Probate in Georgia runs about $38,748O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6(4) (PR authorized "to provide competent legal counsel for the estate...either the personal representative or the attorney employed may, by petition to the probate court...obtain a judgment fixing the attorney's fees and expenses"; no statutory percentage) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-6 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate: attorney fees of typically 2.1%O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6(4) (PR authorized "to provide competent legal counsel for the estate...either the personal representative or the attorney employed may, by petition to the probate court...obtain a judgment fixing the attorney's fees and expenses"; no statutory percentage) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-6 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.4%O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6(4) (PR authorized "to provide competent legal counsel for the estate...either the personal representative or the attorney employed may, by petition to the probate court...obtain a judgment fixing the attorney's fees and expenses"; no statutory percentage) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-6 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate, plus the court filing fee, executor compensation, publication and any surety bond. The Georgia probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.
Georgia allows independent administrationO.C.G.A. § 53-7-1(b) (heirs/beneficiaries may by unanimous consent authorize the probate court to grant the PR the powers of § 53-12-261, which a fiduciary exercises "without court authorization"); § 53-7-33 ("A testator may, by will, dispense with the necessity of the personal representative's making an inventory"); § 53-7-69 ("A testator may, by will, dispense with the necessity of the personal representative's filing an annual return") (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code §§ 53-7-1, 53-7-33, 53-7-69 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source (unsupervised or informal probate), under which the executor handles most decisions without ongoing court approval. The executor still files the will, inventories the assets and reports to the court, but needs no hearing for a routine step such as paying a bill or selling an asset. It typically saves both time and attorney fees against supervised probate.
Estate planning attorneys in Georgia average $382Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Georgia: Wills and Estates rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $1,146Estimate: 3 hours at $382, Clio's Georgia Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,292Estimate: 6 hours at $382, Clio's Georgia Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a simple individual will and $2,980Estimate: 10 hours at $298, Clio's Georgia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $4,470Estimate: 15 hours at $298, Clio's Georgia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the Georgia will cost calculator sets the two side by side.
In Georgia, estates with personal property of $15,000O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Bank Deposit AffidavitO.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. That route is a form rather than a court case, and most families handle it without an attorney. Above the line, formal probate generally benefits from counsel for the procedural work, even when nothing is contested. The Georgia probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.
In Georgia, the situations where counsel is typically worth the cost are: a blended family with children from a prior relationship; a business, rental property or significant investment assets; a dependent with special needs, who needs a special-needs trust to keep benefits; substantial property in more than one state. Where none of these apply, an online or self-help document is often enough.
Free Georgia forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
In Georgia, a will is signed before 2O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyO.C.G.A. § 53-4-20Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Georgia: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Georgia costs an estimated $38,748O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6(4) (PR authorized "to provide competent legal counsel for the estate...either the personal representative or the attorney employed may, by petition to the probate court...obtain a judgment fixing the attorney's fees and expenses"; no statutory percentage) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-6 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.1%O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6(4) (PR authorized "to provide competent legal counsel for the estate...either the personal representative or the attorney employed may, by petition to the probate court...obtain a judgment fixing the attorney's fees and expenses"; no statutory percentage) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-6 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.4%O.C.G.A. § 53-7-6(4) (PR authorized "to provide competent legal counsel for the estate...either the personal representative or the attorney employed may, by petition to the probate court...obtain a judgment fixing the attorney's fees and expenses"; no statutory percentage) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-6 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Settling an estate in Georgia: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 180 daysO.C.G.A. §§ 53-7-30, 53-7-31, 53-7-32, 53-7-33Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 3 monthsO.C.G.A. §§ 53-7-40, 53-7-41, 53-7-42, 53-7-43, 9-3-36Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
Georgia sets executor compensation by statute — about $25,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 5.0%O.C.G.A. § 53-6-60(b)(1)-(4) ("Two and one-half percent commission on all sums of money received by the personal representative on account of the estate...and 2 1/2 percent commission on all sums paid out"; "Ten percent commission on the amount of interest made"; up to 3% of appraised value for delivery of property in kind; up to 10% of annual income for working land) (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-6-60 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
In Georgia, estates with personal property of $15,000O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Bank Deposit AffidavitO.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
In Georgia, the 3 monthsO.C.G.A. § 53-7-41(d) ("within three months from the date of publication of the personal representative's last notice") (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-7-41 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source period after the last publication of the creditor notice protects a representative who distributes after it; late claims can still reach undistributed assets.
In Georgia, informal probate is not availableO.C.G.A. § 53-5-15 ("Probate of a will may be in common form or in solemn form or both") — both are proceedings in the probate court; no registrar/clerk appointment track (Verified 2026-09-08 against GA Code § 53-5-15 (2025))Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, so self-filing means a formal court petition rather than a registrar filing.
102 probate firms in Georgia, by county and firm type.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
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102 firms
FirmMacon, GA
Has served the legal needs of clients in Macon and middle Georgia since 1956. Practice areas include estate/trust and tax planning law, corporate and transactional law, and civil litigation.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTax Planning
FirmMacon, GA
A Macon firm on Mulberry Street tracing its origins to 1849, serving Bibb County. Its estate practice covers estate planning and administration, and represents clients in will contests and other estate litigation, including breach of fiduciary duty, incapacity, guardianship, and wasting-asset disputes. Also prepares wills, trusts, and business succession plans.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder LawGuardianship
Solo PracticeNewnan, GA
A Newnan firm with a satellite office in Woodbury, serving Coweta and Meriwether counties. Walter W. Arnall prepares wills, powers of attorney, and Georgia Advance Directives for Health Care, and represents clients in uncontested Probate Court filings.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal Estate
FirmHinesville, GA
A Hinesville firm, with offices in Ludowici and Richmond Hill, handling wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and military estate planning for Fort Stewart families. Guides estates through the Liberty County Probate Court and litigates will contests and inheritance disputes.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationReal EstateWills Trusts
FirmCumming, GA
Cumming firm serving Forsyth County families through the Probate Court with estate and trust administration. Handles revocable and irrevocable trusts, probate avoidance, elder law, and Medicaid planning from its Atlanta Highway office.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
FirmGriffin, GA
A Griffin firm at One Griffin Center serving Spalding County and Central Georgia since 1888. Handles estate administration, guardianships, and probate litigation, and prepares wills, living wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives for health care.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 3 more
FirmCumming, GA
A Cumming firm serving North Georgia and metro Atlanta, with roots in Leon Boling's 1946 practice. Represents executors, administrators, and trustees in probate and estate administration, and drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives alongside a real estate practice.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal EstateWills Trusts
FirmStatesboro, GA
A Statesboro firm with a second office in Swainsboro whose attorneys have over 110 years of combined experience. Prepares personalized estate plans and handles probate alongside civil litigation, real estate, and business work.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal Estate
FirmVidalia, GA
Provides legal counsel in estate planning, probate, real estate law and business law to clients in Vidalia and surrounding southeast Georgia communities.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 3 more
FirmValdosta, GA
A three-generation Valdosta family firm handling probate and estate settlement for South Georgia families. Validates wills, settles debts, pays taxes, inventories and distributes assets, mediates beneficiary disputes, and handles probate litigation in court. Founded in 1960.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateWills Trusts
FirmAthens, GA
Serving clients across Georgia and nationwide for over 40 years. Practice areas include tax and estate planning, probate, trusts, and guardianships. Also has a Lake Oconee office in Greensboro.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax PlanningGuardianship
FirmAtlanta, GA
Serves Atlanta, Georgia, along with Fulton County, Cobb County, Cherokee County, Forsyth County, DeKalb County, Gwinnett County, and Douglas County.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbate
FirmAugusta, GA
An Augusta firm with a second office in Greenville, South Carolina, handling estate planning, probate administration, guardianship and conservatorship, VA and Medicaid planning, special needs planning, and asset protection for clients in Georgia and South Carolina. In practice since 2012.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 4 more
FirmCornelia, GA
A Cornelia firm serving Clarkesville, Habersham County, and neighboring White, Stephens, and Rabun counties. Drafts wills and handles will and estate matters before Northeast Georgia probate courts, drawing on over 30 years of experience.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateWills Trusts
FirmClarkesville, GA
Based in the historic Desoto Building in downtown Clarkesville, with offices in Cleveland and Gainesville, serving Northeast Georgia. Prepares wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and handles probate with or without a will, including disputed estates and will or trust challenges.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal EstateWills Trusts
FirmAtlanta, GA
Family-operated Atlanta firm on North Druid Hills Road serving Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties. Its probate practice covers probate in solemn form (formal, with heir notification), probate in common form, and letters of administration for intestate estates, alongside estate and trust administration.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbate
FirmMarietta, GA
Founding attorney Ophelia Chan, former staff attorney and assisting judge of Cobb County Probate Court, has served clients in Marietta and the metro Atlanta area for more than 25 years.
PracticesProbateProbate LitigationConservatorshipGuardianship
FirmColumbus, GA
Provides estate planning services including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, medical directives, guardianships, and conservatorships, as well as routine and contested probate matters. Serves the Chattahoochee Valley and surrounding areas.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateConservatorshipGuardianship
FirmThomasville, GA
A Thomasville law firm whose tagline is "Plan and Protect for Generations." William Clark has helped clients plan for the future of families, business succession, and elders with wills and other instruments for over 30 years.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal EstateWills Trusts
FirmValdosta, GA
A Valdosta-founded firm, with offices in Atlanta and Jacksonville, Florida, practicing since 1937. Its Estate & Private Wealth group handles trust and estate planning, estate and trust administration, guardianships, conservatorships, and probate controversies.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more