PETITION FOR DISCHARGE OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE INSTRUCTIONS I. Specific Instructions 1. This form is to be used for a Petition for Discharge of a Personal Representative pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-7-50 or Discharge of a Temporary Administrator pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-7-52. A Personal Representative may, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 53-7-50(e), petition the court solely for discharge from office but not from all liability. 2. If the Petition is filed by a Personal Representative, the notice to debtors and creditors must have been published for four weeks, and three months must have elapsed from the date of the last publication. O.C.G.A. §§ 53-7-41, 53-11-4. 3. Signatures of heirs who acknowledge service must be sworn to before a notary public or the Clerk of any Probate Court of this State. It is not necessary that all acknowledgments appear on the same page. An attorney at law may acknowledge service on behalf of an heir; however, the attorney must certify that he or she currently represents that heir with regard to the pending matter and, in order to comply with O.C.G.A. § 53-11-6, the attorney's signature must be sworn to as provided above. With regard to a power of attorney, the attorney-in-fact may acknowledge service on behalf of the grantor of the power, provided that the power of attorney grants such authority, the signature of the attorney-in-fact is attested, a copy of the power of attorney is attached, and the attorney-in-fact certifies that the copy is a true copy and is still in effect. 4. O.C.G.A. § 53-11-2 provides that a party to a probate proceeding who is not sui juris must be represented by a guardian provided that the Court may appoint a guardian ad litem or determine that the natural guardian, guardian, conservator, or testamentary guardian has no conflict and may serve. Should a guardian ad litem be necessary because a party is not sui juris, use Supplement 1. 5. Use Supplement 2 if the Court determines it is appropriate to appoint a special process server. 6. Use Supplement 3 when an additional certificate of service is necessary. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com GPCSF 33 [i] Eff. July 2016 7. In the event the Decedent died intestate, Paragraph 3 requires that a definitive statement be made to show to the court that the persons named in Paragraph 2 constitute all of the heirs of the Decedent and that there are no heirs of the same or closer degree according to O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. Provide the date of death for any deceased heirs. [NOTE: If you are uncertain how to determine the heirs of a Decedent, please refer to the "Heirs Determination Sheet" available from the probate court or at www.gaprobate.gov.] Examples of such statement would be: (a) "Decedent was or was not married at the time of his death and had no children born, adopted, living or deceased, other than listed herein"; (b) "Decedent had no other siblings half or whole other than those listed herein"; (c) "the Decedent's brother who died previously had no other children born, adopted, living or deceased, other than listed herein." 8. According to Probate Court Rule 5.6 (A), unless the Court specifically assumes the responsibility, it is the responsibility of the moving party to prepare the proper citation and deliver it properly so it can be served according to law. All pages after the Notice regarding Uniform Probate Court Rule 5.6 (A) are to be completed by the moving party, unless otherwise directed by the Court. II. General Instructions General instructions applicable to all Georgia Probate Court Standard Forms are available in each Probate Court or at www.gaprobate.gov, labeled GPCSF 1. GPCSF 33 [ii] Eff. July 2016 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com IN THE PROBATE COURT OF ___________________________ COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA IN RE: ESTATE OF ____________________________________, ) ) ) ) ESTATE NO. __________________ DECEASED TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF THE PROBATE COURT: The Petition of _________________________________________________________, as (Executor(s)) (Administrator(s)) (Temporary Administrator(s)) of the above-referenced estate, shows: 1. Petitioner(s) [initial one]: ______ (a) ______ (b) ______ (c) has/have fully administered the estate of the Decedent. was/were allowed to resign without fully administering said estate. has/have completely discharged all duties as temporary administrator(s). 2. Listed below are all of the heirs of an intestate Decedent or beneficiaries of a testate Decedent, or persons who succeeded to the interest of any heir or beneficiary who died after the Decedent died: Name Age (or over 18) Address Relationship _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ GPCSF 33 [1] Eff. July 2016 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com [NOTE: If discharge is sought solely from office and not from office and all liability, STRIKE Paragraphs 3 and 4 below.] 3. Required: [In the event the Decedent died intestate (without a will), make a definitive statement with sufficient factual information to enable the court to conclude that all of the heirs of the Decedent are included and that there are no heirs of similar or closer degree according to O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. Provide the names of any deceased heirs and include the date of death for each. (See instructions for further clarification.) Also, state here all pertinent facts that may govern the method of giving notice to any party and that may determine whether or not a guardian ad litem should be appointed for any party. If any heirs listed above are cousins, grandchildren, nephews or nieces of the Decedent, please indicate the deceased ancestor through whom they are related to the Decedent.] _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _________