Yes, but not on their own say-so. An administrator is the person the probate court appoints when someone dies without a will, and Georgia does not hand them the power to sell real estate automatically. They get it one of two ways: every heir signs off on expanded powers when the administrator is appointed, or the administrator goes back to the court with a petition for leave to sell. Skip both and the closing attorney will not let the sale close.
Which path you are on decides whether the house sells in a few months or sits for a year.
We are home buyers, not attorneys, and this is not legal advice. Intestate estates turn on who the heirs are and what the court order says, so run your situation past a Georgia probate attorney before you act on anything here.
Executor vs. Administrator: Same Job, Different Starting Authority
When there is a will, the person named in it is the executor, and most Georgia wills give that executor power of sale. They get Letters Testamentary and can sell without asking the heirs. We cover that in our executor guide.
When there is no will, nobody was named. A family member, usually the surviving spouse or an adult child, petitions the probate court for Letters of Administration. Georgia’s intestacy rules in O.C.G.A. Title 53 decide who the heirs are and what share each one gets. The administrator manages the estate for those heirs, but their baseline authority is narrower than an executor’s. Selling the house is the clearest example.
Path One: Get Expanded Powers at Appointment
This is the fast lane, and most families do not know it exists.
O.C.G.A. 53-7-1(b) lets a personal representative ask the probate court for the expanded powers listed in O.C.G.A. 53-12-261, including the power to sell and convey property in subsection (b)(1). Those are written as trustee powers; subsection (d) is what applies them to a personal representative when a court grants them, so appointment alone does not carry them. The request can go in the original petition for Letters of Administration. The catch is that every heir has to consent in writing, the court publishes notice in the county legal organ, and the powers are granted only if nobody objects.
If your family agrees on selling, this is the move. Have the attorney file the petition for letters with the 53-12-261 powers requested and every heir’s signed consent attached. Once the court grants it, the administrator can sign a contract and a deed the same way an executor with power of sale would. The heirs do not have to sign at closing.
Path Two: Petition for Leave to Sell
If the heirs did not consent at appointment, or one of them would not, the administrator has to file a separate petition under O.C.G.A. 53-8-13. The petition names the property, the reason for the sale, and the proposed price. The court sends notice to every heir. If nobody objects in the statutory window, the court orders the sale on the terms in the petition. If someone objects, there is a hearing, and the judge decides whether the sale goes forward and whether it has to be a public sale instead of a private one.
This path works, but it adds a filing, a notice period, and often a hearing. Heirs get at least 30 days of notice by mail, or four weeks of published notice if their addresses are unknown, before the objection deadline even arrives. Figure another 6 to 8 weeks on top of the appointment itself, longer if an heir fights it.
What If One Heir Will Not Cooperate at All?
An objection to the leave-to-sell petition does not automatically kill the sale. The judge rules on what is in the estate’s best interest, and a vacant house that is costing the estate money every month is a strong argument. But if the estate is closed and the house has already been distributed to the heirs as tenants in common, the administrator is out of the picture and you are in partition territory. That is a Superior Court case under Georgia’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, and it is slow. Our guide to heir property in Georgia and guide to selling an inherited house with siblings cover that scenario.
The practical takeaway: get the sale done while the estate is still open and the administrator still holds authority. Once the house is deeded out to four people, you need four signatures.
Year’s Support Can Change the Answer
A surviving spouse or minor child can petition for year’s support under O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 3, and the court can award them the house outright. If that petition is pending, the administrator should not be selling the house, and most closing attorneys will not close until it is resolved. Our guide to year’s support in Georgia explains how that works and why it is sometimes the fastest route to a clean sale.
The Mortgage Does Not Block the Sale
If there is a loan on the house, it gets paid off from the sale proceeds at closing. The estate does not have to pay it down first and the heirs do not take it on personally. Until the house sells, though, the estate owes the payment every month, and a lender can foreclose on a vacant probate house like any other. If the loan is behind, that is one more reason to get authority to sell early rather than late.
Retail Listing or As-Is Cash Sale
Once the administrator has authority, the choice is the same one every estate faces. Listing with an agent after cleanout and repairs can bring a higher price in a strong Metro Atlanta neighborhood, at the cost of repair money up front, roughly 6% in commissions, and 60 to 120 days waiting on a financed buyer.
An as-is cash sale brings a lower number and a close date you can count on, often 14 to 30 days, with no repairs and no financing risk. For an administrator who has already spent months getting appointed and getting powers, certainty is often worth more than the spread.
If you are the administrator of an estate in Metro Atlanta and the house needs to go, Mighty Estates buys properties like this directly. Call or text us, we will give you real numbers the same day. Every closing runs through a Georgia closing attorney, who confirms your authority and handles the payoff and the paperwork.