Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

Re: Retirement Fund Beneficiary

You have a very complex situation here. You should first retain a local attorney in the general area of the county in which your father resided when he died. The document you describe, as well as any other writings, need to be reviewed. If you are in my area, please feel free to give me a call.

Re: Retirement Fund Beneficiary

The IRA is outside probate. The joint checking accounts apparently name one or more children on the accounts and they go automatically to the holders of the joint accounts and do not pass through probate. The probate estate consists only of property titled solely in your father's name which does not specify a beneficiary. A house would be good example of that if your father died with a house in his name.

Re: Retirement Fund Beneficiary

It is extremely important that you retain legal counsel to be sure that things are done properly - both for legal and tax purposes. The fact that you are struggling with the simpler issues shows that you could be in big trouble doing this without a lawyer.

As a general rule, joint bank accounts and retirement funds are not part of the estate for probate purposes. However, without examining all the documents, especially since both parents have died, I cannot further answer your questions.

There are some shortcuts that may be possible in probate court if all the heirs agree, so retain counsel as soon as possible.

Re: Retirement Fund Beneficiary

Your questions indicate that you are having trouble getting started with the initial basic steps to settling an estate. Questions such as the ones that you pose should not be answered in an isolated fashion, outside the context of the entire estate, without consideration to the circumstances of the beneficiaries. Investment in an attorney will be money well spent.