§ 9-2-30.Substitution of plaintiff’s spouse or others in action on chose in action assigned as year’s support

Georgia’s year’s support process sets aside part of a deceased person’s estate for the surviving spouse and children before other debts and claims get paid. Sometimes what gets set aside isn’t cash or land but a chose in action — a legal claim, like a debt owed to the decedent, that has value but hasn’t been collected yet.

Complications arise when the plaintiff pursuing that claim dies in the middle of the lawsuit, after the underlying chose in action has already been assigned to the surviving spouse, to the spouse and children together, or to the children alone as part of the year’s support. This section lets the right people step into the dead plaintiff’s shoes and keep the case going.

The surviving spouse can be substituted personally, or for the benefit of the spouse and children together; if only children were named in the assignment, a next friend can be substituted on their behalf. The substitution follows the same terms and manner used when an administrator is substituted as plaintiff in an action favoring the decedent, and the person seeking substitution has to submit a certified copy of the assignment to the court. Once that happens, the case proceeds in the name of the newly substituted party.