Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

Re: How do we find a will?

In Georgia, wills are usually not filed with the court prior to death. However, procedures do exist for someone to file a copy with the probate court of their county of residence. You can contact the probate court clerk of your aunt's home county to find out the procedures for obtaining that information. First, though, you should probably see if your aunt had a safe deposit box, which is the most likely location for the original will. If she did not have a safe deposit box and you cannot find the will in her house, it is possible that she had her attorney act as custodian of the will. If this is the case, it should still be in possession of the firm, or if the attorney was a sole practitioner, it may be in the files of the successor firm or attorney who took over the practice. Hopefully, though, you will be able to locate it in a safe deposit box at her bank. The bank will require authorization to allow you access to the box, so there are additional steps you will need to take to get that authorization. I hope this info is helpful to you.

Re: How do we find a will?

In addition to Mr. Laurens suggestions, if your Aunt worked with other professionals - accountant/CPA, banker, insurance agent, real estate agent, etc., they could have knowledge of the existence and whereabouts of a Will. In the event you cannot find a Will, your Aunt will be deemed to have died "intestate". This means that the heirs at law will have to get together to have an administrator appointed for her estate. Georgia statutory law will be applied to determine how the estate will be divided and distributed. Good Luck!