§ 9-3-36.Limitations on claims arising before decedent’s death

When someone dies owing money or facing a potential lawsuit, the claims that existed against them do not disappear — they can generally be pursued against the estate. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-36 puts an outer boundary on that pursuit: no claim that arose before the decedent's death may be brought more than six years after the date of death, no matter what limitations period would otherwise have applied to the claim while the decedent was alive.

Subsection (b) makes the nature of this rule explicit. It is not an ordinary limitations period that might be tolled or extended by discovery rules or disability — it is a statute of ultimate repose and abrogation, meaning the six years runs regardless of when the claim was discovered or whether the claimant had any earlier opportunity to sue. Once six years pass from the date of death, the claim is gone.

The section preserves one important exception. It does not limit the time to bring a proceeding to enforce a mortgage, pledge, or other lien on property the decedent owned immediately before death. Secured claims tied to specific property keep whatever enforcement timeline otherwise applies to that lien, separate from the six-year repose period governing unsecured claims against the estate generally.