Problem 1 — Minor Children Cannot Own Real Property Directly
A minor child in Georgia cannot hold title to real property. If a rental property passes directly to a minor — through a will, through intestate succession, or through a beneficiary designation — the law requires a court-supervised conservatorship to manage that property until the child reaches adulthood.
The conservatorship is established by petition to the probate court under O.C.G.A. § 29-3-8. The process involves filing a petition, appointment of a Guardian ad Litem, a court hearing, a court order, and posting a bond based on the asset value. The conservator must file annual verified returns with the probate court under O.C.G.A. § 29-3-60 for as long as the conservatorship continues.
Major decisions — selling the property, refinancing, making substantial capital improvements — generally require separate court approval. Every action is subject to probate court oversight. This process is not a substitute for estate planning. It is what the law substitutes when estate planning is absent or incomplete.
Problem 2 — The 18-Year-Old Inheritance
When the minor turns 18, the conservatorship terminates under O.C.G.A. § 29-3-64. The conservator files a final settlement, the probate court approves the discharge, and the now-adult child receives the rental property outright.
There are no controls on what they do with it. An 18-year-old who inherits a $600,000 rental property has full legal authority to sell it, encumber it, or simply stop managing it. Georgia’s age of majority is 18 under O.C.G.A. § 39-1-1. There is no automatic mechanism that delays inheritance to 21, 25, or any other age.
A trust can specify any distribution age or structure the investor chooses — distribute at 25, distribute in thirds at 25/30/35, hold and distribute income until a triggering event, or distribute to a successor trustee if the beneficiary is incapacitated. A conservatorship gives the investor none of those options.
Problem 3 — Adult Children Who Inherit Together Face Forced Sale Risk
The partition problem does not only affect strangers. O.C.G.A. § 44-6-160 explicitly applies to property held “by descent” — meaning property inherited from a parent.
When two or more adult children inherit a rental property as co-owners, any one of them can file a partition action without the other siblings’ consent and without showing any wrongdoing. A child who needs cash, who is going through a divorce, whose creditors are pressing — any of these circumstances can motivate a partition filing. Once filed, the other siblings’ preference to keep the property is legally irrelevant unless they can buy out the petitioning sibling within the 45-day window under Georgia’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-6-180 through 44-6-189.1).
For the full breakdown of what a forced partition sale costs, see Cost of Probate for Georgia Rental Properties. For how co-ownership creates additional creditor exposure, see Problems With Joint Tenancy for Georgia Rental Properties.
How a Trust Solves All Three Problems
Naming a trust as the beneficiary of a rental property — or holding the property inside a trust from the beginning — eliminates all three problems.
For minor beneficiaries: The trust holds legal title. When the investor dies, the successor trustee manages the property on behalf of the minor beneficiary. No conservatorship is required because the child is not inheriting the property outright. The trustee manages the property, files no annual court reports, posts no bond, and needs no court approval for management decisions.
For the age-18 cliff: The trust document controls when and how the child receives the property or its proceeds. Distribute at 25. Distribute income until 30, then principal. The trust enforces whatever structure the investor chose — automatically, without court involvement.
For adult children: Trust beneficiaries hold equitable interests, not concurrent legal title. O.C.G.A. § 44-6-160 requires the petitioner to be a “common owner” holding concurrent legal title. A trust beneficiary cannot force a partition sale of trust property. The trustee holds the property and manages it according to the trust document until the distribution conditions are met.
For a full overview of how to structure a Georgia rental property portfolio correctly, see Estate Planning for Real Estate Investors. For pricing, see the Real Estate Investor Estate Planning Pricing page.
