, with any marks or stamps. Move valuables to a secure place right away, following your attorney's advice.
Vehicles, boats, and trailers. Photograph the VIN or hull number and record where each title is. Titled property usually needs its own paperwork, so ask counsel before anyone moves or sells it.
Tools and equipment. Garages and sheds in North Georgia often hold more value than the living room. Photograph shop tools, mowers, and generators with model numbers visible.
Collectibles and art. Coins, stamps, sports memorabilia, pottery, paintings, and collections. Close-ups of signatures and marks help any later valuation.
Firearms. Note that firearms are present, then talk to your attorney before anyone handles, moves, transfers, or sells them. Store them securely in the meantime.
Cash, papers, and safe contents. Count and photograph any cash with a second person present. Set aside checkbooks, titles, deeds, tax records, and anything that looks like a will or codicil, and give them to your attorney.
Family photos and letters. These rarely carry market value, but they carry the most emotional weight. Keep them out of any sale.

Number each room in the photo folder (01 Kitchen, 02 Living Room, and so on) and name close-up files clearly. Months later, you will be grateful for the filenames.

A practical North Georgia method, stage by stage

Week 1: secure and photograph. Change locks if keys are unaccounted for, call the homeowner insurer, and keep the utilities on. Before anything leaves, walk every room, closet, attic, crawlspace, basement, garage, and shed with a phone camera. Take a wide shot of each wall, then open drawers and closets. Upload everything to one shared folder the same day. The Georgia executor checklist covers the rest of the first week.

Before family removal day: label and claim. Share the photo folder with every heir and set a deadline for claims. Use colored tags or a simple spreadsheet (item, room, photo file, who asked, agreed or disputed). On removal day, one person writes down what leaves and with whom. Disputed items stay in the house until your attorney weighs in. Our guide to emptying an inherited house before you list it walks through the full removal day sequence.

Before any sale: confirm authority. Selling estate property is different from protecting it. Talk to your attorney about your authority before a contents sale, especially if an heir objects. The probate vs estate sale guide explains how court authority and the contents sale fit together.

After the sale: keep the settlement report. File the estate sale company's settlement report with your photo inventory and removal day list. Together they show what was claimed by family, what was sold, and what was removed.

Before the six-month mark: assemble and file. Give your attorney the photo folder, the claims list, the settlement report, and any appraisals well ahead of the deadline so there is time to draft, verify, file, and mail. If you are going to need more time, ask your attorney about an extension early rather than late.

If you live out of state, ask a local key holder or relative to take the Week 1 photos and send them to you. The out-of-state executor guide covers remote house management in more detail.

How an estate sale settlement report helps

A settlement report is the written accounting an estate sale company gives the estate after the sale. Ask any company you are considering exactly what its report includes. A useful report generally shows total sales, the company's fees, and the net amount paid to the estate, so the personal representative can match the deposit to a document.

That gives the estate's bank records a clean paper trail, lets you show heirs in writing what happened to the contents, and, paired with your photo inventory, helps your attorney prepare the household goods portion of any inventory or accounting with real numbers instead of guesses.

For families in North Georgia whose house is full, Family Estate Solutions of Georgia, LLC (based in Buford, and the publisher of this Guide) handles household contents only. It does not file probate, prepare court inventories, sell houses, or give legal advice. It starts with a free 20-minute consultation by phone, then a complimentary walk-through of the house. Staging usually takes 3 to 5 days before the sale. The company pays out within 7 business days, sometimes as soon as 72 hours, with a settlement report. It is licensed and insured with $1 million in general liability insurance, and it can help with removal of items that don't sell. It serves Braselton, Flowery Branch, Buford, Lake Lanier, Johns Creek, Roswell, Alpharetta and surrounding areas, and most of Georgia north of Atlanta. Call (706) 471-1740 or use the contact form. See the About page for the affiliated-business disclosure.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Georgia probate inventory due?

Under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30, the personal representative generally must file the inventory with the probate court and mail copies to the beneficiaries or heirs within six months after qualification, unless the will or the heirs relieve that duty. The court may extend the time for good cause.

Does the inventory have to include household contents?

Yes. The statute requires an inventory of all the property of the decedent, which includes personal property in the house. Ask your attorney how much detail and what kind of values your court expects for furniture, tools, and similar items.

Can the heirs waive the inventory?

Yes. The heirs have two paths, and the will can provide a third. Any heir or beneficiary can individually waive the right to receive a copy in a signed writing (§ 53-7-32(a)). Separately, all of them together can give unanimous written consent authorizing the court to relieve the personal representative of the duty to make the inventory (§ 53-7-32(b)). A will may also dispense with it (§ 53-7-33). Ask your attorney which path, if any, fits your estate.

Is a photo inventory the same as the court inventory?

No. A photo inventory is a practical record of the house that the family shares. The court inventory is a verified filing with the probate court. The photo inventory makes the court inventory easier to prepare, but it does not replace it.

Can we hold an estate sale before the inventory is filed?

Sometimes, but authority comes first. Photograph everything before the sale, confirm with your attorney that you have the power to sell, and keep the settlement report. Those records help show what the contents were and what the sale produced.

What happens if the inventory is late or wrong?

The court can extend the deadline for good cause, so ask early if you need more time. Georgia law also says that, unless the inventory was waived or excused by the will, failing to return a correct inventory is grounds for removing the personal representative (§ 53-7-34). Talk to your attorney if you are behind.

Georgia probate inventory