Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

My Dad passed away and left everything to my mother with the understanding that when she passed, the remainder of the estate would come to me. Her relatives have now gotten involved in her finances and I believe they will have her change her Will to where she leaves everything to them. I understand that she can do this, but I have since found out that my Dad started using another last name many years ago and never legally changed it. He also used another birth date for his birthday. I am wondering if there is any way to challenge the Will since he used a false name both when he married and also when he made out this Will. If the marriage is not valid and they were not legally married --- I am thinking this would leave me as his only heir. Thanks for the help.


Asked on 7/03/12, 10:56 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

There is no law in Georgia that prohibits the use of an alias unless it is done to deceive people. So while he could have been prosecuted (while alive) for a false statement on his application, I think your argument is legally flimsy.

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Answered on 7/03/12, 3:10 pm

Now you are re-posting with more facts. Your father made a will. If he wanted to make sure that your mother could not alter his wishes, then he need to make a revocable living trust, convey his assets to the trust and make someone other than your mother the trustee so that the trustee could dole out the money to your mother but your mother would not get the assets and be able to do things differently than as planned with your father.

However, your father did not do that. Since he did left everything to your mother, your mother now is free to dispose of the property as she sees fit and she does not have to leave you anything at all. Your mother's relatives may have induced your mother to change her will but the relatives cannot change her will on their own. The only person who can make a new will or codicil is your mother. However, there are other ways to effectively overwrite a will - your mother could be induced to dispose of her assets prior to her death so that her will is of no effect.

Regarding your plan to bring a will caveat, I am not sure what that is going to get you. Assuming that your will caveat would prevail and the will is tossed out, then the property would go to the wife and biological or adopted children. So your mother would still get one-half of the property if they were married at the time of your father's death. However, I don't know what assets your father and mother owned, how it was titled or whether it was or was not a probate asset. The will and intestacy laws if the will is tossed out are only concerned with probate assets. If your father and mother owned real property as joint tenants with a right of survivorship, the land would have passed to your mother automatically and the will would have no bearing on that.

The only possible way this might work is if you could somehow prove that he was validly married to another woman under his real name and that the marriage to your mother was bigamous. Do you know whether this was the case? If so, maybe that other woman would stand to inherit along with your father's children. Is that what you want?

I think you need to take the will and any other relavant information that you can find regarding your father's real name and information to a probate law attorney and pay him or her to review it. You do not indicate where your father lived at the time of his death or when he died or whether the probate of his will is still pending. If the estate has already been probated, then you may or may not be able to bring a caveat now.

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Answered on 7/03/12, 9:57 pm


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