Georgia Probate Legal Questions

As with the original Will itself, in order to help ensure that your codicil makes appropriate changes and is validly executed, you really should consult an experienced estate planning attorney. Estate planning, which includes preparing Wills and codicils, is not suitable for do-it-yourself work. It is a very trick area, and, if you aren't lucky, no one will discover any problems until after you have passed on, when it is much too late to correct them. If you really care whether your wishes are carried out, you really need to consult an estate planning attorney. There's no way around that. Please also note: codicils really should be avoided. Ideally, you should have a whole new Will prepared, which includes the new provisions you want as well as older bequests you still want to make. It is much easier to understand and carry out the plan if it is contained in a single document, and it is much easier for mistakes to be made in trying to have one document make amendments to another one. Doing a whole new Will also helps ensure that it will work as well as possible in light of any changes to law which may have happened since the original version was signed. There is never any reason why you should stick with an older Will and modify it with a codicil instead of doing a whole new Will. It's usually NOT cheaper to do a codicil, because they are actually very labor-intensive to properly prepare. A Will is not intended to be a permanent document until the person who has made it is actually deceased. And finally, you should have the estate planning attorney actually review and discuss your entire desired distribution plan with you, and not just go in saying "here's what I want to change in this existing Will." The attorney ideally will have a lot of practice in thinking of potential problems with your desired plan, and should help you think ahead to ensure that your desired outcome will be what happens even if people die in an unexpected order or unexpected events take place. Unless you do very long-range planning for a living, you likely aren't going to think of the possibilities a practiced estate planning attorney will. And it can be extremely important to think of multiple possible outcomes, because life does not always or even usually turn out exactly the way we expect it to. Best wishes to you.... Read More

If the incarcerated heir has an attorney, his attorney can receive the notice and give consent on his behalf with regard to any probate petition. If he doesn't have an attorney, one can be hired for this purpose. The court might also allow a guardian ad litem to be appointed to represent him.... Read More

Unless you are one of the decedent's heirs, you may well not have any legal rights, because in general no one is entitled to receive a bequest from another person until that person is actually deceased and his valid Will making the bequest has been admitted to probate. As long as the deceased was still alive and competent to make a new Will, he was free to change his mind and do a new Will. If you ARE one of the heirs, then you may be able to fairly easily challenge the admission of the purported amendment/codicil to probate, if you do not believe that it is valid. A person's heirs are the persons who would receive the person's probate estate assets if the person died without a valid Will. In Georgia, if a person is married and has children or other descendants who survive him, no one other than the spouse, any living children, and the descendants of any predeceased child would be his heirs. If the decedent was not married and had no living descendant, then the next people in line to be the heirs are his parents, if either is living. If neither parent is living, then the next people who are heirs are the siblings, with the descendants of any predeceased sibling taking the deceased sibling's share and living siblings receiving their own shares. Even if you are NOT an heir, IF you have the original Will which names you as a beneficiary (the most recently executed one, plus any codicils executed after that Will which you believe are valid), then you could attempt to offer it for probate and you might then also be able to challenge any attempt to offer the codicil which removed you to probate. If the codicil is found not to be valid, and the Will which benefits you is deemed valid and admitted to probate, you would receive your bequest. If you don't have the original Will, then it may be more difficult for you to try this, but it might not be impossible. If you think something has been filed already, you can contact the probate court and ask them to provide you with copies of anything which was filed in the estate. The probate court file is a public record and anyone can get copies; you just have to pay for the copies. If you go to the court in person, it may be quicker. If you think you have any chance of a successful challenge, then you need to consult an estate attorney with litigation experience. Do it as soon as possible, because time is not your friend in this kind of matter.  ... Read More

The Will does not HAVE to state that a house is to be distributed free and clear, but if the intent is that the mortgage on the house be paid off before it is distributed to the specified recipient, then the Will ideally SHOULD make that clear. I would actually not rely simply on the "free and clear" language, but it would be better than nothing addressing the mortgage at all. If the Will just provides for the house to be distributed to a certain person and does NOT specify whether the property is supposed to remain subject to the debt or whether the debt is supposed to be paid off, then a question regarding that issue is created, and the house will potentially end up being distributed subject to the mortgage, depending on the law of the state which controls and how the Will is to be interpreted under that law. Wills should be as clear as possible about issues like this - that's one problem with very short Wills or those which are written in what's often referred to as "plain English." Everyday language is full of potentially ambiguous phrases and terms. In daily life, those may not create problems, because context helps and you can ask for clarification when needed. In a Will, where the person who is really speaking is dead and can't clarify what he meant, and the context is not known, these ambiguous terms and phrases often create messes.... Read More

Whether your father's marriage directly affected his Will depends on how the Will itself is written: if it did not specifically contemplate his possible remarriage and state what was to happen (or not happen) if he remarried, then his remarriage effectively partially revoked the Will. If that happened and she survives him, he would be treated as if he had no Will with regard to her, meaning she would get a share of the probate estate (no less than 1/3). If it did specifically contemplate the remarriage, then the actual effect depends on what it said. Many of the Wills I prepare for unmarried clients provide that a later marriage does not have any effect on the terms of the Will itself. However, the Will is not the only factor. The new spouse does not automatically receive property just because of the relationship to the deceased. A surviving spouse in Georgia does have the right to make a claim against a deceased spouse's probate estate for a "year's support." If unchallenged, this can mean that the entire probate estate passes to the spouse, rather than to any other beneficiaries under the Will. If your father's spouse made a year's support claim and his children challenged it, that can become expensive, full-blown litigation, and the amount the spouse will actually receive from the claim will be determined by the probate court. There is not a set amount for year's support: it's supposed to be whatever is needed to support the claimant for one year after the deceased person's death, taking into account the claimant's other resources. There are ways to reduce the possibility that a year's support claim would be brought or will succeed, but your father will need to update his estate planning to do so. Finally, asset ownership and beneficiary designations are also critical, because they can override the terms of any Will. If your father adds his spouse to his bank or brokerage accounts as a joint owner, or if he names her as a beneficiary under any beneficiary designation (including life insurance and IRA beneficiary designations as well as payable on death or transfer on death designations), she will receive those assets automatically at his death if she survives him, no matter what the Will says, and without any need for a year's support claim. If they own real estate as "joint tenants," she will automatically receive his interest in that real estate at his death; if they own it as "tenants in common," then his share becomes part of his probate estate, but she still owns her share and may be able to make a claim against his estate for the other part under year's support. Short answer is: your father may not absolutely need to update his Will just because he got remarried, but there's no way to know what will happen at his death without a full estate planning review. He ideally should get a good estate planning attorney and have a consultation, so he knows what he wants to have happen and how to ensure that it happens that way.... Read More

Assuming that the Wills were validly done under Texas law and that your principal residence was in Texas at that time, and that nothing has happened since then which would revoke or negatively affect the Wills, then yes, your Texas Wills will probably still work under Georgia law. I have personally been involved in successfully probating a Texas Will for a person who had moved to Georgia. However, the laws in Georgia are very different, in many ways, from the laws in Texas (no community property in Georgia, for example), and it would be a very good idea for you to have new, Georgia Wills prepared if you intend to reside here indefinitely. The differences between the two states usually make additional steps necessary in order for the probate and estate administration process to work as smoothly as possible. In addition, if your Wills are more than a few years old, they may well need to be updated for other reasons. Finally, you should also have Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives for Health Care, and Texas versions of those documents, even if you have them, likely will NOT work as well in Georgia as the Will would. If you really want to know whether your Wills will suffice for a while longer, the best thing to do would be to find a Georgia estate planning attorney and have the attorney give you an estate planning consultation. The consultation should include a review of the existing estate planning documents you have and an analysis of your current family and financial situation, along with your overall estate distribution desires. If you need updated documents, the attorney can then give you an idea of what is needed and how much it should cost.... Read More

No. If the stock was held in accounts in the deceased person's name with no joint owners, and if there was not any transfer on death or payable on death designation on the account, then the assets in those accounts belong to the deceased person's probate estate. If she had a Will, the person named as Executor should offer the Will for probate, administer the estate properly, and then distribute any remaining assets to the beneficiary or beneficiaries specified in the Will. If the deceased person didn't have a Will, then her probate estate assets will pass to her heirs. Heirs are determined in accordance with state law. In Georgia, the heirs are the person's spouse and descendants, if any. If the person has no spouse or descendant (descendants includes children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, as so on), then the next people in line to be heirs are her parents. If neither parent is living, the person's siblings are next, with any share for a deceased sibling passing to the sibling's living descendant(s), if any. If there is no living sibling, niece, nephew, great-niece, great-nephew, or other descendant of any sibling, however, then you look at the person's grandparents, if any grandparent is living. If no grandparent is then living, the next people in line are the person's aunts and uncles, with cousins who are descendants of a deceased aunt or uncle taking that aunt or uncle's share. And then, if there is no living aunt, uncle, or descendant of a an aunt or uncle, the determination of heirs will move to the person's more distant relatives. Only if at some point you find that there is no living relative will the person not have any heirs, and in that case, the person's remaining probate estate assets will escheat to the state (i.e., the state of Georgia will take the property). So unless the person named you as an Executor or at least beneficiary under her Will or unless you are one of her heirs and she had no Will, you have no legal right to the stock.... Read More

Yes, unless the lawyer is also either named as a fiduciary in the Will or a beneficiary under the Will. The lawyer should only be a beneficiary if the person whose Will it is is a close family member of the lawyer, such as the lawyer's parent. The lawyer also should only be named as a fiduciary in the document if the clients really, really, really want the attorney to serve as fiduciary, came up with that on their own, and not at the attorney's suggestion, the clients have been given adequate disclosures about potential conflicts of interest, and the clients have signed a written consent to have the attorney named as fiduciary. But if the lawyer is not either a fiduciary or a beneficiary in the document, which should most often be the case, then the attorney can serve as a witness or as a notary (but not as both witness and notary).... Read More

It sounds odd, but it may depend on the terms of the plan itself. With regard to employer benefits, sometimes this issue is controlled by law, and sometimes it's controlled by the terms of the plan itself. Usually, however, it would be his getting married which would automatically cut off other beneficaries, not NOT getting married. You should ask for a copy of the documents which control your brother's interest in the plan and what happens to the account if they don't honor his beneficiary designation. If you aren't sure what they mean, you can hire an attorney to review the documents for you. It may be that his benefits aren't payable to anyone other than his spouse, if he had one. It may be that benefits now become payable to a specified next of kin on a list maintained by the plan. It may be that the benefits become payable to his estate. It's strange that he would have had a beneficiary designation form on a plan which wouldn't allow you to be a beneficiary, but not completely unheard of, either. But start with asking for more information about the plan and how the company claims it will now be handled.... Read More

You are supposed to be given a complete copy of both the Will and any Petition which is to be sent to the probate court with it when you are asked to sign anything. Demand to see the petition and a complete copy of the Will and any codicils before you sign. If you hire a probate attorney, have the attorney demand it, and also have the attorney review anything you are asked to sign. Another option, if your family is really being uncooperative, may be for you to seek to be appointed as the Administrator of the estate. If there really is a Will, that will force the person who has it to provide it to the probate court and you can get it then. If the Will has actually already been offered for probate without your signature, you can also get a copy of the probate court file, including te Will and everything else, by calling the court. They will tell you how to request a copy of the file and how much the copies will cost.... Read More

If your mother-in-law had Georgia real estate (I assume this is a Georgia estate- if not, this answer will not be correct), no Will, and no debts, then your husband, your mother's surviving spouse, and your husband's sister may be able to do a Petition for No Administration Necessary and agree in there to have your husband receive 100% of the land. If she had any debts, or if there are assets outside of Georgia, however, then her estate will likely need to be opened and administered properly. As part of the estate administration, the administrator would need to sign an Administrator's Deed over to the intended recipient of the land in order to transfer the title (assuming it does not need to be sold to pay debts and other expenses). You would ideally also want quit claim deeds from the spouse and the sister, to ensure title to the property is clear. The surviving spouse and your husband's sister will be making taxable gifts to him by transferring their shares of the property to him. They will need to file federal gift tax returns and report the gifts (on IRS Form 709), although they may not have to actually write a check for the gift taxes (if they each have enough gift tax credit to cover the gifts). If this had been handled when your mother-in-law actually died, the gifts might have been avoided, but it's too late now. Your husband really does need to get the help of an experienced estate attorney in order to address this issue. There are a lot of potential pitfalls, and he could end up with land he can't sell, personal liability for debts, or other nasty things if he tries self-help and messes up.  ... Read More

Maybe. If the son wants to try overturning the Will, he should see an estate litigation specialist as soon as humanly possible. He will need to be able to show that it was invalidly executed, made under undue influence, or some similar facts in order to succeed, but he may be able to do so. The fact that the Will was apparently "in the garbage" may also be evidence to support a conclusion that the father had changed his mind and intended to revoke the 6th Will. But this is not a forum which can be used for this, and estate disputes are situations where time is absolutely of the essence. Both the son, if he wants to challenge, and the proposed Executor under the purported Will should get good estate litigation attorneys on their sides if they want to either defeat or defend this Will, and they need to get moving now.... Read More

If the nominated Executor or desired Administrator lives out of state, that really poses only some logistics issues. Yes, you do use the same Georgia standard forms to have an out-of-state nominee appointed. If the nominee lives outside Georgia, you can make a special motion to ask the Georgia probate court where the petition will be filed to authorize the appropriate court in the state and county where the nominee lives to take the oath on behalf of the Georgia court, but this isn't necessary. If it isn't requested, then the nominee will have to come to the Georgia probate court in person to take the oath. The "appropriate" court for the nominee's home state and county would be the one which would handle a probate matter in that location, so it won't necessarily be a probate court. As for how you find out what the fee is, generally, with most Georgia counties, you can call the court and they can help you estimate the fees to send in. With the larger counties, such as DeKalb and Fulton, however, it can be difficult to get someone to do that. Best at that point to send in a check (Fulton usually asks for $250 to be sent in, and says they will bill for the rest). I do very strongly suggest that the nominee hire an experienced probate attorney for help before filling out or filing anything. There are a lot of little things which can help make a probate and administration easier but that aren't easy to catch with self-help. Even if the nominee just consults the attorney about how to fill out the forms and what the general issues are, instead of hiring the attorney to do all of the filings, it can save a lot of time, trouble, and expense.... Read More

Unfortunately, if your friend didn't make a Will which properly carried out his stated intent to leave you his assets, or if the original of that Will can't be located after his death and a different one was admitted to probate instead, there isn't anything you can do. Witness statements regarding what your friend may have said verbally are not generally admitted as evidence in estate-related cases except under very unusual circumstances, and if the family has an original Will which leaves assets to them you are very limited, as a non-family member, in your ability to challenge that. You won't really be able to do so with the very slight evidence you describe. Now, if you can find a copy of a signed Will which shows that your friend did actually make a Will which left you assets, and that that Will is newer than the one the family is offering, then you may have a place to start. But depending on how far things have progressed, it may also be too late. I can't tell from your question. If you really want to know whether you might have a case, find an experienced estate litigator (I am not a litigator, by the way) and get a consultation in person or by phone. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your friend, and for the additional distress the situation with his family appears to be causing you. Best wishes.    ... Read More

Depending on how you and your mother held your interests in the real estate, then her spouse may or may not have any rights. It's impossible to answer without actually seeing the deed which you and your mother held the property under. If you held the deed just in your joint names, and the deed does not contain the language "as joint tenants" or "with rights of survivorship," or something very similar, then likely her interest in the property became part of her probate estate at her death. Her spouse would potentially (but not necessarily) have the right to receive a share of her interest in the property. That also depends on a number of factors. If you really want an answer to this question, you will really need to bring all relevant documents (copy of the deed, copy of your mother's Will, if she had one, and any probate court documents which may have been filed for her, etc) to an attorney who can review them and give you answers.... Read More

You don't need a lawyer to help you file an affidavit of heirship. If your dad didn't have a Will, and if you are his only heir, then it would normally be permissible for you to use the affidavit to transfer the Harley to yourself. However, the bad news is this: you are not free to keep it, even if you have paid off part of the existing loan on the bike. It was an asset which belonged to your father, and if it has any equity value, that value must be used to help pay off his other creditors BEFORE anything can be legally distributed to you or any other heir. If you want to keep the bike, you need to figure out how to pay the estate for the equity your dad had at his death (any payments you made after his own death with your own funds can be counted as part of the purchase price). However, you CAN'T just keep the bike. If you do, the other creditors can try to come after you. In order for someone to legally sell the bike, an Administrator must be appointed for the estate (or an Executor, if he did have a Will). That could possibly be you. But if you become the Administrator, you need to be extremely certain that you handle everything properly. Be prepared to have the Harley appraised and to provide evidence of how much remained due on the loan at the time your dad died, as well as each and every dollar you paid for the loan (you need to be able to show both what payments you made AND that they came out of your funds, not estate funds). Any cash you pay to the estate needs to be used to properly pay all other creditors (including your own fees as Administrator, possibly), in the proper order of priority (this is set out in Georgia law), and to make appropriate notification to all creditors, known and unknown. If there aren't enough assets to pay all the creditors and you have done everything properly, then you can keep the Harley (after you've paid for the equity) and close the estate, and the unpaid amounts due from the estate will have to be written off (assuming no one else is already liable on those). But if you mishandle this, the other creditors can come after you personally, because you will effectively have stolen estate assets to which they were entitled. I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but the Harley is already in your dad's probate estate, and it is already subject to the claims of his creditors. Find a good probate attorney and have them help you figure out how to clean up the mess your dad left properly, before his debts become your problem.... Read More

If your mother had her principal residence in Georgia and they are Georgia joint bank accounts, by law they became the sole property of the surviving joint owner at her death. That means that the bank accounts do not become part of her probate estate. However: if the joint owner gives any share in those accounts to someone else, he is making a gift, because the assets are not subject to your mother's Will, either -- they belong 100% to the joint owner. That's why joint ownership of bank accounts with another person is not a good idea unless you really want that person to receive 100% of the accounts at your death. The only option which actually allows the joint accounts to be split without the surviving owner making gifts is if the joint owner can testify that the accounts were set up as joint accounts solely for the convenience of the mother (the deceased owner), and that there was no intent to create a true joint bank account. However, in that case, the bank account assets become part of the probate estate along with all of the other assets, and they cannot be distributed to anyone before the probate estate's administration has been properly completed.... Read More

It's not clear at all what your question is. If this is your ex-wife, you would only be entitled to any life insurance proceeds if you were still designated as her beneficiary specifically, by name and not by the relationship of "spouse," at the time of her death. I suspect that someone would have contacted you by now if her death occurred in 1991 if you had been entitled to anything.... Read More

I'm not sure what your question is. If your father was the sole owner of assets, and those assets were not subject to any beneficiary designation, and he had no Will, then someone will need to open his probate estate and be appointed as Administrator (called Personal Representative in some states). If his principal residence was in Georgia, the heirs (children, any surviving spouse, and possible grandchildren if any predeceased children existed) can select a person to serve as Administrator, and that person should file a Petition for Letters of Administration. If all heirs agree, the Administrator can also be given the right to serve without posting a bond or filing inventories and reports, and can be given a "grant of certain powers," which allows the Administrator to work as freely and easily as possible with very little ongoing court interaction. This can save time and filing fees. But if no Administrator is appointed, the estate cannot be properly administered, and the property titles won't be nearly as clear as desirable. There are a number of steps which will need to be completed to ensure that the estate has been administered properly, but it is very important to take them all in order to ensure that no problems with the property titles or other assets will result. The person who will serve as Administrator will need to use an experienced probate attorney to help.... Read More

If your father's principal residence is in Georgia, then any Will he made while your mother and he were still married likely does not contain any provisions contemplating the possibility that he would get married at some time after he created the Will. If it doesn't, then when he remarried, his new spouse would automatically have become entitled to a minimum 1/3 share of his "probate estate" assets if he dies with that old Will still in effect, since she would be treated as if he died with no Will and would receive an equal share with each child (but no less than 1/3). The rest of the Will would then normally continue to remain in effect. His new wife will also have the right to make a claim for a year's support against the probate estate (unless she waived it in a pre- or post-nuptial agreement) - this could allow her to take all of the probate assets if she asks for them and is either not challenged or wins the challenge. She will also be entitled to any assets on which he makes her a joint tenant (joint bank accounts and certain deeds, for example) or names her as a beneficiary (IRAs, life insurance), and to certain assets subject to ERISA (401(k) plans, for ex.) even if he doesn't name her as beneficiary. If he has his principal residence in some other state, that state's laws would apply to the Will, and it could have become completely invalid. Other states also have a set minimum share for a spouse, rather than year's support. Your father really needs to see an estate planning attorney and make sure his estate plan will work the way he wants it to. Remarriage is a very big step.... Read More

An Executor is entitled to a commission for serving, unless the Will says specifcially that no compensation is to be paid. In Georgia, the Will can set a fee or a specific method to be used to determine the fee, but if the Will doesn't set something, then state law applies. The state law in Georgia would not provide for a flat 10%. However, if the state isn't Georgia, then that state's laws may be different, and could possibly create a 10% fee. Also, if the Will says that the Executor gets 10% of the estate, then even in Georgia that would be the Executor's fee. Being an Executor is a lot of work. The fee is well-earned in most cases. The Executor is also exposed to a lot of potential liability. And Executor's fees, unlike bequests, are taxable income. So, the Executor isn't really being favored over his or her siblings - the fee is for a real job. If the other beneficiaries of the estate believe something improper is going on, they should consult their own estate attorneys for help in reviewing the applicable compensation provisions and determining what steps, if any, to take if it really does appear that something improper is taking place.... Read More

Please accept my condolences on your loss. Assuming it was an actual, legal adoption (which it sounds like it was), then you are one of your father's heirs and yes, you have standing to challenge his Will. One issue is where he had his principal residence at the time of his death - since his Will will be offered for probate in that state, then that state's laws will control. Another potential issue is whether he prepared only a Will, or whether he took any steps designed to avoid probate and thereby make a challenge more difficult to bring, such as creating and funding a revocable trust. Another issue is how much of his assets may have passed outside of any probate estate or trust, such as assets he owned jointly with your stepmother (his wife) as joint tenants (or as tenants by the entirety, if he lived in a state which offers that form of ownership) and assets which went to a designated beneficiary under a beneficiary designation (which includes "Payable on Death" and "Transfer on Death" designations). If you want to challenge, you need to be prepared to move as quickly as possible, and you should not sign anything you may be asked to sign without first having it reviewed by your own attorney. Do NOT sign first and ask questions later - you can end up waiving your rights that way. Please also be aware that litigation can be very expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally and financially devastating, and that success is not at all guaranteed. Find a very good, experienced estate litigation attorney who works in the state where your father had his principal residence, and schedule a consultation. Be prepared to tell that attorney as much as you may know regarding the situation, assets, and documents. Be prepared to pay a retainer up front if you decide to move forward with a challenge, as most estate and trust litigation attorneys don't work on contingency (although some do so in certain circumstances). And best wishes to you.... Read More

Assuming that your father had his principal residence in Georgia at the time of his death, the question of what happens to your brother's share under your father's Will would be answered as follows: 1. If the Will specifies what happens, that is what happens. For example, if your father's Will says that only his children who survive him are to receive shares, then your brother does not receive any share and you (assuming you did survive your father) would receive all assets passing to the children, since you are the only other child. If the Will says that your father's assets are to be divided into equal shares, one for any child who survives him and one for any child who dies before him and leaves one or more descendants who survive your father, then you would receive one share and the other share will benefit your brother's children. But if the Will says what happens, then it should control. 2. If the Will does NOT specify what happens, THEN the question is whether the state's anti-lapse statute would require your brother's share to pass to his children or whether the share lapses (does not get created). To be able to say which answer applies, or what the result is if number 2 is the case, an attorney would have to see the actual Will and other relevant facts. I'd recommend that you consult one who is licensed by the state where your father had his main residence. I would also point out this: if your brother predeceased your father, his children are your father's heirs under Georgia law, along with you, since they take your brother's place in the family tree. If your father was married at the time of his death, then his spouse is also an heir. Being an heir doesn't guarantee benefits, but it does mean you have a right to challenge the Will's admission to probate, if desired.    ... Read More

You may not be able to find the original Will. One place to check would be with the probate court where the deceased person lived, to find out if there was any Will placed "for safekeeping" with the court during the deceased person's lifetime. However, in my experience that is a very unusual thing, and it is more likely that if there was another original Will, it has been made to disappear, either by the deceased himself (in which case, he revoked it) or by someone else. Georgia law presumes that a lost original Will was destroyed by the deceased person with the intent to revoke it, if the deceased person was known to have access to it before his death. If the only Will now is one which differs from the prior Will, then the questions are: 1. whether the new Will was validly executed (this is a question of fact and depends on a lot of variables); 2. whether the new Will actually reflects the wishes of the deceased or whether someone exercised "undue influence" over the deceased at the time the Will was made and signed (again, a question based on a lot of variable and facts); and 3. whether the deceased person had the required mental capacity to sign the Will at the actual signing date and time (again, a question of facts and involving lots of variables). If you were a beneficiary under a prior Will and you are not a beneficiary under the new Will, you MIGHT have the ability to challenge the new Will. However, you have very limited time to challenge a Will once it has been offered for probate, and you need the help of an experienced estate litigation attorney for that purpose. If you think you have a case, you should contact an estate litigation attorney to discuss the actual situation as soon as possible.... Read More