Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

People do not make oral statements. That is why we have documents called "wills." Anything oral is not going to be enforceable. If your father did not have a will, fine. You can claim an intestate share of his probate assets which range from 1/3rd to 1/2 depending on how many children your father had. Of course, this assumes that your father had probate assets. I suggest you make a list of assets that you believe your father owned or had an interest in at the time of his death. If he owned land, make a copy of the deed to see how it was owned. Check with the probate court in the country where your father resided at the time of his death to see if an estate has been probated. If there is no estate, a petition can be filed seeking to compel the wife to produce a will if she has one. Or, you can file an application for probate and seek to become the personal representative. That petition can be served on the wife and if she has a will she would be foolish not to produce it. Once you are appointed, you will be able to gain access to all of your father's possessions, if for no other reason than that you need to inventory the same. If the step-mother will not grant access volutntarily, you will need a court order.

Regarding the 401(k), again, any statements are meaningless. 401(k)s are NON-probate assets if there is a beneficiary designated beneficiary. Who is the beneficiary? If it is not you, then you do not have a right to any of these funds. Again, you would need to become personal representative of the estate in order for the company administering the 401(k) to provide you with information.

You are probably going to have to hire a probate lawyer as things are going to get ugly.