Q: Does an ex-girlfriend have standing to claim her deceased ex-boyfriend's estate? (Georgia, USA)
There is a lot of information to write down. The situation in short is my family member is dead. His girlfriend broke up with him, according to a documented police report & body cam footage, the night he died in an accident. She now provides a Living Will (Not Will & last testament) printed off google that that suspiciously says in "additional comments" that she receives his estate. This will has no witnesses and is invalid under Georgia law.
In short, she wants his estate. She has began a character assassination of the next of kin (family of mine).
She has sent interrogatories as well as additional questions.
I feel she has no standing in court as his ex-girlfriend, or even girlfriend. She claims to have been engaged, but the police report and body cam show otherwise. Additionally, we have a third party who states they were not currently engaged. She only claimed to be fiance after death.
What do we do next? Can we have it dismissed?
A:
Please note that I am not admitted to practice law in Georgia, but I found this information through a brief Google search, and the requirements in Georgia are similar to those in most states. In Georgia, for a will to be valid, it must meet specific requirements, such as being in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by at least two competent witnesses. If the document the ex-girlfriend is presenting doesn't meet these legal standards (as it appears from your description), it would likely be deemed invalid. Without a valid will, Georgia's intestacy laws under O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1 would apply, and the estate would be distributed to the next of kin, such as parents, children, or siblings, not to a non-married partner.
As for standing, an ex-girlfriend generally would not have standing to claim the estate under intestacy laws unless she can prove a legal right to do so, which in this case can only be based on the will. Her claim based on the invalid document can likely be challenged in court.
If the decedent was domiciled in New York, then the probate process should take place in New York, not Georgia. New York law would govern the distribution of the estate under its own intestacy laws, and the ex-girlfriend would not have standing unless she can prove a legal claim.
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