QUESTION

My father changed his will and removed me and my daughters from the new will, dated 2007. Can I challenge this new will

Asked on Aug 21st, 2012 on Wills and Probate - Georgia
More details to this question:
I reside in New Jersey. My father resided in Bonaire, Georgia.
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1 ANSWER

Personal Injury Attorney serving Fayetteville, GA at Wade Law Office
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The short answer to your question is "maybe." You haven't provided nearly enough information for me to be able to have a good idea of the exact situation. If your father is still alive, you cannot challenge his Will unless he is deceased. If he passed away recently and his Will has not yet been admitted to probate by the appropriate probate court (which, if he resided in Bonaire, Georgia, would be the county probate court of the county where Bonaire is located), then, as one of his heirs, you should be able to challenge the Will. In order to do so successfully, however, you will have to be able to prove that either the Will was not validly executed in accordance with Georgia law, or that for some reason the Will, even though executed properly, should not be viewed as your father's actual intent. Showing that a validly executed Will does not reflect a deceased person's intent generally requires a showing that the person was unduly influenced by another person, or that he was forced to sign the Will, or that it was forged, or that he was mistaken about some critical fact and that the Will would like have been different if the mistake had not occurred. These can be very difficult to prove. As a child of your father, you are one of his heirs under Georgia law. However, you being an heir does not mean that your father is required to leave you anything under his Will. If the Will is validly executed and you are not able to show that it should not be viewed as actually expressing your father's intent, then the mere fact that you and your daughters are not beneficiaries under the Will does not really give you any grounds to challenge it. Georgia law allows a minor child to make a claim against a deceased person's estate for a "year's support." However, if you are over 18 you can't even make that claim. Georgia residents are free to disinherit their children if they want to. If you do think you have a good chance at a successful challenge, you should talk to an experienced estate attorney about the details of your matter. You will also need to consider the possible results of a successful challenge, however. If your father had few or no assets which became part of his probate estate (such as if he used a funded Revocable Trust, or if most of his assets passed to others at his death under rights of survivorship and/or beneficiary designations), then a challenge to his Will, even if successful, may still leave you with nothing. In addition, this type of challenge can destroy any family relationships you may have, if other family members are receiving benefits under the Will.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2012 at 8:34 AM

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