Frequently Asked Questions about Wills in the State of Georgia:
If I die without a Will in Georgia, does the state of Georgia get all my property?
This outcome is called “escheat.” This typically occurs when no one entitled to inherit steps forward to claim an estate. An heir may step forward whether you have a will or not. In such cases, the court appoints an administrator (usually one of the heirs) to handle the winding up of your estate and to distribute it appropriately.
Who needs a Georgia Will the most?
This is like asking what is “beauty.” Everyone will have a different answer to this. From my experience, young married couples with children need a Will the most. Since a spouse inherits with minor and adult children, it can be very disruptive to a spouse’s life to suddenly own his home and/or his savings with his children, when they step into the shoes of the deceased spouse.
Is avoiding probate very important in Georgia?
As a friend of mine said recently, sometimes advertisers lie. There are many companies that would like to sell trusts, telling readers that probate is a miserable, long, expensive process. While that might be true in some states, in Georgia, probate is comparatively inexpensive and short. Avoiding probate by obtaining a trust is, for most people, not worth the trouble and expense.