Georgia's recorded instrument, Recorded affidavit relating to land, rests on the general recording statute for affidavits of facts affecting title to land. What a recorded affidavit does, in the statute's words: Recorded affidavits shall be notice of the facts therein recited, where the affidavit shows (among other listed matters) the relationship of persons in the chain of title, the payment of debts of an unadministered estate, or the fact or date of death of a person connected with the titleO.C.G.A. § 44-2-20(a)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. It is evidence of the facts it states, not a deed; it does not itself transfer title, and a purchaser, lender or title company decides whether to rely on it.
Who may sign, in the statute's words: any person, whether connected with the chain of title or notO.C.G.A. § 44-2-20(a) (closing sentence)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. The statute names no witness requirementO.C.G.A. § 44-2-14(a); § 44-2-20 (scan)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. Title companies commonly ask that the affiant be someone other than an heir, or that two people who know the family sign; the office relying on the affidavit sets what it will accept. It states: A caption referring to the current owner of the affected land; A caption reference to a deed or other recorded instrument in the chain of title of the affected land; The name and mailing address of the natural person to whom the affidavit is to be returned, legibly printed, typewritten or stamped at the top of the first page; Facts within § 44-2-20(a): for an heirship affidavit, the fact or date of death of the person connected with the title, the relationship of the persons in the chain of title, and (where recited) the payment of debts of the unadministered estateO.C.G.A. § 44-2-20(c); § 44-2-14(b)Verified Sep 24, 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. Real property is outside the affidavitO.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, which reaches personal property only. An estate over the limit does not qualify, and no affidavit is prepared for it.
For a person who died INTESTATE: the surviving spouse; if no surviving spouse, the children pro rata; if no children or surviving spouse, the father and mother pro rata; or if none of the above, the brothers and sisters of the decedent pro rataO.C.G.A. § 7-1-239(b)(1)-(4)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
The state's intestacy statute sets the order: the surviving spouse and children first, then parents, siblings, and more distant relatives, with shares that differ by state. The Who Inherits Calculator applies your state's order and shows each person's share.