Grayson, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Your stepfather has the legal right to the year's support, and you cannot prevent him from making a claim for it under Georgia law. All that any other heir can do with regard to a year's support petition is try to argue that the amount being requested is too much, given the surviving spouse's other resources. Unfortunately, if you don't hire a good estate litigation attorney who has experience in contesting year's support claims, you will likely have little to no chance to succeed in such a challenge. I'm sorry for your loss, but unfortunately the year's support right given to a surviving spouse is pretty strong in Georgia. If your mother really didn't want your stepfather to receive anything from her estate, she REALLY needed to do some estate planning (not just a Will, either).

You need the administrator of the estates (who may be you- it's not clear from your post) to write a deed transferring the property from your parents' estates to you. It is often called an Administrator's Deed. That deed gets recorded with the Superior Court of the county where the property is located. The deed should not be executed or recorded before the estate administration has been fully completed otherwise- in other words, all of the creditors have to have been properly notified and outstanding debts paid in full, and the distribution must be made properly. Yes, you should have an attorney help you with all of that, including the deed. Find a good probate attorney and have them help you finish up the process.   Best wishes to you and please accept my condolences on the loss of your parents.

Yes. Unless she requested and was awarded assets as Year's Support, you and your brother would each be entitled to one-sixth of your father's estate under Georgia law.