Atlanta Probate Lawyer Blog
In my Marietta, and Atlanta, Georgia, Will Contest Law Practice, which includes Will Contest Litigation in Lawrenceville, the Buckhead Area, Dunwoody, Decatur, Sandy Springs, Kennesaw, Smyrna, Duluth, Cumming, Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, and other Cities and Counties throughout Georgia, I counsel clients on many aspects of Georgia probate law; including Georgia Will Contests (also referred to as Georgia Will Challenges and Georgia Will Litigation). Once Georgia probate proceeding have begun, all interested parties have a determined amount of time to challenge an existing will, which has been offered up to the court for it’s authenticity and to be the will control the Decedent’s Estate.
A person challenging a Georgia will can do so under several common scenarios. The existence of a more recent will, incapacity of the testator, undue influence exerted on the testator, incorrect execution of the will and fraud are several scenarios that are commonly recognized reasons in Georgia for invalidating a Will. When contesting a Georgia Will based on fraud, the person filing the objection is required to prove that the deceased was deceived by fraudulent misrepresentation at the time the will was executed. This is also sometimes referred to as the Testator laboring under mistake of facts, which had the truth been known, the Testator would have not executed the Will or made a different will. Evidence of the motive or opportunity to commit fraud by itself is not sufficient to deem the will invalid. Proving the effect of the fraud on the testator is critical.
Under Georgia probate law, the Fraud necessary for contesting a Georgia will can be committed that either influences the facts that move the testator to draft the will in a certain way (inducement) or the act of fraud can directly affect the execution of the will. In the instance of inducement, a third party might convince the testator to leave assets to them under false pretenses. For example, a sibling might gain sympathy from his dying brother, the testator, citing imminent bankruptcy. If the bankruptcy is not real and the testator leaves property to his sibling in the will because of this lie, then the will can be contested under the scenario of fraud.
Execution of a will can be manipulated so that the will is deemed invalid. This type of manipulation in the execution of the will is considered fraud when intentionally done. Causing improper signature of a will by purposely misguiding the testator or witnesses during the signing of the will is one example of how this type of fraud can occur. Also an individual that is being left out of a will may try to prevent the Georgia testator from executing a will. This is also an example of fraud. Further, one of the most obvious examples of fraud in the execution of the will is forgery or removing pages from the will and replacing them with pages that have dispositions different than the Testator intended. Oftentimes, this is why you will see lawyers have the Testator initial each page of the Will and place the final (and only) set of staple in the Will after it has been duly executed and each page initialed. Further, some lawyers will seal the will in an envelope in such a way to ensure that if someone had gained access to the Will, there would be obvious tampering to the envelope the Will was put in immediately after executed.
Fraud, undue influence and a general lack of mental capacity on the part of the testator are many times present in Georgia will contest cases. As a result, it is important to retain the counsel of a qualified probate attorney when any of these factors is suspected. The Atlanta Probate attorneys at The The Libby Law Firm are available to assist with all types of probate and estate litigation issues. You may contact our office to discuss your situation at (404) 467-8611. You may also send us a message through our confidential Website Form. Serving metro-Atlanta and northern Georgia, the Firm’s main office is conveniently located in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.
Our Atlanta Probate, Will Contest & Litigation Lawyers would be glad to be of service to you. We practice in most of Georgia including Northeast Georgia, Northwest Georgia, Sandy Springs, Buckhead Area, Fulton County, Atlanta, Gwinnett County, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Forsyth County, Cumming, Cobb County, Kennesaw, Acworth, Marietta, DeKalb County, Decatur, North Atlanta, and many more counties and cities throughout Georgia. Should you need an experienced Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta Probate – Will Contest & Litigation Lawyers, do not hesitate to Contact Us through Our Website or by calling Our Atlanta, Georgia based Will Contest & Litigation Law Firm or Our Marietta, Georgia, Will Contest & Litigation Law Firm. You can reach us by calling (404) 467-8611 (Atlanta Main Office) or (770) 952-1008 (Marietta Main Office), respectively.
Our Main Atlanta Office is near the intersection of Peachtree Road and Piedmont Road, close to the Buckhead Loop. Our Atlanta and Marietta Will Contest & Litigation Law Offices boast a national clientele throughout more than 35 States in the United States and numerous foreign countries. We will be glad to assist you in handling any Georgia Will Contests, Will Challenges, or Will Litigation. We regularly would handle matters in Atlanta, Macon, Savannah, Columbus, Augusta, Valdosta, Albany, Gainesville, Canton, and many other cities throughout Georgia. Should you need exceptional Atlanta, Georgia-based Will Contest & Litigation Attorneys at your service. We are here and ready to assist you.