How Summafolio formats it
Accountings for Georgia are formatted to the structure of: Georgia trust and estate accounting.
Uniform principal/income account, with cash receipts, disbursements, the net balance on hand and an updated list of non-cash assets, the sections a Georgia personal representative's annual return reports.
Sources:
- Probate court annual return forms (e.g. Fulton County Probate Court, Annual Return - Personal Representative)
- Uniform Fiduciary Accounting Principles (structure)
Notes:
- Georgia probate courts provide standard return forms for personal representatives; transfer totals onto the court's form where required.
What a Georgia return reports
Georgia probate courts call a personal representative's periodic accounting a return: an annual return while the estate is open and a final return at the end. Statewide standard probate court forms cover petitions and inventories, and county probate courts publish return forms of their own. The Fulton County Probate Court's Annual Return – Personal Representative is a good example of the sections a return covers:
- Cash assets. Only checking, savings, money market and certificate-of-deposit balances. Receipts start from the balance on the previous return or the inventory, then interest earned and other receipts.
- Disbursements. Every payment, to whom and for what. The form allows yearly totals for monthly expenses.
- Net balance on hand. Total receipts (including the previous balance) less disbursements, with where each cash account is held.
- Updated list of non-cash assets. Real estate by parcel, securities (number of shares or face amount) and miscellaneous assets, each at approximate value.
- Certificate of mailing. A copy of the return goes by first-class mail to each heir or beneficiary, except those who have waived it. The form refers to Code Section 53-7-68(b) for the waiver.
The return is sworn and is allowed by order of the probate judge.
How Summafolio maps to it
Our Georgia output uses the uniform principal-and-income layout. Cash receipts, disbursements and the closing balance by account come straight from the reconciled statements, and the asset schedule gives the non-cash list with carrying and current values. Transfer the totals onto your county's return form.
Where a will or trust creates separate income and remainder interests, the uniform layout keeps income and principal apart. The Fulton County return form doesn't ask for that split, so it stays in the supporting schedules.
What we haven't covered here
We link only to sources we could check on official sites. We haven't summarized the Georgia Code sections on returns, trustee reports or principal and income, because the official Georgia Code isn't published on a state legislative site we could verify against. Read them with your attorney.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to use the county's form?
Check with your probate court. Courts publish their own return forms, and the court decides what it accepts.
Is the return the same as a trust accounting?
No. A return is a probate court filing for an estate. A trustee's report to beneficiaries is a separate duty under the trust instrument and Georgia's trust law.
Samples and next steps
Other states
- California
- Florida
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Illinois
- Ohio
- North Carolina
- Arizona
- Washington
- New Jersey
- Michigan
- Virginia
- Uniform format