What Qualifies for Georgia's Banking Affidavit of Surviving Relative?
Georgia's Banking Affidavit of Surviving Relative applies when the estate's value falls at or under $15,000 (the decedent's deposit at a single financial institution, not a combined-account or whole-estate total), under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239. This is a statutory line, not a judgment call — compare your own total against it before assuming either way. This is informational only — we don't determine your eligibility for you.
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The statutory line, exactly
Georgia's Banking Affidavit of Surviving Relative applies when the estate, measured the way the statute measures it, is at or under $15,000, under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239. That figure specifically means: the decedent's deposit at a single financial institution, not a combined-account or whole-estate total. This is a statutory line, not a judgment call — the clerk or asset holder either sees your total under the cap or they don't. There's also a fixed 45-day waiting period after death before you can file at all — separate from the eligibility question, and it doesn't move regardless of how quickly you gather everything else.
The mistakes that actually sink an otherwise-eligible estate
4 reasons account for most of the rejections Georgia families run into — cited to the specific O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239 section behind each one, not general advice:
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The deposit exceeds $15,000. Deposits at or under $15,000 can be paid in full under this affidavit. A deposit that exceeds $15,000 can still have up to $10,000 released this way, but the remainder requires a different mechanism (such as the no-administration-necessary petition, or full probate). — O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239
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The decedent left a valid will. This affidavit is available only when the decedent died intestate. The affidavit itself must state that there is no known will. — O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239
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The claimant isn't the correct priority relative. The statute lists a strict order with no discretion to vary it: surviving spouse first; if none, children pro rata; if no spouse or children, parents pro rata; if none of those, siblings pro rata. This list is narrower than Georgia's general intestate succession rules — it does not reach grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins. — O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239
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Another person has also claimed the same deposit. The affidavit requires the claimant to state they know of no other corresponding claimant to the deposit. A competing claim defeats this mechanism's simplicity and likely pushes the matter toward the no-administration-necessary petition or full probate instead. — O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239
Once you've confirmed the estate qualifies, the next question is the actual filing sequence — see how to file Banking Affidavit of Surviving Relative in Georgia, step by step.
Once you know the estate qualifies, this is what trips families up next
Not the eligibility math — presenting the approved filing to an asset holder who's never seen one before. Free one-pager: what to bring and say before you go, emailed now. Then a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks — then we stop.