My condolences on your loss. If your father had his primary residence in Georgia at the time of his death (if not, I really can't answer this), the answer to whether a Will must be filed is basically this: No, not while he is still alive, although a living person's Will CAN be filed "for safekeeping" with the probate court of the county where a living person has his primary residence. To find out whether a Will was filed for safekeeping, you can call the appropriate probate court or go there in person, let them know that your father is deceased and provide a copy of his death certificate, and ask them to check and see whether any original Will was filed for safekeeping with the probate court. If there was, you should be able to get a copy of the Will, and the person nominated as Executor will be asked to come and get the original. After a person's death, Georgia law requires that a Will either be offered for probate (if there are any assets in the probate estate - that depends on what the person owned and how he or she owned it) or filed "for informational purposes only" with the appropriate probate court within a "reasonable" period. Again, you can contact the appropriate probate court and ask whether anything has been filed for a deceased person, either for probate or for informational purposes. But if nothing has been filed, you may just have to search your father's possessions or deal with whoever had access to them. If no Will is found, no estate has been opened, and you think there may be some probate assets, you can seek to be appointed as an administrator or temporary administrator of his estate. If anyone has a Will they've been keeping hidden from you, that should flush them out of the woodwork. I would strongly advise you to get legal counsel in the state where your father had his primary residence at the time of his death, however. Good luck to you.
Answered on Jul 10th, 2012 at 9:16 AM