Georgia: Personal Property Memorandum Requirements
The short answer
Yes. A Georgia will may refer to a written statement or list, including one described as existing at death, to dispose of tangible personal property other than money that the will does not otherwise specifically dispose of. The writing must be signed and dated, describe the items and recipients with reasonable certainty, and be referred to in the will. It may be prepared or altered before or after the will, but each alteration must be signed and dated on the alteration date; a more recent effective writing controls only to the extent of a conflict.
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This is the general rule in Georgia. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Georgia law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and device recognized | Yes; statutory written statement or list under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-5 |
|---|---|
| Will reference required | Yes; will must refer to the writing and may describe it as one to exist at the testator's death (§ 53-4-5(b)(3)) |
| Eligible property and exclusions | Tangible personal property other than money, and only property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will (§ 53-4-5(a)) |
| Signature, handwriting, and date | Must be signed and dated by testator; no handwriting, witness, notarization, or signature-placement condition stated (§ 53-4-5(b)(1)) |
| Item and devisee identification | Items and recipients must be described with reasonable certainty (§ 53-4-5(b)(2), as amended 2025) |
| Timing before or after the will | May be prepared before or after will execution and may have no significance apart from the will's dispositions (§ 53-4-5(b)(3)) |
| Alteration, replacement, and conflict priority | May be altered, but alteration must be signed and dated on alteration date; more recent effective writing revokes inconsistent prior terms only to extent of conflict (§ 53-4-5(a), (b)(3)) |
| Probate use, effect, and failure consequence | Qualifying writing disposes of covered items but is not the will or part of it; § 53-4-5 states no probate-filing or delivery step (§ 53-4-5(a), (c)) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law and eligible property
O.C.G.A. § 53-4-5 recognizes a separate written statement or list. It may
dispose of tangible personal property that the will does not otherwise
specifically dispose of, but not money. The section does not add separate
exclusions for securities, title documents, evidences of debt, or property used
in a trade or business; property still must be tangible personal property.
Will reference
The testator's will must refer to the writing. The reference may describe a
writing “to be in existence at the time of the testator's death,” which permits
the testator to prepare the list later without signing a new will.
Signature, date, and identification
The writing must be signed and dated by the testator. Section 53-4-5 states no
handwriting, witness, notarization, or signature-placement requirement for the
list. It separately requires the writing to describe the items and their
recipients with reasonable certainty.
Timing and later changes
The writing may be prepared before or after the will is executed and may have
no significance apart from its effect on the will's dispositions. The testator
may also alter it after preparation, but the alteration must be signed and dated
on the date of the alteration.
If more than one otherwise effective writing exists, the more recent writing
revokes earlier terms only “to the extent of any conflict.” Nonconflicting terms
of an earlier effective writing are not displaced by that priority rule.
Effect after death
A writing that meets subsection (b) disposes of the covered items under
subsection (a). A 2025 amendment added subsection (c), which says the writing
is not deemed to be the testator's will or a part of it. Section 53-4-5 states no
separate probate-filing or delivery deadline for the writing.
What trips people up
Money is the only asset category that § 53-4-5 expressly excludes. Broader
lists copied from other states can incorrectly exclude business property,
securities, evidences of debt, or title documents as named Georgia exceptions.
The controlling Georgia question is first whether the asset is tangible
personal property and then whether the will already specifically disposes of
it.
An alteration also needs more than an initial. The statute requires the altered
writing to be signed and dated on the date of the alteration. For competing
writings, recency matters only after each writing independently satisfies the
statutory conditions.
Common questions
Can the list be prepared after the will?
Yes. The will may refer to a writing to exist at death, and the writing may be
prepared before or after will execution.
Must the list be witnessed or notarized?
Section 53-4-5 requires the testator's signature and date but states no witness
or notarization requirement for the list.
Can the list give away cash?
No. Subsection (a) expressly excludes money.
Does a new list erase every earlier list?
Not automatically. A more recent otherwise effective writing revokes an older
writing only to the extent the two conflict.
Statutes and sources
- O.C.G.A. § 53-4-5(a), (b)(1), and (b)(3) — eligible property, conflict
priority, signature, date, will reference, timing, alteration, and independent-
significance rules. Code Revision Commission/Public.Resource.Org release-86
Title 53:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicourt/cic-code-ga/master/transforms/ga/ocga/r86/gov.ga.ocga.title.53.html
(accessed 2026-08-11). - O.C.G.A. § 53-4-5(b)(2), (c) — current recipient-identification wording
and the rule that the writing is not the will or part of it. Official signed
2025 H.B. 327, Act 310, § 50:
https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/238505 (accessed
2026-08-11; effective July 1, 2025).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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