Adult Guardianship Periodic Reporting Requirements in Georgia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

First filings and annual clocks

The guardian's first personal status report is due within 60 days of appointment; later reports are due within 60 days after each anniversary of that appointment (§ 29-4-22(b)(9)). The conservator instead has two months after appointment for the first inventory and property plan (§ 29-5-30(a)). Its annual return is measured from the qualification anniversary, with 60 days to file (§ 29-5-60(a)).

What the filings describe

The personal status report addresses the ward's condition and needs, every address and living arrangement in the reporting period, the amount and use of funds the guardian received for current needs, and recommended changes to the order (§ 29-4-22(b)(9)(A)–(D)). The conservator's first inventory identifies assets, liabilities, real and personal property, and how property is titled (§ 29-5-30(b)). The property plan estimates duration, expenses and resources, and proposed title changes; the plan is updated with each annual return (§ 29-5-30(c)).

The verified return reports receipts, expenditures, an updated inventory and plan, facts needed to show the estate's true condition, and the current bond amount. The conservator mails it by first-class mail to the ward, any guardian, and the bond surety (§ 29-5-60(a)).

Verification and court review

The conservator swears or affirms that the first inventory truly states the known assets and liabilities (§ 29-5-30(b)). The court examines each annual return and may require its original supporting documents. If no objection is filed within 30 days, the court records the return within 60 days of filing (§ 29-5-60(c)).

What trips people up

The conservator's annual clock is tied to qualification; the guardian's is tied to appointment. The court can change the conservator's reporting period by order, but merely accepting a return covering a different period does not itself reset the clock (§ 29-5-60(b)).

A late conservator must be cited to explain the delay. Failure to file an annual return forfeits that year's commissions and compensation unless the court orders otherwise; willful and continued failure is good cause for removal (§ 29-5-60(d)).

Common questions

Does the ward receive the guardian's report? Yes. The guardian must provide the personal status report to the ward and to any conservator as well as filing it with the court (§ 29-4-22(b)(9)).

What if the ward's condition changes between reports? The guardian must promptly notify the court of a change that, in the guardian's opinion, might require modifying or ending the guardianship (§ 29-4-22(b)(10)).

Is there a closing filing? A petition to dismiss a guardian after termination or resignation includes a final status report covering the period since the last annual report (§ 29-4-43(a)). A corresponding conservator petition includes a final return covering the period since the latest annual return (§ 29-5-80(a)).

Statutes and sources

The quotations in the statutes entries above are from the General Assembly's as-passed HB 229, accessed October 3, 2026. HB 1268 § 54(1)(M), accessed the same day, made a punctuation change in § 29-4-22(b)(8); the reporting language in paragraph (9) is unaffected.