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What is a self-proving affidavit in Georgia?
Are Georgia’s self-proving affidavits REALLY going to avoid probate?
Can you use them to:
We will dig into all of this.
Let’s dig in.
Under Georgia laws, a self-proving affidavit proves the validity of a will to the probate courts.
Let’s say your will does have not a self-proving affidavit in Georgia.
You have to bring the witnesses in front of the judge.
And they have to testify the testator’s signature is valid.
This can pose problems when the time comes.
A lot of times, the attesting witnesses can’t be found or are no longer alive.
When this happens, the will cannot get proven.
And the estate gets distributed per intestate laws in Georgia.
And not how the testator wanted their estate to get passed down.
A Georgia self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement for a last will and testament.
These legal documents attest to the validity of the will.
And it eliminates the need to have the witnesses testify in front of a probate judge.
And it allows the will to get validated without going through the probate process.
This gets accomplished by your attorney creating two self-proving affidavits.
You need a self-proving affidavit for each witness that signed your will.
In Georgia, a will with a self-proving affidavit:
A self-proving will should include everything in your estate, including things like:
You should always use a self-proving affidavit for a Georgia will.
Without one, the witnesses have to testify in front of a judge that the testator’s signature is valid.
A lot of times, witnesses cannot be found or they have passed away.
In this case, you cannot prove that the will is valid.
Our law firm’s estate planning lawyers ALWAYS make your will self-proving.
Fill out the form on this page to:
A self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement attached to the will.
It gets signed by the testator and the witnesses and gets notarized.
The witnesses have to be in the presence of the testator when they sign.
A self-proving affidavit testifies to the validity of the will in the state of Georgia.
And it speeds up the probate process when settling an estate in Georgia.
Because you don’t have to wait on witnesses to prove the validity of the will.
With self-proving affidavits, you prevent the need for witnesses to testify.
Creating a self-proving will is the same as a normal will in Georiga.
What’s different is the self-proving affidavit.
Here are the steps to creating a self-proving will in Georgia:
Let’s say you wanted a DIY will but you wanted it to be self-proving.
You will need to:
Self-proving affidavits can get used even if you have a:
Under Georgia law, for it to be a valid will, a self-proving will in Georgia needs to:
Let’s talk about if you DON’T meet the will requirements in Georgia.
No, Georgia does not require a self-proving affidavit.
You can have a valid will without a self-proving affidavit in Georgia.
Having a self-proving affidavit just speeds up the probate process.
If a will is not self-proving, then the witnesses have to testify that the will is valid.
The witnesses will have to show up to probate courts and testify.
This is how to prove that the will is authentic if the will is not self-proving.
Yes, affidavits have to get signed in front of a notary public.
Self-proving affidavits need to get signed by the witnesses in front of:
Yes, an affidavit needs to be notarized in Georgia.
If it’s not notarized, it’s an invalid affidavit.
Let’s say you don’t have a self-proving affidavit in Georgia.
The witnesses have to go through interrogatories.
This means they need to provide written interrogatories to the courts.
The interrogatory has to be given in front of anyone who can legally administer oaths.
Usually, these are given in front of the judge in the probate courts.
Per Georgia code, a will is a holographic will in Georgia if it doesn’t:
A will does not need to have a self-proving affidavit to be a valid will under Georgia law.
But, making it self-proving helps the executor prove the validity of the will to the probate courts.
An estate planning attorney can:
This way, the will is self-proving and you can speed up the probate process.
Let’s say you try to file a 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:
If intestacy is what you DON’T want, you will need to create a new will.
That way, the probate courts honor the testator’s request for distributions.
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 will with a self-proving affidavit in Georgia allows you to:
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.
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.
There are other things to consider for your family members, too.
You need to choose the appropriate loved ones as beneficiaries of things like:
Your Georgia online 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.
An affidavit costs $2,100, on average.
Your affidavit will come with your last will and testament.
Your attorney will charge you about $400 per hour if they create an affidavit separate from your will.
Let’s say you want a reliable, self-proving will and legal advice from a law firm.
Our experienced, Atlanta estate planning attorneys will create your living will, which means:
Fill out the form below and we will reach out and get the ball rolling.
Talk soon.
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