What you need
Get your county’s return form from its probate court. Have last year’s return, the year’s bank and brokerage statements, the current bond, and the plan the court approved.
The example follows Ezekiel Whitlock, an invented adult ward whose conservator qualified on 03/14/2024. This is his second return. It covers the year before 03/14/2026 and is due 05/13/2026.
What the law says it must show
The return has five parts, all for the year before the anniversary:
- A statement of the year’s receipts and expenditures.
- An updated inventory: the assets and debts as of the anniversary.
- An updated plan for managing, spending and distributing the property.
- Any other fact needed to show the estate’s true condition.
- The current amount of the bond.
O.C.G.A. §29-5-60(a) (opens in a new tab)
The updated inventory and plan answer the same questions as your first one on GPCSF 58. The court must approve any budget that spends more than the income. §29-5-30(c) (opens in a new tab)
Ending cash must equal the accounts
The statute prints no arithmetic. The county forms do. Chatham and Fulton both start from last return’s ending cash, add what came in, and subtract what went out. Fulton’s form says the result should equal the bank balances in the updated inventory.
| A. Cash from last return (its line E) | $18,406.25 |
|---|---|
| B. Money received | 25,145.47 |
| C. Subtotal, A + B | $43,551.72 |
| D. Money spent | 23,371.92 |
| E. Cash at the end of the period, C − D | $20,179.80 |
Where the figures came from
| Social Security, $1,642.00 × 12 | $19,704.00 |
|---|---|
| Pension, $418.50 × 12 | 5,022.00 |
| Savings interest | 231.47 |
| Tax refund | 188.00 |
| Received | $25,145.47 |
| Personal care home, $1,850.00 × 12 | 22,200.00 |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy | 684.32 |
| Clothing | 312.60 |
| Bond premium | 175.00 |
| Spent | $23,371.92 |
| Checking | 4,648.33 |
|---|---|
| Savings | 15,531.47 |
| Equals line E | $20,179.80 |
Ezekiel’s car is in the updated inventory too, but it is not cash, so it stays out of the summary. Chatham asks for the last statement of each account in the period to prove line E, and proof the bond premium was paid. On Chatham’s first return, line A is zero and the period starts on the date of appointment.
Your commissions
A conservator earns 2.5% of money received, 2.5% of money paid out, and 0.5% of the estate’s market value on the last day of the period. Interest earned carries a 10% commission. O.C.G.A. §29-5-50(a) (opens in a new tab)
Commissions you pay yourself go in money spent. Fulton asks for a separate sheet showing how you worked them out.
After you file
The probate judge examines the return and may ask for the original records behind it. If no one objects within 30 days, the court records the return within 60 days of filing. §29-5-60(c) (opens in a new tab)
A late return brings a citation to appear. Unless the court orders otherwise, you forfeit that year’s commissions. §29-5-60(d) (opens in a new tab) §29-5-50(e) (opens in a new tab) Willful, continued failure is cause for removal.
The final return
An adult ward’s death ends the conservatorship except for the final settlement. The property goes to the personal representative. O.C.G.A. §29-5-72(e) (opens in a new tab)
To be dismissed, file a final return covering the time since your last annual return, in the same form. Chatham’s PR5-CON serves for both. Notice is published once, with at least 30 days for objections. O.C.G.A. §29-5-80 (opens in a new tab)
Common mistakes
Dating the year from the appointment order
The return’s year ends on the anniversary of qualification, unless the court has ordered another date. §29-5-60(a)–(b) (opens in a new tab)
Rounded figures
Chatham refuses estimates and rounding. Copy each figure to the cent from the bank records.
Money outside the conservator accounts
Chatham’s return has you swear that every fund sits in a conservator account, nothing is commingled, and the ward’s taxes are filed and paid.
A sale with no return of sale
Make a full return to the court within 30 days of every sale, naming the property, the buyers, the amounts and the terms. §29-5-35(f) (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- O.C.G.A. §29-5-60 (opens in a new tab), the annual return, adult ward
- O.C.G.A. §29-3-60 (opens in a new tab), the annual return, minor
- O.C.G.A. §29-5-30 (opens in a new tab), the updated plan
- O.C.G.A. §29-5-35 (opens in a new tab), returns of sale
- O.C.G.A. §29-5-50 (opens in a new tab), commissions and their forfeiture
- PR5-CON, Annual/Final Return of Conservator (opens in a new tab), Probate Court of Chatham County
- Adult Conservatorship Inventory, Asset Management Plan and Return (opens in a new tab), Probate Court of Fulton County
Also for Georgia: GPCSF 58, Adult Conservatorship Inventory and Asset Management Plan
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