One of Georgia's most powerful — and most overlooked — tools for surviving spouses and minor children.
Published · MarKey Home Buyers
When someone dies in Georgia, most families assume the estate has to grind through full probate before anyone can touch the house. But Georgia has a tool that works differently: year's support. It lets a surviving spouse or the decedent's minor children ask the probate court to set aside property from the estate — very often the family home — for their support and maintenance for the twelve months following the death.
It sounds like a technicality. It isn't. Title to the property the court sets aside vests directly in the spouse or children, and the award is preferred ahead of most other claims against the estate. For many Georgia families, a year's support petition is the fastest route to owning the house outright — and being free to keep it, or sell it, on their own terms.
Year's support is available to a surviving spouse and to the decedent's minor children (a guardian or someone acting on a child's behalf files for them). The right isn't unlimited: a spouse who marries or dies before the petition is filed loses it, and a child loses it by marrying, dying or turning 18 before filing.
The deadline is firm: the petition must be filed within 24 months of the date of death, in the probate court that has jurisdiction over the estate. It works whether or not there was a will. Miss the two-year window and the option is gone — which is exactly why estates that sit untouched while a family “figures things out” can quietly lose their best tool.
The petition lists the spouse's name, each minor child's name and birth date, and a schedule of the property being requested — real estate has to be described with a legal description good enough to pass title. The court publishes notice once a week for four weeks, and each interested person — heirs, beneficiaries and others with a stake — must be served at least 30 days before the deadline for objections. The court also sends the petition to the county tax commissioner.
If nobody objects, the court enters an order setting aside the property requested. In uncontested cases this is dramatically faster and cheaper than administering the whole estate.
If someone objects — an heir who'd otherwise inherit, or a creditor watching assets leave the estate — the judge decides how much property is appropriate, looking at what it takes to maintain the family's standard of living. Contested petitions can turn into real litigation, which is when you want a probate attorney in your corner.
This is where year's support earns its reputation. Property set aside as year's support is preferred ahead of most other debts and claims against the estate. The award also wipes out property taxes and tax liens for years before the year of death on the property set aside, and the petition can ask to clear the year of death or the year of filing as well. Unsecured creditors of the estate generally take a back seat to the award.
One important limit: year's support does not wipe out a mortgage or security deed on the house. If the property secures a loan, that lien generally survives, and the payments still have to be handled — a real issue when the estate has no cash coming in. See Inherited a House With a Mortgage — What Now?
Once the court's order vests title in you, the house is yours — not the estate's. You don't need letters testamentary, court permission to sell, or sign-off from other heirs on that property. That makes year's support especially valuable when the house is the main asset, money is tight, and waiting a year or more for full administration isn't realistic. If the plan is to sell, we can make a cash offer on the house as-is, close around your timeline, and you skip repairs, listings, and months of carrying costs on top of everything else you're dealing with.
No fees. No obligation. It takes about 60 seconds.
Tell us about the estate property and we'll show you exactly what a cash sale would put back in your pocket.
Get Your Cash Offer