GA Code § 15-9-86.1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 15 - Courts|Chapter 9 - Probate Courts|Article 4 - Time, Place, and Procedure|§ 15-9-86.1. Citations and Responsive Pleadings in Certain Types of Proceedings

  In any of the proceedings specified in this Code section with respect to which no citation is required to be published, notice of an application to the judge of the probate court for the granting of an order may, instead of stating the time of the hearing as provided in Code Section 15-9-86 and other specific laws, state that the party served must file with the court his or her response to the petition within ten days after personal service of the notice upon him or her, or 13 days after mailing if served by mail, and that if no responses are filed the petition will be granted without a hearing.   If the specific laws governing a particular proceeding subject to this Code section require that a citation be published, such citation may, instead of stating the time of hearing, state that any party who is not ordered to be served personally or by mail must file with the court his or her response to the petition on or prior to a date certain, which shall be a date for which a hearing could be set according to the laws governing the particular proceeding.   The citation or the caption of the citation shall identify all parties upon whom service has been ordered whose names are known. Failure of a party served as provided in subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section to file with the court his or her response to a petition within the time required for his or her response shall constitute a waiver of the right of such party to object to the petition and a waiver of any right of such party to receive notice of any further proceedings with respect to such petition.   If no party serves a response to the petition, the judge of the probate court may grant the petition without a hearing. If a response is filed, the judge of the probate court shall set the matter for hearing and shall by regular first-class mail send a notice of the time of hearing to the petitioner and all parties who have served responses at the addresses given by them in their pleadings.   The proceedings to which this Code section shall apply are:   Proceedings for sale, lease, exchange, or encumbrance of a ward's property, as provided in Code Section 29-3-35 or 29-5-35;   Proceedings for citation of a conservator for failure to make returns, as provided in Code Section 29-3-60 or 29-5-60;   Proceedings involving the revocation or suspension of letters or the imposition of sanctions on a guardian or conservator, as provided in Code Section 29-2-42, 29-3-82, 29-4-52, or 29-5-92;   Proceedings for discharge of a surety on a conservator's bond, as provided in Code Section 29-3-49 or 29-5-49;   Proceedings for resignation of trust by a guardian or conservator, as provided in Code Section 29-2-40, 29-3-80, 29-4-50, or 29-5-90;   Proceedings for settlement of accounts of a conservator, as provided in Code Section 29-3-71 or 29-5-81;   Proceedings for appointment of a guardian or conservator of a minor, as provided in Code Sections 29-2-14 through 29-2-18 or Code Sections 29-3-6 through 29-3-10;   Proceedings for requiring a conservator to give additional bond, as provided in Code Section 29-3-43 or 29-5-42;   Proceedings for appointment of a guardian for a beneficiary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, as provided in Code Section 29-7-7 or 29-7-8;   Proceedings for determination of heirs at law, as provided in former Code Sections 53-4-30, et seq. as such existed on December 31, 1997; and   Proceedings for setting aside year's support, as provided in former Code Section 53-5-8 as such existed on December 31, 1997.       (Code 1981, §15-9-86.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1984, p. 970, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 15; Ga. L. 1990, p. 45, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 128, § 15; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1586, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 161, § 2; Ga. L. 2011, p. 752, § 15/HB 142.)   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2004, p. 161, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that "all appointments of guardians of the person or property made pursuant to former Title 29 shall continue in effect and shall thereafter be governed by the provisions of this Act."   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Applicability.    - O.C.G.A. § 15-9-86.1 was not applicable if a notice of petition for accounting and distribution served with a notice of the time of the hearing did not state that the party served must respond or the petition would be granted. Simon v. Bunch, 260 Ga. 201, 391 S.E.2d 648 (1990).    O.C.G.A. § 15-9-86.1 is not applicable to a petition for accounting and distribution by an executor who has not been removed. Simon v. Bunch, 260 Ga. 201, 391 S.E.2d 648 (1990).    Citation in a proceeding for probate in solemn form that tracked the language of former O.C.G.A. § 53-3-14(c) and stated specifically that the recipient needed to appear before the court on a date certain was sufficient notice that the named date was the deadline for appearing in probate court or filing a written objection. Higginbotham v. Rice, 271 Ga. 262, 517 S.E.2d 784 (1999), reversing Rice v. Higginbotham, 235 Ga. App. 378, 508 S.E.2d 736 (1998).