Guidance Throughout the Probate Process

advice for every step of probate

Probate refers to the court process of validating a Will so an executor can implement the decedent’s wishes or to the oversight the court provides for an estate administrator who settles an intestate estate — one in which the decedent left no Will.

Most executors have little, if any, understanding of Georgia’s estate laws, and some are even surprised to learn the decedent’s Will named them as the responsible party. To complete the process of settling an estate, I help executors and administrators with the following tasks:

• Getting court approval as executor/estate administrator and posting bond, if necessary
• Filing the Will with the appropriate probate court
• Locating beneficiaries
• Finding and assembling assets
• Transferring assets from the deceased to the estate
• Hiring valuation, genealogy or other experts, when appropriate
• Paying creditors and claimants
• Collecting amounts owed to the estate
• Paying current and delinquent taxes as well as any estate taxes
• Distributing property to beneficiaries