TITLE 15 COURTS

Section 9. Probate Courts, 15-9-1 through 15-9-158.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

15-9-10. Temporary filling of vacancy; order of priority; compensation.

1. If at any time there is a vacancy in the office of judge of the probate court, such vacancy shall be filled as set forth in Code Section 15-9-11. Any individual serving during such vacancy shall be vested with all the powers of the judge of the probate court.
2. 1. Except as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 15-9-11, until such time as a special election can be held, a vacancy shall be filled in the following order of priority:
      1. By an associate judge of the probate court, in order of seniority. In any county in which an associate judge of the probate court has been appointed and such associate judge meets all of the qualifications for serving as probate judge, then he or she shall discharge the duties of the office of judge of the probate court. An associate judge shall be eligible to fill a vacancy in the office of probate judge until the special election without regard to whether such associate judge meets the residency requirement set forth in subparagraph (a)(1)(B) of Code Section 15-9-2; provided, however, that the associate judge shall meet the requirements of law before qualifying for election to the office of judge of the probate court; or
      2. By the chief clerk of the probate court. In any county in which a chief clerk of the probate court has been appointed and such clerk meets all of the qualifications for serving as probate judge, then he or she shall discharge the duties of the office of judge of the probate court.
   2. If any individual designated in paragraph (1) of this subsection does not wish to serve as judge of the probate court to fill a vacancy, he or she shall express that desire by delivering such declination in writing to the chief judge of the superior court for the circuit to which the county is assigned.
   3. If there is no associate judge for the probate court and the chief clerk is not eligible to serve or all such individuals decline to serve, the chief judge of the superior court in the circuit to which the county is assigned shall appoint an individual to serve as judge during a vacancy.
3. The sole county commissioner or the board of county commissioners shall fix the compensation of the individual who serves as judge until the vacancy is filled. The compensation shall be paid from the general funds of the county. The fees collected during such period of time shall be paid into the general funds of the county.

(Ga. L. 1851-52, p. 50, § 1; Ga. L. 1851-52, p. 91, § 13; Code 1863, § 298; Code 1868, § 358; Ga. L. 1871-72, p. 28, § 1; Code 1873, § 323; Code 1882, § 323; Civil Code 1895, § 4224; Civil Code 1910, § 4782; Code 1933, § 24-1707; Ga. L. 1951, p. 129, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 290, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 2107, § 9; Ga. L. 1983, p. 884, § 3-13; Ga. L. 1994, p. 237, § 2; Ga. L. 2018, p. 356, § 1-10/SB 436.)

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, substituted the present provisions of the first three sentences of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: "Until a vacancy in the office of judge of the probate court is filled, the chief judge of the city or state court, as the case may be, shall serve as the judge and shall be vested with all the powers of the judge. If there is no such chief judge or if for some reason the chief judge cannot serve as judge, the clerk of the superior court of the county shall serve as judge and shall be vested with all the powers of the judge. In the event that the clerk of the superior court, for some reason, cannot serve as judge, the chief judge of the superior court of the county shall appoint a person to serve as judge; such person shall be vested with all the powers of the judge."; designated the existing provisions of the fourth through sixth sentences of subsection (a) as subsection (c); added subsection (b); deleted former subsection (b), which read: "Reserved."; and, in subsection (c), in the first sentence, inserted "sole county commissioner or the" near the beginning, substituted "commissioners shall fix the compensation of the individual" for "commissioners or, in those counties which have no commissioners, the chief judge of the superior court shall fix the compensation of the person" in the middle.