Upon the filing of a petition as provided in this article, the clerk shall at once notify the judge who shall refer the action to one of the general examiners or to a special examiner. It shall then become the duty of the examiner to make up a preliminary report containing an abstract of the title to the land from public records and all other evidence of a trustworthy nature that can reasonably be obtained by the examiner, which abstract shall contain:
The preliminary report of the examiner shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the superior court on or before the return day of the court as stated in the process unless the time for filing the report is extended by the court.
OCGA § 44-2-101