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Office: Lee County Sheriff’s Office / Criminal Justice Center – 119 Pinewood Road, Leesburg, GA 31763 | (229) 759-3334 | Non-emergency (229) 759-6012 | Fax (229) 759-3331 | Email: [email protected]. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM. The Sheriff is elected at-large for four-year terms and operates the county’s 109-bed Criminal Justice Center, which holds pretrial detainees, those awaiting transfer to state or federal facilities, and misdemeanor offenders sentenced to a year or less. The office also runs a Neighborhood Watch Program and the Sheriff Alert System, which provides regular wellness and security checks for Lee County senior citizens.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-19 and US-82 serve Leesburg, the county seat and largest city, part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area.
Notes: Lee County was created by Act of the Legislature on June 9, 1825, and December 11, 1826, from Creek land cessions under the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. The Georgia Historical Society marker identifies the county’s namesake as Richard Henry Lee, the Virginia congressman who on June 7, 1776, formally moved that the American colonies “declare themselves free and independent” – the resolution that led directly to the Declaration of Independence.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lee County Courthouse – Courthouse Square, Leesburg, GA (built 1917-18, Neoclassical Revival, architect J.J. Baldwin, builder R.W. Wimbish; National Register of Historic Places since 1980), featuring a Doric tetrastyle entrance and a small square domed clock tower.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lee County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via leecountyga.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Lee County Public Library (Leesburg) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The historic 1917-18 Lee County Courthouse is the county’s premier heritage attraction.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via leecountyga.gov.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lee County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via leecountyga.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via leecountyga.gov; Lee County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lee County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via leecountyga.gov.
NOTES: Lee County is the ninetieth county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The Sheriff Alert System’s dedicated senior wellness-check service is a genuinely thoughtful local program 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 Lee County County
Lee County is southwest Georgia’s Flint River and Albany metropolitan growth county – the river corridor and the rapid residential expansion as Albany’s suburban community define a county balancing traditional peanut and cotton farming with some of southwest Georgia’s strongest population growth.
Leesburg (the county seat, population ~3,100) is Lee County’s governmental hub, a southwest Georgia community on US 19 whose Albany proximity, agricultural heritage, and Flint River access anchor its identity as southwest Georgia’s growing residential county.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Lee County Tax Assessor at 100 Starksville Avenue N, Leesburg, GA 31763, phone 229-759-6010. GA assessed at 40% of fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Lee County Probate Court at 100 Starksville Avenue N, Leesburg, GA 31763, phone 229-759-6002, handles probate.
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)
109 Leslie Hwy., Leesburg, GA 31763
(229) 759-6018
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Lee County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Lee County Library, 4 branches, headquartered in Leesburg, member of the statewide PINES network.
Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society (Albany) serves Lee among 29 Southwest Georgia counties.
Local societies
Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society (see above) is the primary regional resource; no dedicated Lee-County-only 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 Lee County 100 Leslie Highway, Leesburg, GA 31763 (229) 759-6953
The 1917–1918 Lee County Courthouse (Courthouse Square, Leesburg) is Classical/Neoclassical Revival, on the National Register of Historic Places. Lee County is part of the Albany metropolitan area.
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 Lee 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
109 Leslie Hwy., Leesburg, GA 31763
(229) 759-6012
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
109 Leslie Hwy., Leesburg, GA 31763
(229) 759-6000
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Southwest
(229) 759-3622
GA DFCS — Lee
(229) 759-3628
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital (Albany)
phoebeputney.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lee County Health Department – confirm current contact via leecountyga.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Leesburg
Population: 30,000
Area: 357 sq mi
Established: 1826
Public Records
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