The time between the death of a person and the commencement of representation upon his estate or between the termination of one administration and the commencement of another shall not be counted against his estate in calculating any limitation applicable to the bringing of an action, provided that such time shall not exceed five years. At the expiration of the five years the limitation shall commence, even if the cause of action accrued after the person’s death.
§ 9-3-92.Five-year tolling for unrepresented estate — In favor of estate
Chapter 3. Limitations of Actions · Article 5. Tolling of Limitations · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 excludes, for up to five years, the time between a person’s death and the appointment of an estate representative — or between one administration and the next — from any limitations period on claims belonging to the estate, after which the clock runs regardless.
Full Text of § 9-3-92
Plain-English Summary
An estate cannot sue for itself. Someone has to be appointed to speak for it — an executor or administrator — and until that happens, an estate’s claims sit in limbo. This section keeps that gap from quietly running out the clock on claims that belong to the estate: the time between a person’s death and the start of representation on the estate, or between the end of one administration and the start of the next, does not count against the estate when a court figures out whether a limitations period has expired.
That protection is not open-ended. It runs for five years at most. Once five years pass without representation being commenced, the limitations period starts running anyway — even if the underlying cause of action did not accrue until after the person died. The gap in representation stops protecting the estate’s claims at that point, whether or not anyone has stepped forward to administer the estate.
The rule exists to keep a claim from dying along with the person who could bring it, while still giving beneficiaries, heirs, and courts a firm outer boundary rather than an open pause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 protect the estate’s own claims or claims against the estate?
The estate’s own claims. The companion protection for creditors of the estate is in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-93.
How long can a gap in estate representation toll a limitations period under this section?
No more than five years — “provided that such time shall not exceed five years.”
What happens once five years pass without an administrator or executor in place?
The limitations period begins running regardless: “at the expiration of the five years the limitation shall commence, even if the cause of action accrued after the person’s death.”
Does this tolling apply only right after death, or also between two administrations?
Both. It covers the time between death and the start of representation and the time “between the termination of one administration and the commencement of another.”
Does it matter whether the estate’s cause of action arose before or after the person died?
No. The five-year cap on tolling applies even where “the cause of action accrued after the person’s death.”
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 235, §§ 21, 40; Code 1863, § 2869; Code 1868, § 2877; Code 1873, § 2928; Code 1882, § 2928; Civil Code 1895, § 3781; Civil Code 1910, § 4376; Code 1933, § 3-803.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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