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 creditors of his estate, provided that such time does not exceed five years. At the expiration of the five years the limitation shall commence.
§ 9-3-93.Five-year tolling for unrepresented estate — In favor of creditors
Chapter 3. Limitations of Actions · Article 5. Tolling of Limitations · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-3-93 excludes, for up to five years, the time between a decedent’s death and the appointment of an estate representative — or between one administration and the next — from any limitations period governing creditors’ claims against the estate, after which the clock runs anyway.
Full Text of § 9-3-93
Plain-English Summary
O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 protects the estate’s own claims when no one has been appointed to administer it. This section protects the flip side: creditors who hold claims against the estate. If a person dies and representation has not yet begun, or if one administration ends before another starts, that gap in representation does not count against creditors when a court measures whether their claim is time-barred.
The protection tracks the same five-year ceiling. Once five years pass without an administrator or executor in place, the limitation period starts running against creditors regardless of whether anyone has stepped in to represent the estate. A creditor cannot count on an indefinitely open window just because the estate remains unrepresented.
The two sections work as a pair: one keeps the estate from losing its own claims to an administrative gap, the other keeps creditors from losing theirs to the same gap — while both cap the pause at five years so an unadministered estate cannot freeze every clock forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who benefits from the tolling in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-93?
Creditors of the decedent’s estate — the time gap in estate representation does not count “against creditors of his estate.”
What two situations trigger this tolling for creditors?
The time between a person’s death and the commencement of representation on the estate, and the time between the termination of one administration and the commencement of another.
Is there a cap on how long the creditor tolling can last?
Yes. The statute applies “provided that such time does not exceed five years.”
What happens to a creditor’s claim after five years pass without representation?
The limitation period begins to run against the creditor: “at the expiration of the five years the limitation shall commence.”
How does O.C.G.A. § 9-3-93 differ from O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92?
This section protects creditors’ claims against the estate, while O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 protects the estate’s own claims against others.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1882-83, p. 104, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 3782; Civil Code 1910, § 4377; Code 1933, § 3-804.
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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