2022 Georgia Code
Title 15 - Courts
Chapter 9 - Probate Courts
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 15-9-13. Procedure When Judge Unable to Act; Compensation

1. Whenever a judge of the probate court is unable to act in any case because of sickness, absence, or any other reason, an associate judge of the probate court, in order of seniority, shall exercise the jurisdiction of the probate court, unless he or she is disqualified under subsection (f) of Code Section 15-9-2.1. Whenever a judge of the probate court is unable to act in any case because of sickness, absence, or any other reason and an associate judge is unable to act, the judge of the probate court may appoint an attorney at law who is a member of the State Bar of Georgia to exercise the jurisdiction of the probate court. If, however, the inability of the probate judge to act arises from any unlawful act or the accusation of an unlawful act on the part of the probate judge, the probate judge shall not appoint an attorney and only another judge shall exercise the jurisdiction of the probate court.
2. If for any reason the judge of the probate court fails to appoint an attorney to serve, the chief judge of the superior court shall appoint an individual to serve and exercise the jurisdiction of the judge of the probate court in the case.
3. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-9-2.1, the compensation of the individual serving as provided in this Code section shall be fixed by the board of county commissioners or, in those counties which have no county commissioners, by the chief judge of the superior court. The compensation shall be paid from the general funds of the county. All fees collected during such service by an individual who is not an associate judge of the probate court shall be paid into the general funds of the county.

History. Ga. L. 1889, p. 100, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 4227; Ga. L. 1897, p. 52, § 1; Ga. L. 1907, p. 107, § 1; Civil Code 1910, § 4785; Code 1933, § 24-1710; Ga. L. 1951, p. 129, § 2; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 182, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 891, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 50; Ga. L. 1983, p. 544, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 884, § 3-14; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1482, § 2; Ga. L. 2018, p. 356, § 1-13/SB 436.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: “Whenever a judge of the probate court is disqualified to act in any case or because of sickness, absence, or any other reason is unable to act in any case, the judge of the probate court may appoint an attorney at law who is a member of the State Bar of Georgia to exercise the jurisdiction of the probate court. If the judge of the probate court does not so appoint, the judge of the city or state court, as the case may be, shall exercise all the jurisdiction of the judge of the probate court in the case. If, however, the inability of the probate judge to act arises from any unlawful act or the accusation of an unlawful act on the part of the probate judge, the probate judge may not appoint an attorney and only another judge shall exercise the jurisdiction of the probate court.”; deleted former subsection (b), which read: “If there is no such judge or if for some reason the judge cannot serve in the case, the clerk of the judge of the probate court shall exercise all the jurisdiction of the judge of the probate court in the case.”; redesignated former subsections (c) and (d) as present subsection (b) and (c), respectively; in subsection (b), deleted “clerk of the” following “reason the” near the beginning, substituted “fails to appoint an attorney to serve, the chief judge” for “cannot serve in such case, the judge” near the middle, and substituted “an individual” for “a person” in the middle; in subsection (c), in the first sentence, substituted “Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-9-2.1, the” for “The” at the beginning, substituted “individual” for “person” near the middle, and inserted “chief” near the end, and, in the third sentence, substituted “such service by an individual who is not an associate judge of the probate court” for “the service”.

Cross references.

Filling of vacancies in public office generally, § 45-5-1 et seq.

Appointment of attorney to act in probate court judge’s absence, Uniform Rules for the Probate Courts, Rule 3.