Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

My father passed away 2 years ago and left everything to his wife unless she had predeceased him, in that case everything was to be left to his two children (my sister and I). She was still alive when he passed so everything went to her. She has now died and did not change the deed to their home into her name only (I guess this is needed in the state of Georgia). When she died she willed everythihg including the home to a friend. This friends attorney contacted me yesterday saying he was representing my father's estate and would like to handle the deed situation for us and would send my sister and I an affidavit to sign. If we didn't he said then he would petition the courts and then have to sell the property. Ok - when I asked him 5 more times who he was representing he finally said it was the friend who inherited the property.
My questions are the following -
Are the special laws in Georgia regarding deed transfer stating that a spouse has to redeed the property to be the sole owner in order to give the property in a will in the event of their death? Why do they need our signatures to deal with the deed? Since the house is in my father's name as well as my stepmothers name does that mean, only half of the house can be transferred in the state of Georgia? Do I have any ownership rights to the house while this is in transition?

Asked on 3/04/11, 8:41 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

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It is not necessarily true that a deed had to be filed after your father's death. That depends on the original deed, which no one here has and you did not tell us any details. No one here has the will or estate documents for either your father or mother, and no one here knows what you were asked to sign (and you did not tell us). No one here can possibly answer your questions. As far as your ownership rights, you were apparently not on any deeds and not a recipient in the will, so if you have a claim, we certainly can't tell you based on your post. Take all of these documents to a qualified lawyer for review.

Answered on 3/04/11, 8:57 am

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