Need to read a will

No, you do not have to have a formal Will reading, although you may need to provide copies of the Will to various beneficiaries. As to whether the Will should be probated, the answer depends on whether there are assets in the probate estate and a number of other factors. It's not the kind of question that can be answered in this kind of forum, because it is too fact-dependent. An attorney, to answer that question, would really need to sit down with you, as the proposed Executor, and go over information about the decedent's assets, how they were owned, whether beneficiary designations apply, what kind of debt there is, who the family and beneficiaries are, and whether there are any alternative procedures that might be useful. Please consider getting a consultation with an experience probate attorney as soon as possible. Please also note: even if you finally determine that the Will does NOT need to be admitted to probate because there are no assets that must be dealt with by an Executor, you are still required by Georgia law to file the original Will with the probate court of the county where the decedent had his or her principal residence. This filing, where the Will is not being offered for probate, is called filing for informational purposes only. You just need to present the original Will to the probate court and tell them it is being filed for informational purposes, and not offered for probate. There is usually no fee for that filing. If you file for informational purposes, you should ideally keep a copy of the Will along with a record that it was filed for informational purposes.