No Will, but Had WIshes

[allisonp320]

What is the name of your state?Georgia- I am the parent of a 15 yr. old daughter. Her Grandfather recently passed away but didn't have a will. He did make it clear to family members that he wanted my daughter to receive his home and property and they have stated that they would stand in court to testify this. The only problem (besides no will) is that he (the grandfather),has a grandson that he did not want to receive anything because he had stolen from the Grandfather in the past. Is it possible for the probate court to accept sworn statements from these family members stating the Grandfather's wishes?

 

[justalayman]

In short; no

The state presumes if a person wished an asset to go to a particular person, they will make proper provisions for it.

 

[adjusterjack]

Is it possible for the probate court to accept sworn statements from these family members stating the Grandfather's wishes?

I am assuming this is your father. Your father died intestate (without a will). Assuming he had no spouse at the time of his death then you and your siblings share equally in his estate. What you do with your share is your business. What the parent of the alleged thief does with his/her share is his/her business. If the parent of the alleged thief is deceased then the thief shares equally with you and your remaining siblings.

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2017/title-53/chapter-2/article-1/section-53-2-1/

Without a will, his wishes are unenforceable.

 

[Litigator22]

Unfortunately for you and yours, no! And if you'll exercise a little common sense you might understand that from the standpoint of maintaining an orderly and predictable probate system it is fortunate that it is not possible.

Although the courts are bound to honor the testamentary wishes of the deceased, they can only do so when those wishes are expressed in writing and in conformity with certain statutory formalities. Formalities that are designed to prevent fraud, duress, undue influence, perjury and a chaotic, disorderly legal system that would result from what you are suggesting. Meaning, every mother swearing that grandpa promised their child this and that!

 

[Zigner]

If every other family member who stands to inherit ahead of, or equally with, your son agrees that your son should get the property, then he can get the property.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Look up "Georgia Intestate Succession", as this will dictate who legally inherits.

In particular, if granddad's child who spawned the bad seed grandson is alive, then bad seed inherits nothing.

But the same might be the case for your daughter. Of course, the legal heirs can choose to gift their inheritance to whoever they please.

 

[Taxing Matters]

If every other family member who stands to inherit ahead of, or equally with, your son agrees that your son should get the property, then he can get the property.

That's true, but there are several ways they could do that, some of which are more tax smart than others. So if they decide they want to do it, they ought to see a tax lawyer and do so well before the grandfather has been dead nine months.

 

[allisonp320]

So, depositions from the Grandfather's family stating that the deceased's wishes were for only his granddaughter to receive his property not matter to the probate judge at all?

 

[Taxing Matters]

So, depositions from the Grandfather's family stating that the deceased's wishes were for only his granddaughter to receive his property not matter to the probate judge at all?

No. The whole point of requiring a will signed by the decedent is to have clear statement directly by him/her of what he or she wanted. Once the person is dead he or she can't tell the court his/her wishes and it's too easy for the survivors to make up claims about what the decedent wanted to obtain the results they want rather than what the decedent wanted. If a person really wants a particular distribution of his/her assets when he or she dies, then that person reallly needed to make a will. It's pretty common knowledge that wills are needed so it's not like this information is seriously hidden away. The main problem in doing a will for most people is that they just don't like contemplating their own deaths and keep punting the task of estate planning down the road. Well, when they do that and die before they get around to it, their assets may end up going to people they don't want to get them.

 

[Richard Marvel]

In short,no. You should consult an attorney in Georgia..

What is the name of your state?Georgia- I am the parent of a 15 yr. old daughter. Her Grandfather recently passed away but didn't have a will. He did make it clear to family members that he wanted my daughter to receive his home and property and they have stated that they would stand in court to testify this. The only problem (besides no will) is that he (the grandfather),has a grandson that he did not want to receive anything because he had stolen from the Grandfather in the past. Is it possible for the probate court to accept sworn statements from these family members stating the G

 

[allisonp320]

Well then, listen to this- So far, we have come to the agreement that the estate will indeed be divided between my daughter and her (half) brother. I was given a key to the deceased's home by his nephew, and there in turn, I gave her brother one so we could both have one. The next thing I know, he is saying he is going to pay for improvements to the yard and home, and pay for homeowner's insurance, and then he goes to the house and changes the deadbolt on the door and I can no longer get it in. He's ignoring my calls and texts demanding him to give me a key to the new lock on the door.......Now, what do I do? What would make him think that he can legally do that? What should I do next? Please tell me!!!

 

[Zigner]

Who is the administrator of the estate?

 

[justalayman]

Has anybody actually opened probate? If. not, nobody has legal authority to do anything with the property. Along with that, nobody has the authority to objecting to anybody doing anything with the property.

If probate has been opened, whoever appointed as the administrator has the authority to deal with the property.

 

[Zigner]

Has anybody actually opened probate? If. not, nobody has legal authority to do anything with the property. Along with that, nobody has the authority to objecting to anybody doing anything with the property.

If probate has been opened, whoever appointed as the administrator has the authority to deal with the property.

That's the direction I was heading

 

[justalayman]

That's the direction I was heading

I know. I had typed that, but for a few words, a few hours ago and was delayed in posting it while having a cat scan (they didn’t even care I didn’t bring in my cat. They performed the scan on ME instead).

So just got around to finalizing the post and posted it