Updated October 23, 2026. Quick answer: In Georgia, bond is required by default for a person qualifying as personal representative of an intestate estate or as a temporary administrator (O.C.G.A. § 53-6-50); Georgia’s code has no informal/formal or supervised/unsupervised split like the Uniform Probate Code.
Does Georgia require an executor to post a bond?
Georgia requires bond by default for a person qualifying as personal representative of an intestate estate or as a temporary administrator (O.C.G.A. § 53-6-50); Georgia’s code has no informal/formal or supervised/unsupervised split like the Uniform Probate Code.
“Unless otherwise provided in this Code section, any person who seeks to qualify to serve as the personal representative of an intestate estate or as a temporary administrator shall be required to give bond with good and sufficient security.”
Source: O.C.G.A. §§ 53-6-50, 53-6-53
Does a will waive the bond in Georgia?
Not under this section. O.C.G.A. § 53-6-50(a) puts the bond default on “any person who seeks to qualify to serve as the personal representative of an intestate estate or as a temporary administrator”, and it does not name an executor under a will, so it sets no bond default for a will to waive. Section 53-6-53 uses a different phrase: when a personal representative “has qualified to serve without bond or is not otherwise required by law to give bond”, the probate court may order that person to show cause why bond should not be given.
Can the heirs waive it in Georgia?
Only for an intestate estate. Under § 53-6-50(c), a person petitioning to qualify as personal representative of an intestate estate “may be relieved from the requirement for giving bond by the unanimous consent of the heirs of the estate.” For an heir who is not sui juris, “consent may be given by the guardian of the individual,” and “the personal representative of a deceased heir is authorized to consent for that heir.” The statute adds that “in no case may consent on behalf of an heir who is not sui juris be effective if the person consenting is the person petitioning to serve as personal representative.”
If a bond is required, how much?
When a bond is required, Georgia sizes it at 200% of the estimated value of the personal estate, per its own bond-amount statute.
“The bond shall be in a sum equal to double the value of the estate to be administered; provided, however, that the bond shall be in an amount equal to the value of the estate if secured by a licensed commercial surety”
Source: O.C.G.A. § 53-6-51
What makes Georgia different
Georgia’s mandatory-bond rule attaches to intestate administrators and temporary administrators specifically, not to personal representatives generally, and has no informal/supervised dichotomy. Even after a representative is excused from bond, § 53-6-53 lets the probate court order a show-cause bond hearing on its own motion or an interested party’s complaint of mismanagement.
A note on sourcing: Georgia’s official code is not freely published by the state itself, and Justia (a preferred mirror) returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this session; FindLaw, a reputable statutory mirror quoting the O.C.G.A. text verbatim with citation, was used instead.
| Bond-requirement source | O.C.G.A. §§ 53-6-50, 53-6-53 |
| Georgia courts (general reference) | Georgia judicial branch |
| Georgia Secretary of State / legislature | Georgia state government |
| Confidence | Medium |
Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.
Related: how long creditors have to file a claim against an estate in Georgia.