Georgia Temporary Guardianship Form (GPCSF 28): Filing, Consent, and Fees

To seek temporary guardianship of a minor in Georgia, you complete Probate Court Standard Form 28 (GPCSF 28), attach notarized parental consents if you have them, and file everything in the probate court of the county where you live with the child. The Georgia temporary guardianship form GPCSF 28 works fastest when both parents sign notarized consents, because the court can then issue letters of guardianship without a hearing.¹

Who Can File and In Which County

You must already have physical custody of the child. That means the child is living in your home right now, not that you plan to take custody later. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, or any other adult caring for the minor can petition, so long as the child is actually with them when the petition is filed.²

Georgia residents file in the probate court of the county where they are domiciled. If you live outside Georgia but have physical custody of the child within the state, file in the county where the minor is found. You cannot file in one county while the child lives in another.²

The form itself is available on the Supreme Court of Georgia’s Probate Court Standard Forms page or from your local probate clerk’s office.³

What the Petition Asks For

GPCSF 28 collects the information required by O.C.G.A. § 29-2-5(c). Every blank matters; incomplete petitions come back from the clerk.²

The minor’s full legal name, date of birth, and address.
Your name, address, and relationship to the child, if any.
A statement that you have physical custody of the minor and that you are domiciled in the county of filing (or, if you live out of state, that you are filing where the minor is found).
Each living parent’s name, address, county of domicile, and whether they are the child’s natural guardian. If a parent’s address is unknown, describe the efforts you made to locate them.
Whether one or both parents have signed notarized written consents, with those consents attached.
If a parent has not consented, the specific circumstances that make a temporary guardian necessary, such as illness, military deployment, incarceration, or substance abuse.
An explanation of anything you could not fill in.

The form also asks you to answer questions about each parent’s status: whether parental rights were terminated, whether a parent is deceased, and similar matters. Any “yes” answer needs supporting documentation attached as an exhibit, such as a death certificate or court order.⁴ Names, addresses, and dates on the petition should match those documents exactly.

Parental Consent and What Happens Without It

Parental consent controls how quickly the court can act. When the sole parent or both parents sign notarized written consents and you attach them, the court grants the petition without further notice or hearing and issues the letters of guardianship.¹

The consent must be a notarized writing. A parent’s signature alone is not enough; each consenting parent signs before a notary public who authenticates the signature. That notarization is separate from your own oath as petitioner, which a notary cannot administer.⁴

If a parent has not consented, the court sends notice and gives them a window to object.¹

Parent in Georgia at a known address: personal service, then 10 days to object.
Parent outside Georgia at a known address: first-class mail, then 14 days from the mailing date to object.
Parent’s address unknown: publication for two consecutive weeks in the county’s official legal organ, then 10 days from the second publication to object.

If no objection comes in, the court grants the petition without a hearing. If an objection is filed, the outcome depends on who the parent is and what they object to. A natural guardian who objects to the guardianship itself gets the petition dismissed; a natural guardian who objects only to you as guardian triggers a hearing to select someone else; a parent who is not the natural guardian triggers a full hearing on all issues, decided on the child’s best interest.¹

Criminal Background Check

Georgia’s Uniform Probate Court Rule 5.5.1 lets the probate judge access criminal records held by the Georgia Crime Information Center before appointing any guardian of a minor. Whether the judge actually runs the check is discretionary, but many counties do. Rule 5.5.2 also allows an expanded national background check authorized by O.C.G.A. § 29-9-19.⁵

You consent by signing a GCIC Consent Form authorizing release of any state or federal criminal history tied to your name and Social Security number.⁶ The court may require adult household members to submit to the same check. Results are confidential and must be destroyed within 30 days after the appeal period expires.

Neither the statutes nor the court rules list offenses that automatically disqualify a petitioner. The judge weighs the results against the child’s best interest. If you have prior convictions, disclosing them upfront is better than having the judge find them on the report.

The Oath, the Packet, and the Fees

Before the clerk accepts your petition, you take an oath. The form instructions are specific: only a probate judge or clerk can administer it. A notary cannot.⁴ Plan to take the oath at the clerk’s window and bring valid photo identification.

Your filing packet should include:

GPCSF 28, fully completed and signed.
Notarized written parental consents attached as exhibits, if obtained.
Supporting documentation for any parent who is deceased, whose rights were terminated, or whose status otherwise needs proof.
The signed GCIC Criminal History Consent Form.

Filing fees vary by county. As of January 2026, Fulton County charges $159 for the first filing of a petition for temporary letters of minor guardianship, plus a publication fee if newspaper notice is required.⁷ Cobb County charges $132 for the same petition.⁸ Fees statewide were updated effective January 1, 2026 under Senate Bill 232, so call your county’s probate clerk to confirm the current amount before you go.

What Happens After You File

With both parents’ notarized consents attached and no concerns from the background check, the court can approve the petition and issue letters of temporary guardianship within a few days. No hearing is needed.¹

Without full consent, the timeline stretches. The court has to complete notice by personal service, mail, or publication, then wait for the objection window to close. That adds at minimum 10 to 14 days, and publication-based notice takes longer because legal organs publish on a set schedule. An objection adds hearing time on top of that.

Once the petition is granted, the court issues Letters of Temporary Guardianship. That document is your proof of authority when a school registrar, doctor’s office, or insurance company needs to verify that you can act on the child’s behalf.⁹ Order certified copies; many institutions keep their own on file.

What the Guardianship Covers, and When It Ends

A temporary guardian has the same powers as a natural guardian: enrolling the child in school, consenting to medical care, making day-to-day decisions about the child’s activities, and managing any property the child owns.¹⁰

Georgia’s temporary guardianship has no fixed expiration. It terminates automatically on the earliest of these events: the minor turns 18, is adopted, is legally emancipated, or dies; the temporary guardian dies; a permanent or testamentary guardian is appointed and receives letters; or a court order terminates the guardianship.¹¹ Either parent can also petition to end it at any time; the guardian then has 10 days to object, and an unresolved objection may be heard in probate court or transferred to juvenile court.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 29-2-6 – Parental Consent to Temporary Guardianship; Failure to Consent; Minors Preference
2
Justia. Georgia Code 29-2-5 – Petitions for Temporary Guardianship; Requirements of Petition
3
Supreme Court of Georgia. Georgia Probate Court Standard Forms and General Instructions
4
Macon-Bibb County Probate Court. Georgia Probate Court Standard Form 28 – Petition for Temporary Letters of Guardianship of Minor
5
Thomas County Board of Commissioners. Uniform Probate Court Rules – Rule 5.5
6
Rockdale County Probate Court. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Georgia Crime Information Center Consent Form
7
Fulton County Probate Court. Fee Schedule
8
Cobb County Probate Court. Common Probate Court Fees
9
Carroll County, GA. Temporary Guardianships
10
Justia. Georgia Code 29-2-7 – Powers of Temporary Guardians
11
Justia. Georgia Code 29-2-8 – Termination of Temporary Guardianship