What is a will?
A document which says what you want to happen when you die, but with
some strict requirements as to form and signature. It is a crime in
Georgia not to file a will of a deceased person in Probate Court. In
Forsyth County, the Probate
Court is located on the square in Cumming.
What is a self-proving will?
It is a bit over 10 years old here in Georgia. Prior to the 1980's change,
one had to locate at least one witness to a decedent's will, and that
witness would then have to sign a formal set of interrogatories under
oath so the will could be probated. Now, with a proper affidavit attached
to the will, it is simply filed without the need to find any witness.
Your will isn't older than 10 years is it?
Can I use one of those computer programs to prepare my will?
Sure, no problem. It may work. A gentleman in a well known court case
here in town comes to mind. He had a will and when he would become angry
at one of his legatees, would retype a page of his will to express his
new intent - then insert the new page into his will. That case went
up to the Georgia Supreme Court and, needless to say, the will was not
probated. His heirs got what he paid for. The estate is still open.
When should I make a will?
I don't know, but a safe guess would be right now if you do not have
a will. Two people come to mind. The first gentleman told his wife on
Friday that he would make his will the next Monday. He died that Saturday.
The second is a man who was diagnosed with a probable terminal illness.
He decided to do some estate planning to avoid taxes. Based upon his
situation at the time, however, and the lack of prior planning, it would
have taken him about 20 years to avoid estate taxes, and that's just
a guess. (More on "when to update a will" later.)
I am in great health, going to retire next year, I'll do my estate planning
and my Will then, when I have a better handle on things.
Fine - and that plan is quite logical. Unfortunately, we cannot predict
the future. It reminds me of a man here who had great retirement plans,
bought an RV, was going to travel, worked all his life. He retired and
went home to begin, but died the next day.
Enough on the scare tactics already, I have a will, when should I change
it?
Some common times are when you are married, when you are divorced, when
you have children, when you have grandchildren, when your financial
circumstances change, when your child becomes divorced, when your spouse
cannot manage affairs any longer, when the estate tax laws change, when
your children get old enough so you can tell how they are going to turn
out, and the list goes on and on. Some people assume that once they
have a will, then everything is fine. That may not be the case. A periodic
review is necessary - not unlike a physical or a dental checkup.
You are kidding about those reviews, right?
No, quite serious. I remember one case here in Forsyth County in which
a married couple had published "I love you" wills and left everything
to each other. When they became older, one spouse filed a divorce case.
While the divorce case was pending, one spouse died. The divorce case
died too as a matter of law. The estranged spouse got everything. There
have been some changes in this area of the law since then.
What are my options in my will?
I cannot list all the objectives here, but I can list some obvious options:
I still have some questions!
Good, you are thinking. Please visit the many other pages of this site. If
you don't find the answers there, either send me an email or take the time
to visit with your own attorney. One interesting page to view is the page
reflecting email questions and answers.
