Lilburn, GA asked in Family Law for Georgia

Q: My wife's grandmother just passed away. Her father just recently passed. The will is to her aunt & father upon survivors

The only survivors are my wife's aunt & her. The will is left to her aunt & father upon survivorship. Her grandmother had a decent amount of wealth and had said several times that she had put away for my wife. What does this right of survivorship mean exactly?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Rachel Lea Hunter
Rachel Lea Hunter
Answered
  • Cary, NC
  • Licensed in Georgia

A: Post makes no sense. Do not use her and him if there are more than 2 females or males because its not clear who is who.

You do not have to use real names but it helps to identify people.

Grandmother died and she had a will. Fine. When did she die? Was an estate probated for her? Who is the personal representative under the will? Did grandmother have a husband who survived her or was he already deceased such that she was a widow? How many children did grandmother have? Who is her? Wife's sister?

Whatever grandma said does not count. Grandma lied. Whatever grandma put in her will is what matters. So what did grandma own, how was it titled and what is it worth?

Wills only relate to probate assets; not all assets are probate assets. Things held outside of probate could be joint checking accounts, life insurance or other beneficiary designated asset or land held with another as joint tenants with right of survivorship.

Assuming that grandma owned a piece of land as a joint tenant with aunt & aunt's husband with right of survivorship, then the land would automatically pass when grandmother died to the surviving joint tenants (aunt and her husband in my example). Survivorship means that if more than one person owns land jointly with the others, then the last person alive (if all the rest are dead) gets the land.

Your wife, according to your facts, does not own any land with aunt and grandma. Your wife is not entitled to this land. There may be other assets going to wife under the will or outside the will (like if she was the beneficiary of life insurance or something like that). I suggest that your wife make a list of all of grandmother's children and grandchildren, a list of everything grandma owned and its value, get a copy of any deeds to land that grandma owned and take the deeds, will and lists to a probate lawyer who practices in the county/state where grandmother lived at the time of her death and pay the lawyer to review the information.

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