GA Code § 29-5-50 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 29 - Guardian and Ward|Chapter 5 - Conservators of Adults|Article 6 - Compensation of Conservators|§ 29-5-50. Determining Compensation of Conservator; Failure to File Annual Returns Results in Forfeiture of Commission

  Other than an emergency conservator or a temporary substitute conservator, a conservator shall be entitled to compensation for services rendered equal to:   Two and one-half percent commission on all sums of money received by the conservator on account of the estate, except on money loaned by and repaid to the conservator, and 2 1/2 percent commission on all sums paid out by the conservator;   An additional commission equal to one-half of 1 percent computed on the market value of the estate as of the last day of the reporting period. This commission shall be proportionately reduced for any reporting period of less than 12 months;   Ten percent commission on the amount of interest earned if it is earned during the course of the conservatorship. The conservator shall receive interest on money loaned by the conservator in that capacity and shall include the interest on the money loaned on the return to the court so as to become chargeable with the interest as a part of the corpus of the estate;   Reasonable compensation, as determined in the discretion of the court and after such notice, if any, as the court shall direct, for the delivery over of property in kind, not exceeding 3 percent of the appraised value and, in cases where there has been no appraisal, not over 3 percent of the fair value as found by the court, irrespective of whether delivery over in kind is made pursuant to proceedings for that purpose in the court and irrespective of whether the property, except money, is tangible or intangible or personal or real; and   In the discretion of the court, compensation for working land for the benefit of the parties in interest, but not to exceed 10 percent of the annual income of the managed property.     Whenever any portion of the dividends, interest, or rents payable to a conservator is required by law of the United States or other governmental unit to be withheld by the person paying the same for income tax purposes, the amount withheld shall be deemed to have been collected by the conservator.   Where some or all of the estate passes through the hands of several conservators by reason of the death, removal, or resignation of the first qualified conservator or otherwise, the estate shall not be subject to diminution by charges of commission of each successive conservator holding and receiving in the same right but rather commissions for receiving the estate shall be paid to the first conservator who receives the property for the benefit of the estate or that person's representative, and commissions for paying out shall be paid to the conservator who actually distributes the fund. No commissions shall be paid for handing over the fund to a successor conservator. If there is more than one conservator serving simultaneously, the division of the compensation allowed each conservator shall be according to the services rendered by each conservator.   A conservator shall not be entitled to a commission for any sums paid to any conservator of the estate as commissions or other compensation.   Conservators who fail to make annual returns as required by law shall forfeit all commission for transactions during the year within which no return is made unless the court, upon cause shown, shall by special order entered on the record, relieve the conservator from the forfeiture.   A conservator may renounce his or her right to all or any part of the compensation to which the conservator is entitled under this Code section.     (Code 1981, §29-5-50, enacted by Ga. L. 2004, p. 161, § 1.)   Law reviews.   - For survey article on wills, trusts, guardianships, and fiduciary administration, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 417 (2008).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Stocks and bonds not "sums of money."    - A probate court properly ordered a guardian to repay to an estate's administrator commissions the guardian had received on stocks and bonds, as they were not "sums of money" under former O.C.G.A. § 29-2-42(a) (now O.C.G.A. § 29-5-50). In re Estate of Miraglia, 290 Ga. App. 28, 658 S.E.2d 777 (2008).   Prejudgment interest.    - When a guardian disputed whether the guardian was owed commissions for stocks and bonds under former O.C.G.A. § 29-2-42(a) (now O.C.G.A. § 29-5-50), not the amount paid for such commissions, the estate's administrator was entitled to prejudgment interest under O.C.G.A. § 7-4-15; the fact that the guardian disputed liability at trial did not convert the claim into a claim for an uncertain and, therefore, unliquidated amount. In re Estate of Miraglia, 290 Ga. App. 28, 658 S.E.2d 777 (2008).   Conservator forfeited commission based on conservator's admitted mismanagement of ward's accounts.    - Probate court was authorized to disallow a commission taken by a conservator in the amount of $7,382 based on the conservator's admitted failure to file correct annual returns, commingling of funds, and other mismanagement pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 29-5-50(e). In re Hudson, 300 Ga. App. 340, 685 S.E.2d 323 (2009).