Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

I am confused here and want to make sure I have the facts correct - you were adopted. But who made the will? Your biological former mother or adopted mother?

Adoption cuts off any rights to inherit under the laws. You no longer have a right to inherit from your biological mother unless you were specifically written into her will. Because you have no rights, you can't be considered a pretermitted heir even if the will is silent about you, i.e. specifically does not disinherit you. You are now considered to be the same as a biological child of the adopting parent.

So who died and when? Who made the will? Where is the will probated? Has it been filed with any court? Where did the deceased live at the time of death? That is the state whose laws which will govern, not your state of residence. Things like life insurance are NOT part of the probate assets if there is a named designated living beneficiary so you do not have any right to that information unless you were a beneficiary of the insurance policy. Safe to say you probably were not. However, if there is an estate pending, you can contact the probate court and get a copy of the will and any other relevant documents. Once the will has been probated and letters testamentary issued, most states require an inventory of assets to be filed within 90 days after death. This will list all assets in the probate estate. An accounting will be filed, either annually or when the estate administration is completed. If its too soon for an inventory to be filed and there is not even a preliminary inventory, do you have any idea what the dead person may have owned and how it was titled, if a title exists? Car titles are at the DMV. Titles/Deeds to land are found at the register of deeds for the county in which the land is located. This will tell you who owns the stuff and whether it is part of the probate estate or not.

Bottom line: if biological mother died, you have no right to inherit anything or assert any claims as heir. If adopted mother died, why did this person make a will and not mention you? If will specifically disinherits you, it is possible to bring a challenge to the will called a caveat. If you can show the will was invalid, you could share in the adopted person's estate. If you were omitted, you might be able to argue that the omission was an accident. Either way, you would need to know what the will says and what assets are in the estate to know if any kind of legal challenge would be worthwhile.

If the estate has a lawyer and sent you papers, then you need to consult your own probate attorney who practices in the county/state where the estate is or will be pending. I don't know what you are being asked to sign. Its probably a petition authorizing probate of the will and consent to appointment of the sister as personal representative, but I don't know why you would be asked to consent if you are not a heir and have no rights. Since I cannot see the documents I would strongly encourage you to at least meet with an attorney who can review the documentation and advise you of your rights.