Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

It means that your father died without a will and that his wife needs to probate an estate for your father. If you agree that she can administer the estate fairly, then it is probably ok to sign the paper, but I or any other attorney would have to be certain. If you do not agree that your step-mother should administer the estate then DO NOT sign the paper.

Before you make this decision, what all did your father own? How was it titled? Probate only is concerned with probate assets. The job of the administrator is to figure out what probate assets there are, pay any just debts of your father and distribute what is left to the heirs, which would be the spouse and your father's children.

If your father had many debts and few probate assets, then there may not be a reason to object even if you did not get along with this woman as there will not be much for you to inherit anyway. However, if there are many probate assets such that you would stand to inherit, then it may be worthwhile to object, especially if you do not get along with the wife as she may try to abuse her authority and cheat you out of your inheritance. In such case, see a local probate lawyer in the county/state where the estate is pending.

You do ont indicate if your father lived in Georgia or elswhere or if you had other siblings. It matters as different states have different laws. Also, the percentages of what you stand to inherit change if there are more than one child (generally its 1/3rd of the probate estate to wfe and 2/3rd to the children if there are 2 or more children and its 50/50 if there is a wife and only one child).

Also, probate is concerned with probate assets only. Things like life insurance, joint checking accounts, annuities, IRAs and the like are beneficiary-designated non-probate assets. What this means is that those assets will go to the named beneficiary regardless of what happens with probate. If that is you, then you get the funds - if its the step-mother, then she gets the funds. Usually, the beneficiary is not obligated to use the funds to pay for a funeral or other estate expenses of the deceased.