PROBATE FORMS – A Guide from an Atlanta Probate Attorney
Lisa Blackstone, Attorney
As an Atlanta Probate Attorney, I have become very familiar with the probate forms you will need.
For those of you who have decided to go it alone and administer the estate yourself, this article will be very helpful.
I cannot cover all the potential issues you may face, but I can give you some direction with regard to the process and what probate forms to use.
Georgia has standard probate forms online. The first thing you should do is go to www.gaprobate.org. Regardless of the county in which you live, the forms are the same.
Once at the site, click on Probate Court Standard Forms, located near the middle of the web page at the top of the Quick Find list. Carefully read the instructional paragraphs and be sure you understand what you are reading.
Then, select which word processing program you want to use on the right (Word Perfect or Microsoft Word or PDF). You can also download the PDF probate forms and fill them out by hand, rather than on your computer’s word processing program if you prefer.
If you do not have a computer, you can get the probate forms at your county’s Probate Court.
A list of all probate forms will appear on the first page You will see a list of 71 filing forms. Each of these 71 forms include multiple forms within that category. Don’t be intimidated. You probably won’t need many of them! If you do, stop right now and hire an attorney!
For purposes of this article, we are assuming that there is a valid will left by the deceased, that included an attestation page for the witnesses, the surviving spouse being the only heir, and the named Executor is competent and willing to serve as Executor.
If there was no will, read my article on Probate Laws and follow the directions there. Most often, you will need the forms found in #5. Petition to Probate Will in Solemn Form. Click on this line item and you will be taken to the probate forms you need. You may not need all of them that appear, but at a minimum you will need these:
Petition to Probate Will in Solemn Form. This form is filed asking the court to probate the will. You will provide the original will with this form.
Verification. In this form, you are stating that the information you provided in the Petition above is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. The Petitioner will be the person selected as Executor by the decedent in the Will.
Acknowledgment of Service and Assent to Probate Instanter. All the heirs of the deceased must acknowledge that they have received a copy of the will and the petition to probate and agree to allow the probate to go forward.
Order. The Order will be signed by the Judge asserting that the will is accepted into the record and the executor is qualified and may pursue the next steps to probate the will.
Letters Testamentary. This is the document you ultimately need to administer the estate. It authorizes you to carry out the wishes of the decedent as written in the Will. Banks and other institutions will want to see certified copies of this document. So, when you first submit your petition, be sure to tell the clerk how many certified copies you want. The more accounts the decedent had, the more copies you need. Get at least 5 even if the estate is simple. They are cheap and it’s better to have too many than not enough.
This is a very cursory review of the main probate forms you would need to file with the Probate Court, assuming there are no extraneous issues. There are some instructions on the probate forms themselves, but if you have any questions you may call the Probate Court of your county and seek assistance.
If you remain confused, you really should contact an Atlanta probate attorney and get the advice you need about probate forms. If you do not, a mishandled administrative issue can surface months or years down the road when it is much more difficult to resolve.
