The Georgia Court of Appeals recently held that a beneficiary of an intestate (without a will) decedent can be liable for a debt of the decedent, even though no estate was ever opened.  In the case, Villas at Stone Mountain Condominium Association, Inc, v. Blair, 2011 WL 365878, after the owner’s death, his condo was sold at foreclosure.  After the sale, the condo association filed suit against the owner’s daughter seeking past due monthly condo assessments and late fees.  The daughter filed a counterclaim for her attorneys’ fees.  The trial court granted judgment to the daughter on the issue of condo assessments and fees, and granted judgment to the condo association on the counterclaim for attorneys’ fees.  The condo association appealed.

The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court on the issue of liability for the condo assessments.  The Court relied on two statutes.  In the Probate Code, O.C.G.A. § 53-2-7 provides that upon the death of an intestate decedent, the title to any real property vests immediately in the decedent’s heirs at law.  Here, no estate administrator was appointed to take over title in the name of the estate, so title in the condo vested in the daughter immediately upon her mother’s death.  The Georgia Condominium Act, at O.C.G.A. § 44-3-109, provides that all assessments of a condominium association are the personal obligation of the owner.  The daughter argued that she should not be held liable because she never acquired an interest in the condo due to the foreclosure.  Her mother died in November 2008 and the foreclosure was not until February 2010, and the association sought the fees accrued during that period.  The daughter was held liable for those fees.

While this decision is based upon narrow facts, it could have wide reaching implications in the administration of estates.  In a similar situation, would the daughter be responsible for the payment of all back taxes?  Would she be liable for any injuries which occurred on the property?  Time will tell if the Courts extend the breadth of this decision.