Georgia Estate Law
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Georgia Estate Law
Georgia Estate Law governs issues of inheritance and how estates are settled after someone’s death, but there’s a lot more to it. Get the facts from attorney Stan Faulkner, an estate planning expert in Marietta, GA.
An estate may seem like a simple, straight-forward concept. However, Georgia estate law is a bit more complicated than it may initially appear. The collection of what a person owns in property and assets and their money is considered their estate. A person can have a probate estate or a trust estate.
A probate estate involves assets under a will and testament. Assets may also be passed by intestate succession if there is no will. With a probate estate, assets must go through a court process to be transferred to the next generation. At Perigon Legal Services, Georgia estate and probate law is our forte, and we can help with all stages of the probate and estate court processes.
In a trust estate, all assets are in a trust that will be passed down to the beneficiaries.
The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, applies a different meaning to “estate.” They will want to know the decedent’s “gross estate” if it is subject to an estate tax. They will also want to know the value of all property owned whether they are in a trust or a will. The IRS will look at all assets to determine the estate tax.
GA Estate Law
If you must go to probate court in GA over an estate, you should keep in mind that can be a long and complicated process. Probate is a court-supervised legal process that is sometimes required after a family member dies. Probate gives someone, usually the living spouse or close family member, the authority to gather assets, pay debts and taxes, and eventually transfer assets to those that inherit them. Probate in Georgia is typically conducted in about eight months to a year unless there is the rare case of a court dispute over the will, unusual assets, or claims that complicate matters.
Probate court in Georgia is not always necessary, though. Usually, Georgia probate courts, including the Cobb County Probate Court, are required only if the deceased person owned assets in their name alone.
In other cases, assets can likely be transferred to new owners without Georgia probate. Examples of assets that do not need to go through probate are assets the deceased owned in joint tenancy, or ownership of a house by a married couple, which pass automatically to the surviving owner, assets for which a beneficiary has been named outside the will like retirement accounts, and life insurance proceeds or pensions. Additionally, you may be able to avoid probate if you have assets that are held in a revocable living trust. However, it’s always best to consult a trusted estate planning attorney Marietta GA to determine whether probate court Georgia is necessary.
Georgia Estate Laws
Responsibilities of the Personal Representative
Georgia Estate Recovery Law
Georgia Estate Tax Law
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