Resaca, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

First it is important to determine how the property was titled at the time of your grandfather's death. If it was in joint tenancy with your uncle, or your uncle was a Pay on Death beneficiary it would pass to him by operation of law regardless of what the Will says. If the asset was only in your grandfather's name then it would be necessary to go through probate. If it is/went through probate you should receive notice of the petitions, etc. You should probably review the title information available on line for the county where the property is located and determine the ownership status and history. You may want to seek legal counsel to address the specifics of your situation.

First you must lodge the original Will with the clerk of the Court. With regard to filing for probate, the missing items are not included in the inventory that is filed with the court. If someone asks about them, then you will need to explain the facts and circumstances associated with the prior gifting. The court may schedule a hearing on the issue if there is an objection by an interested person to determine if the asset was appropriately gifted before death.

In order for a person's Will to be made legally effective and actually allow the transfer of assets in the person's probate estate to the intended beneficiaries, it has to be admitted to probate in the appropriate county. In this case, if the aunt had her principal residence in Georgia, the probate court for the county where she had her principal residence is the appropriate county to start with. The Will has to have been admitted to probate and an Executor appointed by the court. There is also "filing for informational purposes only;" that does NOT appoint an executor. It's not clear what you mean when you say the Will has been filed briefly with the court. The Executor of the estate has to notify any potential unknown creditors by publishing a "Notice to Debtors and Creditors," and to clean up all outstanding items such as final income tax returns for the years the aunt was alive and pay her debts. The Executor also has to determine a proper fair market value for her probate assets as of the date of her death. Only once all debts, taxes, and expenses of the estate have been paid can any assets be distributed to the nephew under the Will. In order to transfer the property to the nephew, the Executor then has to execute a deed (which can be called an Executor's Deed, an Assent to Devise, or a Deed of Assent) to actually transfer the property to the nephew's name. Just having the nephew start living there and paying expenses does nothing except put him at risk for all kinds of problems. If the nephew wants to be able to keep this house, he needs to ensure that the estate is dealt with correctly. If he really has no funds, then he may be able to get some legal help through a legal services clinic. Some probate courts in Georgia (DeKalb and Fulton, and I think others) have programs operated through the courts themselves, where volunteer attorneys come and help with these kinds of issues. But in general, he may need to get an attorney to help him. It does not have to be expensive; many attorneys can provide help on an as-needed basis for fairly inexpensive fees.