Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

You ask a lot of questions. First, you ask if its worth it. It depends. What did your father own and how was it titled? When did your father die and where did he live at the time of his death? Did your father have any kind of marital settlement agreement with his wife? Was your father actually divorced or merely separated?

Death abates a divorce so if a divorce action was filed but had not been completed then death of one spouse would make matters moot. What is tricky though are claims regarding division of assets. You also do not indicate whether your father had a will and if he disinherited his wife, entirely or partl or whether a settlement agreement had been reached on the division of assets.

The answers to these questions will dictate what you do. I think you should at least get a consult with a probate attorney who practices in the county/state where an estate for your father is or would be pending. The attorney needs to review the situation and advise on the effect that death would have in divorce. Some state law provides that equitable distribution claims will survive. Others, like Georgia, will enforce a settlement agreement.

As a final matter, the wife has no authority to demand any accounting from you unless she has been appointed as the personal representative of your father's estate. However, what all did you take from your father's residence and why? Did he make a gift of things to you? If he gave you items then those items are yours and do not belong to the estate if they were items of personal property belonging solely to your father. You also indicate that the estranged wife has taken over. I am not sure what this means. Has she been duly appointed by the court as personal representative for your father's estate? Or has she just come back to the marital residence?

Bottonm line - you need to go get a consult with a probate attorney who practices where an estate for your father is or would be pending. You will need to get a copy of the estate file as well as any marital agreements and a list of your father's assets and indication as to how things were titled to know what you stand to inherit and whether you must reply to demands made by your father's wife.