Appointment of an Estate Administrator - Keeping a Business or a Property Alive Until the Heirs Can Take It

The gap the act fills

From the opening of the succession until the certificate of inheritance is issued, the estate belongs to the heirs who accept, but they cannot prove it and cannot act: the Public Registry still shows the deceased as owner, the bank will not let anyone operate the accounts, the company's director may have been the deceased, the tenants do not know whom to pay, the harvest, the stock or the livestock waits, and a creditor, a co-owner or a relative in possession can do damage that a later certificate cannot undo. The Civil Code and the notarial legislation therefore allow the notary, on the application of an heir, a legatee, an executor, a creditor of the estate or on the notary's own initiative where the estate requires it, to take measures for the protection of the estate and, where the estate includes assets that need management - an enterprise, rental property, agricultural land, securities, receivables - to appoint an administrator (custodian, manager) of the estate until the heirs take over. The act is entered in the register and the administrator receives a certificate of appointment that banks, the Registry, tenants and counterparties recognize.

Who is appointed, and by whom

The notary appoints a person suitable to the assets: often an heir who is in Georgia and able to act (with the consent of the others where they can be reached), a relative or associate of the deceased who already knows the business, a professional manager or accountant, a lawyer, or, where the estate includes a company, a person the partners accept; where the will names an executor, the executor takes on management and an administrator is appointed only where the executor cannot. The applicant proposes the administrator with their identity documents and, where relevant, their qualifications, and the notary confirms that the person consents, is not disqualified and is not in conflict with the estate; the notary may require security or reporting from the administrator in proportion to the assets. Heirs abroad who cannot reach an estate frequently ask us to propose a professional administrator, or appoint one of our partner lawyers or accountants, under a power of attorney that lets us apply for the appointment and supervise the administrator on their behalf.

The administrator's powers and duties

The administrator's task is to preserve and manage, not to dispose: the notary's act defines the powers, which typically include taking possession of the assets and inventorying them, collecting rents, receivables and dividends, paying the estate's current obligations (utilities, wages, taxes, insurance), continuing the ordinary business of an enterprise and signing for it in the ordinary course, maintaining and insuring property, representing the estate before authorities and in urgent litigation, and depositing income in an account held for the estate; sale, mortgage or other disposal of assets is outside the ordinary course and requires the heirs' consent or the notary's specific authorization, and only where necessary to preserve value (perishable goods, a business that must be sold as a going concern). The administrator acts in the interests of the heirs, keeps accounts, reports to the notary and the heirs as the act provides, is liable for loss caused by fault, and hands over the assets and the accounts to the heirs when the certificate of inheritance is issued. Remuneration, where the administrator is not an heir, is fixed in the act or agreed with the heirs and paid from the estate.

Typical estates: companies, rental property, accounts and farms

A Georgian LLC whose sole director and partner has died is the classic case: contracts must be signed, staff paid and taxes filed, and the administrator is appointed to act for the company until the heirs are registered as partners and appoint a director; the Public Registry records the administrator's authority on the notary's act. Rental apartments in Batumi and Tbilisi owned by a deceased foreigner are the second: the administrator collects rent, pays the building charges and taxes, deals with the tenants and the management company and holds the income for the heirs abroad. Bank accounts are frozen at death, and the administrator's certificate lets the bank release funds for the estate's obligations under the notary's control. Farms, vineyards and livestock, stocks of goods, vehicles in use, securities and receivables all need someone with authority to act within days, and the appointment supplies it. We assess with the heirs what the estate contains, what will suffer without management, and whether an appointment is worth its cost - for a single apartment with no tenant it usually is not, for a business it usually is.

Heirs abroad and the administrator

Heirs outside Georgia use the act in two ways: to have a trusted person appointed who protects the estate they cannot reach, and to supervise that person through us. Under a power of attorney from the heirs, we apply to the notary for the appointment, propose the administrator, receive the administrator's reports, translate them for the heirs, instruct the administrator within the heirs' decisions, and, when the certificate of inheritance is issued, receive the handover on the heirs' behalf and proceed to registration and, if the heirs wish, sale. The power of attorney and the heirs' civil status documents are apostilled and translated as for the acceptance of inheritance, and the appointment can be applied for in the same visit as the acceptance is filed, which for a business estate is the right sequence.

What to bring, fees and timing

Bring the inheritance file details (the notary's file number if the succession is already open, or the death certificate and the applicant's relationship documents if not), the identity documents and consent of the proposed administrator and, for professionals, their qualification, and information on the assets to be managed (company extracts, property extracts, tenancy agreements, bank details) so that the notary can define the powers. Send these in advance on WhatsApp, Telegram or email and we prepare the application and the draft act; the appointment is made at Agmashenebeli 117 within a day or two of a complete application, faster where assets are at immediate risk. Fees follow the official tariff for the act and the certificate of appointment; the administrator's remuneration is separate; the translation, notarization and apostille of foreign documents and powers of attorney are quoted in advance. If a business or a tenanted property has just lost its owner, write to us today rather than after the six months.

Frequently asked questions

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