My experience as an attorney in Cumming, Georgia has been that most litigation involving estates here in Forsyth, Dawson, Gwinnett, Cherokee, and Lumpkin counties is over which heirs should receive the property. An experienced attorney that properly draws the deceased will, should prevent most of the problems associated with probate litigation.

Sometimes the Probate Court is called on to construe the terms of the will which are not clear or to provide other guidance in the regular administration of the estate. However, if a will is not probated (which means proven) then the laws of dissent and distribution would be in place to transfer the property of the decedent.

Georgia is the only state in the nation which recognize a term called “years support”. Many attorneys here in North Georgia use this law as a very practical way to transfer estate property.

Normally, heirs can contact the Probate Court directly in the case of the death of a relative which requires the appointment of the executor. An attorney normally advises that executor as to his or her responsibility. An attorney is needed if the heirs elect to file a caveats or objection to the will or the administration of the estate.

Call McFarland & McFarland today. 770-889-2522

1. Violation of Parental Trust: Wood v. Wood, Case No. 95-CV-390B, Superior Court of Hall County. In this 1995 case, Attorney Robert McFarland represented an adult daughter who was asking for an accounting from her mother. The mother has held the daughter’s funds in a trust while the daughter was a juvenile. After a jury trial in Gainesville, Georgia, the jury decided that the mother had not been truthful about her daughter and refused to set aside the deed from the mother to the daughter, which the mother filed in order to avoid an IRS tax lien. The daughter eventually obtained the house and dispossessed the mother.