Georgia Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Please accept my condolences on your mother's terrible situation.   As for your question, the advance directive, if it is newer, should probably be what you look to as evidence of her wishes regarding burial versus cremation. If the Will is newer than the advance directive, then you should probably look to the statement in the Will. Ideally, ask her what she prefers now, if she can answer the question for you.... Read Answer

To answer your specific question: to add a new owner to a deed, the existing owner has to execute a new deed that transfers the property to himself and the new owner, either as tenants in common (which will NOT cause the property to transfer automatically to the surviving owner if one owner dies) or joint tenants with rights of survivorship (which WILL cause the property to transfer automatically to the surviving owner if one owner dies). After the new deed is signed by the existing owner, witnessed, and notarized, it has to be recorded with the Superior Court for the county where the property is located. To mention some additional and very important things: Ideally, you should NOT use a quit claim deed to make this transfer; instead, a Limited Warranty or Warranty Deed is likely better. A quit claim deed may cause you to lose the benefit of title insurance you might have purchased. And please note: preparing a deed is NOT a good do-it-yourself project. Any mistakes can cause the transfer to go wrong, which can lead to you having title problems that could make it difficult or nearly impossible for you to sell the property or refinance it in the future. Get a real estate attorney to prepare the proper deed. And please consider consulting an estate planning attorney to make sure that adding your wife to the deed is actually what you want to do. You will be making a gift to her when you do so, and you will not be able to simply take the property back. And if you do decide to proceed with the change, the decision regarding whether you and she will own the property as joint tenants or as tenants in common is a potentially big one. There are benefits and negatives to both forms. Best wishes to you.... Read Answer

I assume that you are not talking about your child’s passport, but a visa to come to the United States. It is certainly true that it is more difficult for individuals to obtain visiting visas when they have had an immigrant visa petition filed on their behalf. It would probably be a better idea to have her apply for and obtain a visiting visa before taking any actions towards her immigration.  Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

I'm sorry you lost your husband. You should have your lawyer explain why the will was declared invalid. Given the fact courts are generally closed, it sounds like the will was improperly witnessed and therefore,  never a will to begin with. As for your year's support. if the children have objected to it, a trial is required. These usually do not occur sooner than 3-6 months after you you file the petition.  A year's support claim can be handled on a contingency fee to make it more affordable for you. ... Read Answer

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother. Without seeing actual documents, it's not really possible for anyone to tell you exactly what's going on. However, it sounds like the check that your mother received was intended as the final distribution to her from your aunt's estate, and that the Acknowledgment you mention was supposed to be her statement that she understood her interest in the estate had been fully satisfied and that she was okay having the executor of your aunt's estate (or administrator) discharged from that role and released from liability with regard to the estate. If my guess as to what your mother was sent is correct, the executor or administrator of your aunt's estate is filing a Petition for Discharge (assuming it was a Georgia estate) and now needs to have the sheriff serve the executor or administrator of your mother's estate with notice that the Petition is being filed, since your mother passed away without signing and returning that Acknowledgment. If your mother's estate has had an executor or administrator appointed, then that person may be able to sign the Acknowledgement on behalf of the estate and return it, which would avoid having to have notice served by a sheriff. But I really think that you (or the executor or administrator of your mother's estate, if you aren't it) needs to have an attorney review the situation and anything that was sent by your aunt's estate's representative, to be sure what is going on and whether signing the Acknowledgment is the right thing to do.... Read Answer

It sounds like you are an heir to the estate and rightlfully are entitled to a protoin, if not all, of the estate.  You cannot be forced to give anyone a quit claim deed.  You should begin proceedings to open your brother's estate and handle his affairs, including tranferring the real estate to the heirs.... Read Answer

I’m sorry your husband passed away. You need to open an estate in Georgia before you have to open an estate in Florida. You also need to consider filing a Petition for Year’s Support.  You have a lot going on and need to get help from a lawyer specializing in probate and probate administration.... Read Answer

Ms. Disalvo gave you great advice.  There are problems with finding trust, just like finding life insurance policies.  Without finding evidence in your father's records, you will struggle to find a trust.  Tax returns might provide insight into your Dad's conduct and find something related to a trust in his tax records.... Read Answer

Yes, there are a  number of legitimate businesses who focus on managing fund for the benefit of disabled persons and making sure that their needs are provided for. These tend to fall into two basic categories: community pooled trust companies (an example of one of those is Commonwealth Community Trust) and corporate fiduciaries (a category that comprises both banks and brokerage firms that have trust departments and independent trust companies). A trust created for a disabled person's benefit is usually referred to as a "supplemental needs trust" or a "special needs trusts," and those also fall into two different categories: first party (those funded with assets that belong to the disabled person) and third part (ones funded with money from someone who is not the disabled beneficiary, such as a parent). Not all corporate fiduciaries handle supplemental needs trusts. An example of a corporate fiduciary that does handle supplemental needs trusts is Southeastern Trust Company. If you want to provide for your daughter's benefit, the best thing to do is find an experienced estate planning attorney who can help you establish a third party funded supplemental needs trust. Most such attorneys know of companies that can serve as trustee for your daughter's trust and can make recommendations.... Read Answer

You can theoretically sell your home, but it would be sold subject to the judgment lien, meaning that if the judgment is not satisfied, the lienor can foreclose on the house even after it's sold, leaving the buyer without a house.  It wouldn't make sense for anyone to buy it under those circumstances.... Read Answer

Statute of limitations, which differ depeinding on what claim is assert4ed (i.e. the stattue of limitations for breach of contract is different from the statute of limitations for defamation, is different from the statute of limitations for negligence, etc.) relate to the time for commencing the case, not the time for going to trial.  Once a case is commenced before the statute of limitations expires, it can get to trial six months later, two years later, ten years later, etc., dependfing on the complexity of the case and how busy the court is.  There are some rules requiring that a case must be prosecuted diligently once filed, but no hard and fast deadlines and, moreover, those rules require notice ot be effective, i.e. you would have to notify the plaintiff that, if he doens't place the case on the trial calendar within a month, you will move to dismiss it for failure to prosecute.  Such notice generally wakes the plaintiff up and he/she does something to avoid dismissal.... Read Answer

Any violation under the 10 year bar for being in the United States illegally under section 212(a)(9)(B) will expire at the end of 10 years. However, a bar for a crime involving moral turpitude does not expire in most cases and a waiver will most likely have to be applied for. I note that you have cited the waiver sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act and those were probably notated on the denial decision. There is a waiver for most prostitution offenses that occurred more than 15 years ago if a person has been rehabilitated and admission of such a person would not be contrary to the national welfare, safety, or security of the United States. Otherwise a waiver would have to be applied for on the basis of extreme hardship to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, son or daughter. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.    ... Read Answer

Helllo, While not licenssed to practice law in GA, it appears the court ordered a stay of the lawsuit filed against you. And when that took place, the case status was closed: changed from pending to closed. The easiest and most efficient way to confirm this and to answer your question is to contact the court where the lawsuit was filed.  Either by email or calling the clerk of the court. And ask them to explain these terms And in the process ask them to confirm the case is closed and there is not another court date. Take care.... Read Answer

If you're already married then he is not your fiancé but rather your husband. Consequently he needs to apply for a spousal visa. Consider working with counsel so you don't make any more mistakes and lose many more months of being separated again. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee and counsel anywhere in the USA can represent you from start to finish. ... Read Answer

That depends on whether the state where you live has any basis to exercise jurisdiction over the Georgia attorney, which would depend on what contacts the attorney has with the state in which you live - does he/she do business in your state?  Advertise in your state?  Own property in your state?  Is he/she admitted to practice law in your state?  What, if anything, does the retainer agreement say about jurisdiction/venue?  Does it have an arbitration provision? Unless you're sure that your state can exercise jurisdiction over the attorney, you're safest bet is to sue in Georgia with a Georgia attorney.... Read Answer