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Georgia · South Georgia · #651
Cook County, Georgia
On the Alapaha River in south Georgia's agricultural belt, Cook County's Adel is a peanut and tobacco county that has sustained itself through the cycles of commodity agriculture that define life in the coastal plain with the same steady practicality its farmers apply to the land.
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Office: Cook County Sheriff’s Office – 1000 County Farm Road, Adel, GA 31620 | (229) 896-7471 | Fax (229) 896-5178; Sheriff Charles Bryant. Services include patrol, court security, the C.H.A.M.P.S. program, sex offender registration, drug enforcement, and the DARE education program, with the office operating the county jail. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Cook County genuinely elected one of Georgia’s earliest women sheriffs, Bernice L. Rooks, who served in 1938 and personally investigated cases ranging from bootlegging to homicide, including testifying in a notable 1930 murder trial and responding to an armed 1938 filling-station robbery and kidnapping in Adel.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-41 and US-129 serve Adel, the county seat and largest city, strategically positioned at a railroad junction.
Notes: Cook County was created in 1918 (constitutional amendment proposed July 30, 1918, ratified November 5, 1918) from Berrien County, named for Philip Cook, a Confederate general. Cook County has genuinely retained its original boundaries unchanged since its creation, unlike most Georgia counties. Adel, one of the county’s oldest towns, was formed in 1889.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cook County Courthouse – 212 N. Hutchinson Avenue, Adel, GA (built 1939, Stripped Classical, architect William J.J. Chase, builder Ray M. Lee Company, 45% federally funded through the Public Works Administration; National Register of Historic Places since 1995).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cook County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via cookcountyga.us.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Cook County Public Library (Adel) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Reed Bingham State Park lies within Cook County, offering camping, fishing, and boating. The county’s Workforce Development Center, located between Adel and Sparks, has supported local education and employment initiatives.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via cookcountyga.us.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cook County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via cookcountyga.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via cookcountyga.us; Cook County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Cook County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via cookcountyga.us.
NOTES: Cook County is the thirty-seventh county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, historic tenure of Sheriff Bernice Rooks in 1938 – one of Georgia’s earliest women sheriffs – is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Cook County
Cook County is agricultural south Georgia centered on Adel, a small city that serves as the county’s commercial and governmental hub on I-75. The county’s economy is peanuts, tobacco (historically), timber, and poultry operations in the Alapaha River basin. The I-75 corridor through Adel provides some commercial and logistics activity. Conservation Use enrollment covers significant portions of Cook County’s timber and agricultural land. Proximity to Valdosta (Lowndes County) to the south provides access to regional healthcare, retail, and professional services.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. Property owners have 45 days from the notice of assessment to appeal to the Board of Assessors. Georgia offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Cook County Probate Court: 212 North Hutchinson Avenue, Adel, GA 31620 | (229) 896-7717.
Senior Services
South Georgia Regional Commission – Area Agency on Aging | (229) 333-5277
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
212 N. Parrish Ave., Adel, GA 31620
(229) 896-7717
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Cook County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Cook County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Probate Court of Cook County 212 N. Hutchinson Avenue, Adel, GA 31620 (229) 896-3941
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Georgia is NOT a Uniform Probate Code state and doesn’t use a simple dollar-threshold “small estate affidavit” like many states. Instead it offers several distinct shortcuts, each suited to a different situation:
Banking Affidavit – for intestate estates with less than $15,000 in bank deposits and no other assets requiring administration. No court filing needed at all.
No Administration Necessary (Standard Form 9) – available when all heirs agree on how to divide the property and there are no debts (or all creditors consent). Can transfer real estate without full administration, but requires unanimous heir agreement – any disagreement forces the estate into formal probate.
Year’s Support (Standard Form 10, O.C.G.A. Chapter 53-3) – a distinctively Georgia protection: the surviving spouse and minor children can petition for property sufficient to maintain their standard of living for 12 months from the date of death. This takes priority over virtually all creditor claims and even most specific bequests in the will. Must be filed within 24 months of death. No bond, no inventory filing, no creditor claims period required – the fastest and simplest path when it applies.
Formal Administration – Petition to Probate Will (Common Form or Solemn Form) or Petition for Letters of Administration, when none of the above shortcuts fit.
COMMON FORM VS. SOLEMN FORM (a distinctively Georgia choice)
Common Form: the executor files the will with supporting evidence and the court admits it without notifying all heirs – faster and cheaper, but leaves a 4-year window during which interested parties can challenge the will.
Solemn Form (Standard Form 5): requires notice to all heirs; once granted, it’s final and binding much sooner, closing off future challenges.
If formal administration is needed
File the appropriate petition with the Cook County Probate Court – Petition to Probate Will (Common or Solemn Form) if there’s a will, or Petition for Letters of Administration if not.
The court issues a citation, published in the county’s legal organ once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), giving interested parties a chance to object.
After the publication period, attend the hearing for appointment as personal representative.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one).
Send certified copies of the death certificate and Letters to all banks, brokerages, insurers, and retirement custodians; request date-of-death valuations and begin marshaling assets.
Obtain an EIN via IRS Form SS-4 and open an estate checking account.
Prepare an inventory of assets with date-of-death fair market values; the court may require this under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30.
Pay debts and expenses in Georgia’s priority order (see below), then distribute remaining assets per the will or intestacy law.
What it costs
No Georgia state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Court filing fees typically range $100–$300 depending on the county.
Certified copies of Letters typically cost around $10 each.
Indigent petitioners may file an Affidavit of Indigency to request a fee waiver.
E-filing is available and encouraged statewide through platforms like PeachCourt or Odyssey eFileGA.
DEBT PRIORITY ORDER IF THE ESTATE CAN’T PAY EVERYTHING (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-7-40)
Year’s Support for surviving spouse and minor children under 18.
Funeral expenses.
Costs of probate administration.
Expenses of the decedent’s last illness.
Taxes.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
212 N. Parrish Ave., Adel, GA 31620
(229) 896-2277
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
212 N. Parrish Ave., Adel, GA 31620
(229) 896-3941
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — South
(229) 896-2265
GA DFCS — Cook
(229) 896-7788
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cook County Health Department – confirm current contact via cookcountyga.us.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Adel
Population: 17,000
Area: 230 sq mi
Established: 1931
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Cook County facilities via Amazon.
