Georgia Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your wife. As for your question, whether you would need to have opened your wife's estate for administration and probated her Will in order to get the title to your home into your sole name is not something that can be answered in this kind of context.Anyone who tries to answer will need to see the actual deed for your home before they would know whether your wife had an interest in the house or whether, if she did, that interest became part of her estate. If her interest became part of her estate, we also would need to know whether you were the only heir or whether there were other heirs, and whether or not she had a Will. Have an attorney review these things for you. Best wishes to you.... Read Answer

If something, such as a POD account, passes outside the Will, it is only clawed back if the estate which passes under the Will is insufficient to pay expenses. Some states have an inheritance tax.  Some states have an income tax.  Federal income tax applies to all income, including through a POD account.... Read Answer

Normally, a trustee is not required to get the consent of or provide notice to any beneficiary before selling trust property. That said, the trustee IS normally required to provide at least the main beneficiary of a trust with information about what is in the trust and what has come in and out of the trust in any given year, unless the trust itself limts the beneficiary's right to that knowledge. So, if your sister is your trustee and you are not receiving ANY information, then you should contact an attorney who is experienced in working with trusts and have the attorney help you figure out what your rights are and what you should have been receiving, along with your options for correcting the situation. It may be that you can have your sister step down (or have her removed) and have a different trustee brought in, if she really isn't doing a good job. Best wishes to you.... Read Answer

The statute of limitations deals with amount of time that the state has to file the charges against you. If you have been to court, then it sounds like the charges were filed. You have a right to a Speedy Trial, but you should have an attorney ready to go to trial on the case before you file that. ... Read Answer

As long as the case was filed prior to statute of limitations, then the case can be brought back until it is resolved. There are legal and justifiable reasons for a reset, but often the state will ask for a reset for a reason that is not justificed. An attorney may be able to assist stopping all of the resets and getting your case resolved or tried.... Read Answer

I am so sorry to hear about your being hit and knocked down at the supermarket. Unfortunately, your experience is not uncommon. I practice personal injury law in Atlanta and have handled similar cases against large supermarket chains. While you can represent yourself against the supermarket, it is almost never in your best interest to do so. The supermarket has an army of lawyers to protect their interests. Don't you deserve an experienced attorney to protect your interests? The goal of the supermarket is to devalue your claim as much as possible.Personally, I meet with all of my clients for free and you would only pay for my services if they were awarded a settlement. In the meantime, please do not speak with any representative, in person or over the phone, without an attorney present. The supermarket's risk managers and claims adjusters are trained to minimize the damages an injured party can claim and may try to get you to admit fault. Good luck, and I hope you feel better soon. ... Read Answer

Dani,   I'm sorry to hear about your and your son's accident. It sounds as though your current attorney reduced the settlement in order to pay Peach Care medical bills. Unfortunately based on the information you provided it is not possible for me to give you a more specific answer. I strongly recommend reaching out to your current attorney and asking him or her about this. If you do not have a current attorney feel free to call my office and I'll be glad to speak with you. Good luck. Regards  ... Read Answer

It won't affect Social Security, but will impact SSI and Medicaid.  Most likely it will be counted as income in the month received and therefore be over the income limit - meaning you aren't due an SSI check for that month.  It will then count as a resource the next month.  For each month the remaining money is unspent (e.g. saved in a bank account), it will count towards the $2,000 limit.  Resources are counted on the 1st day of each month and affect the SSI check for that month.  So if you are over $2,000 on the first day of the month, you aren't due an SSI check for that entire month.... Read Answer

If you are talking about trying to file a Petition for Discharge of Personal Representative and there are heirs who do not want to consent to that Petition, file it without them. They will be given notice by the court and given a period of time in which to file their objections, if they want to try to make any. If they don't successfully object, eventually the court will issue the order discharging you, assuming everything else is in order.... Read Answer

If you are a United States citizen, and you have met your fiancé in person physically, then you can sponsor her for a K fiancée visa. The process takes about 15 months, and you have to file many forms and many supporting documents. Counsel in any state can represent both of you. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee.  Attorney Stephen Black 407-581-2581... Read Answer

I can't tell from your question exactly what the situation is, but I assume your mother has recently passed away and that you're now trying to find her original Will. If that assumption is correct, then please accept my condolences on your loss. In Georgia, Wills are not generally recorded anywhere until after the Will creators die. If you can contact the firm that prepared your mother's Will, then they may either have the original or have some information on where she planned to keep it. It is also possible (I have no idea whether it is also likely) that her original Will was filed with the county where she lived for safekeeping. To find out, you can call the Probate Court of the county where she had her principal residence at the time the Will was prepared, and you can tell them that she has passed on and that you are trying to locate her original Will and need to know whether they have her original Will held for safekeeping. Be very sure to use the exact term "safekeeping," because Wills held for safekeeping for people who were living when their Wills were given to the probate court may not be stored in the same place that Wills that have been filed after peoples' deaths are kept. If they have an original Will on file for your mother, they will tell you how to go about getting it from them or getting a copy of it. If they don't have the original for safekeeping, then the next step willl be to look through all of her possessions. It could be in a safe deposit box at the bank, it could be held in a desk drawer or file cabinet, it could be behind the water heater, it could be in a laundry basket or a closet- you'll need to search. Best wishes to you.... Read Answer

I am sorry to hear about your troubles, but unfortunately your question was accidentally marked as a probate question instead of a probation question. Probate, which is part of what I do, deals with Wills and estates of deceased people. I don't work in the criminal law or probate areas and have no idea how to answer your question. Please try reposting your question using a probation topic, or perhaps a criminal defense or criminal law topic. Better yet, find an experienced criminal defense attorney and call them for help with your case, since it sounds like timing may be a concern. Best wishes to you. I hope you are able to get a good result.... Read Answer

You should be able to have access to all medical documents.  After all, they are documents pertaining to you.   If you applied for disability you should seek represnetation.  It doesn't cost anything out of pocket and you can have an expert monitor the entire process and have an attorney represent you at hearing level.   Happy Holidays! Attorney Scott Bocchio Legal Rights Advocates P 855-254-7841 www.yourlegalrightsadvcoates.com ... Read Answer

Your situation is more complicated than simply suggesting to you who would make the best person to watch over your grandchildren inheritance.  There are several ways to skin the cat in your fact pattern. Some type of trust is most likely the right answer. You should speak with an attorney specializing in estate planning. Otherwise,  the best laid plans of mice and men . . .... Read Answer

Your father in laws heirs need to open an estate.  Once the estate is opened, they can sell or retitle the car. If you can find the title, his wife can take the title to the tag office, and have the car retitled. Once title is in hand, the owner can legallt stop whoever is taking the car.... Read Answer

I am sorry to hear about your boyfriend's difficulties, but this is a probation question, which has nothing to do with Wills and Probate. I do estate planning and probate, and I have no idea about criminal law issues such as probation. You should try reposting your question with a different topic. Best wishes to you and your boyfriend.... Read Answer