Deceased Without a Will in Georgia
A will is an important legal document that can help you protect your assets after your death. If you die without a will, you are considered to be intestate. Each state has different laws regarding the administration of estates where the decedent has no will. In the state of Georgia, the rules for intestate succession and the distribution of assets are outlined under Title 53 of the legislative code.
Other People Are Reading
-
Initiating Probate
-
When you die, your estate is generally subject to the probate process, unless you have very few assets. In Georgia, the probate court is responsible for administering a decedent's estate and distributing its contents to all legally recognized heirs. The court typically appoints an administrator to oversee the probate process, although any interested party may submit a petition to do so. Once an administrator is appointed, he is responsible for locating all estate assets, paying any outstanding debts or taxes owed, locating the decedent's heirs and dividing the estate according to the Georgia intestate succession rules.
Who Can Inherit
-
If you're married at the time of your death, the first right of inheritance automatically passes to your spouse. How much the spouse is entitled to depends on whether or not you have children. Under Georgia law, if you and your spouse have one child, your spouse and your child are each entitled to an equal share in your estate. If you and your spouse have more than one child, the spouse is entitled to a one-third share while your children must divide the remaining two-thirds share equally. If you have no spouse nor children, the order for succession becomes your parents, followed by your siblings and their descendents, your grandparents and, finally, your aunts and uncles.
-
Abandonment
-
If you're married and your spouse deserts you, Georgia law prohibits him from exercising a claim on your estate. The same is also true of a parent who abandons a minor child or an adult child who is otherwise incapacitated and unable to care for himself. The revocation of an individual's right to inherit may only be reversed if the marital or parental relationship was resumed prior to the end of the decedent's life. If the resumption of a marital relationship results in the birth of a child shortly after the decedent's passing, the child is recognized to have full inheritance rights.
Considerations
-
Georgia law treats children who are born out of wedlock differently for intestate succession. An illegitimate child is legally entitled to inherit his mother's estate but must petition the court to exercise his right of inheritance with regard to his father's estate. If you die within six months of your spouse and neither of you had a will, any property you would have received from your spouse's estate reverts to his heirs rather than yours. Georgia law permits potential heirs up to four years to file an inheritance claim. If no claims are made within this time frame, the decedents' assets legally become the property of the state.
-
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
