§ 53-8-23 - (Pre-1998 Probate Code) Sale of real property generally -- Petition; notice; objections; order; appeal; effect on devisees and bona fide purchasers - Georgia Statutes

O.C.G.A. 53-8-23 (2010)
53-8-23. (Pre-1998 Probate Code) Sale of real property generally -- Petition; notice; objections; order; appeal; effect on devisees and bona fide purchasers

(a) If at any time it becomes necessary for the payment of the debts of the estate or for the purpose of distribution to sell the real property of the decedent, the administrator or executor shall, by written petition, apply to the judge of the probate court for leave to sell, setting forth in the petition the reason therefor; and notice of the same shall be published once a week for four weeks before the hearing in the newspaper in which county advertisements are published. If no objection is filed and the judge is satisfied of the truth of the allegation in the petition, an order shall be passed granting the leave to sell and specifying the real property as definitely as possible. The order by the judge granting permission to an executor or an administrator with the will annexed to sell shall be binding, final, and conclusive as to all devisees under the will of the testator regardless of any prior assent of the executor to the devise in the will. Nothing contained in this Code section shall prevent the devisee from entering an appeal from the order within the time provided by law or from filing a claim to the real property prior to the actual sale thereof by the executor or the administrator with the will annexed. Nothing in this Code section shall prevent a bona fide purchaser or mortgagee of the real property who purchased prior to the order of the judge and who holds under a deed or mortgage duly recorded prior to the order from asserting title to the real property by showing that the executor had assented expressly or impliedly to the devise in the will prior to the order to sell. Nothing contained in this Code section shall limit the powers contained in the will of a decedent.

(b) A temporary administrator of an estate shall be authorized to petition the probate court for leave to sell real property following the same procedure as prescribed for the sale of real property by administrators and executors in subsection (a) of this Code section; provided, however, that good cause is shown.