Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

The best thing would be to retain Georgia counsel and determine what should and can be filed in Probate Court.

Where did aunt and uncle live? When did each die? You indicate "we." Are there other siblings or cousins of yours who are alive and would be entitled to inherit? Are there any siblings of your aunt and uncle who are alive? What assets did these people have, if any?

The best thing to do is to see a probate attorney in the county/state where your aunt and uncle resided at the time of their death. Since you are contacting GA-licensed attorneys, I assume that the estates will be probated in GA. Each state has intestacy laws and GA is no different. Usually, if the person who died has a spouse, assets would pass first to the spouse and then any children. Since there are no children here, then to the deceased's person's parents, and if they are deceased, then the deceased person's siblings, and if none, to the nieces and nephews, of which you are one. I do not know if there are others, so that is why you need to speak with an attorney to determine your share, if any.

I don't know when the person died. All assets probably would have been left to the person's spouse. The problem is that I do not know the order of death or which of the people you were related to. If your aunt and uncle died simultaneously, the assets are divided between your aunt and uncle's estate. In such case, you would share, along with any siblings, in up to one-half of the assets.

Before you get any assets, probate is a big job. If you are out of state, it will be important for you to get an attorney who is in the state as they will have the necessary papers and be able to make sure things go smoothly. If you are going to be the personal representative, then you wil have to be appointed by the probate court. Once appointed, your task would be to figure out what assets are in the estate(s) and what claims there are, if any. Once any valid bills/claims/debts are paid, then your task is to divide the assets as per the state instestacy laws since there are no wills.

If your aunt and uncle died a while ago, you might try www.unclaimed.org and follow the links to the state(s) where you know that your aunt and uncle may have had bank accounts or other money that was owned by them.