Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

in the state of Georgia if a will is written,by a unmarried man, and all property is will to a nephew and then a few year later his guy got married and now has a spouse and a 5 year old son, then the man got killed in an accident, but the will was never changed doe the wife get it all or the nephew?


Asked on 2/16/16, 1:36 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

The spouse and the son both will have claims to the estate in multiple ways - first by provisions of Georgia law that deal with this as to a will and second by each claiming "years support." The language of the will may also affect the answer. If you are te spouse or the nephew, you need a lawyer. If the estate is not large, and the wife and child act properly, they likely get all or most of the estate. If it's larger, there may be some split.

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Answered on 2/16/16, 2:00 pm

First, if the guy makes a will and then gets married, the first thing he does when he returns from his honeymoon is makes a new will. He was foolish for waiting 5 years. He should definitely have made a will once his child came along. Always always always look at your will whenever you have a life-changing event like a birth or marriage!

Assuming that Georgia probate law governs, a spouse can be disinherited or left out unintentionally. As Attorney Ashman notes, a spouse can ask for a year's allowance. And if the man manages to impregnate the woman, she may get it all if the child is the man's. The mother, acting on the child's behalf, will argue that the man would not have disinherited his child and the child would be considered a pre-termitted heir who will be entitled to claim the estate under the intestacy laws.

The mother and child and nephew all need probate lawyers. This is going to get very expensive very quickly if they cannot work something out.

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Answered on 2/16/16, 11:51 pm


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