Georgia § 53-8-13 - General procedures.

§ 53-8-13. General procedures.

A personal representative desiring to sell, rent, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of property other than property that is perishable, liable to deteriorate, or expensive to keep or listed stocks and bonds shall file a petition with the probate court stating the property involved and the interests in such property; the specific purpose of the transaction; the proposed price, if any; and all other terms or conditions proposed for the transaction and listing the names, addresses, and ages or majority status of all heirs of an intestate estate or of all beneficiaries of a testate estate. In the event full particulars are lacking, the petition shall state the reasons for any such omission. Upon the filing of the petition by the personal representative, the court shall issue a citation and serve notice on the heirs of an intestate estate or the affected beneficiaries of a testate estate in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 11 of this title. If no written objection by a person so served with notice is filed within the appropriate period of time following the service of such notice, as provided by Chapter 11 of this title, the probate court shall order such sale summarily in the manner and terms petitioned. If timely written objection is filed, the court shall hear the matter and grant or deny the petition for sale or make such other order as is in the best interest of the estate, which may require the sale to be private or at public outcry including confirmation of the sale by the court or otherwise. An appeal shall lie to the superior court in the manner, under the restrictions, and with the effect provided for appeals from the probate court in other cases. A personal representative shall make a full return to the probate court of every sale, specifying the property sold, the purchasers, the amounts received, and the terms of the sale. The recital in the personal representative's deed of compliance with the provisions of this Code section shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts recited. Where a personal representative sells real property under the provisions of this Code section, liens on such real property may be divested and transferred to the proceeds of the sale as a condition of the sale. (Code 1981, § 53-8-13 , enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1352, § 25; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 1-57/HB 865.) The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, in subsection (a), in the first sentence, substituted a semicolon for a comma three times, substituted "listing the" for "a list of", substituted "all heirs of" for "heirs in", and substituted "all beneficiaries of" for "beneficiaries in"; in subsection (b), substituted "the filing of the petition by the personal representative, the court shall issue a citation and serve notice on" for "filing the petition, notice shall be given to"; in subsection (c), in the first sentence, substituted "served with notice" for "notified" and inserted "the service of such"; and, in subsection (e), substituted "the provisions of this Code section" for "legal provisions". History of section. - This Code section is derived from the decisions in Patterson v. Lemon, 50 Ga. 231 (1873); Newsom v. Carlton, 59 Ga. 516 (1877); Barrett & Caswell v. Durham, 80 Ga. 336 , 5 S.E. 102 (1887); Whitehurst v. Mason, 140 Ga. 148 , 78 S.E. 938 (1913). Cross references. - Livestock dealers and auctions, T. 4, C. 6. Regulation of advertising generally, § 10-1-420 et seq. Age of majority, § 39-1-1 . Abolition of dower, § 53-1-3 . Guardians ad litem and appraisers for year's support in probate court proceedings, Uniform Rules for the Probate Courts, Rule 23. Law reviews. - For article discussing methods of summary distribution and settlement of decedent's estate, see 6 Ga. L. Rev. 74 (1971). For article surveying wills, trusts, and administration of estates, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 323 (1982). For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 313 (1997).