DIY Will In Georgia: How To Make It Legal

Are DIY wills in Georgia even legal?

Can you use them to:

avoid the probate process
pass down your inheritance to beneficiaries
appoint an executor of a Georgia estate
create a legal document for your estate

We will dig into all of this.

Let’s dig in.

DIY Georgia Last Will And Testament

You’re probably thinking about a do-it-yourself will like this.

You take out a sheet of paper and write everything on it.

Is that a valid will in the state of Georgia?

At this point, this is not a valid will.

It does not meet the will requirements under Georgia state law.

How To Create A DIY Will In Georgia

Here are the steps to creating a DIY will in Georgia:

decide what property to include in your DIY will
determine who will inherit what from your estate
choose an executor to manage creditors, debts, and assets
choose a guardian if you have minor children
choose someone to manage your children’s property (trusts work great)
get a last will and testament template (online or from an estate planning lawyer)
create your do-it-yourself will
sign your last will and testament form in front of competent witnesses
store your will in a safe place

Georgia Do-It-Yourself Will Requirements

Under Georgia law, for it to be a valid will, a DIY will in Georgia needs to:

have a testator that’s 14+ years of age and of sound mind
be typed up or written out (either is fine)
NOT be an audio or video recording
get witnessed by two competent witnesses, 14+ years of age
get signed by those witnesses
signed by the testator under their full legal name

Let’s talk about if you DON’T meet the will requirements in Georgia.

Invalid Wills In Georgia

Per Georgia code, a do-it-yourself will is a holographic will in Georgia if it doesn’t:

get witnessed by two people
get signed by two competent witnesses (using their full legal names)

A DIY will does not need to get notarized to be a valid will under Georgia law.

But, it helps the executor prove the validity of the will to the probate courts.

An estate planning attorney can:

notarize the DIY last will and testament
give you a self-proving affidavit

What Happens If Your DIY Will Is Invalid?

Let’s say you try to file a DIY will in Georgia that’s not valid.

In this case, you won’t be able to prove the validity of the will to the probate courts.

And the probate courts won’t honor your wishes with this holographic will.

They will distribute your estate per the intestacy state laws in Georgia.

In this case, this means that:

your spouse and kids split the estate equally per individual
your spouse (with no kids) gets everything
your kids (with no spouse) get everything

If intestacy is what you DON’T want, you will need to create a new will.

Make Your Own Will Valid In Georgia

With a valid will, your estate gets passed down exactly how you want it to.

You can’t “avoid probate” with any will in Georgia.

You can only avoid probate by setting up trusts.

But a valid, do-it-yourself will allows you to:

appoint an executor (personal representative) of your estate
distribute your estate how you see fit
exclude people from your inheritance if desired
change the allocations of how things get distributed
choose an advance directive for your healthcare needs

For example, people pass away and leave behind their surviving spouses.

Intestacy laws in Georgia would make your surviving spouse split the estate with the kids.

You may want to give your spouse the entire estate (including real estate).

And then let them pass the remaining estate to the kids once they pass.

That way, they aren’t left with minimal assets after you pass.

Note that you could do everything right and still not have a valid will.

If the testamentary capacity is in question, their own will can become invalid.

An estate planning attorney makes sure you meet all the proper requirements.

Estate Planning With DIY Wills In Georgia

We’ve talked about a lot of things for estate planning with this legal document.

Let’s talk about the best way to set things up with your last will and testament.

make it a living will (to determine your end-of-life healthcare)
appoint guardianship for your minor children
make your will self-proving with an affidavit
get a notary public for your will to make it easier to prove
set up the appropriate power of attorneys
set up living trusts to pass down real estate and personal property

There are other things to consider for your family members, too.

You need to choose the appropriate loved ones as beneficiaries of things like:

retirement plans
life insurance policies
bank accounts
investment accounts

Your Georgia will can address these accounts for probate.

But, appointing beneficiaries means that you can avoid probate with these accounts.

This way, a testator can pass down property to beneficiaries immediately.

Get A DIY Will In Georgia

Let’s say you want a reliable, attorney-created DIY will template and legal advice.

Our experienced, Atlanta estate planning attorneys will create your living will, which means:

you can make sure your doctors abide by the laws
you have confidence you have the correct living will set up
you don’t have to hire a notary to show up to the signing
you don’t have to find witnesses to show up at the signing
you get FREE revisions for 30 days

Fill out the form below and we will reach out and get the ball rolling.

Talk soon.