Attorney Kasey Libby recently spoke with Ross Cavitt of Channel 2 Action News regarding a multi-million dollar fraud committed against his client in Cobb County by her power of attorney. Click on Post Title above to see video.
Georgia Administrators and Annual Returns – What’s in a Waiver? Part I
March 20, 2014 by ·
As an Atlanta estate lawyer, I get a lot of calls from heirs complaining that the personal representative (a.k.a. executor or administrator) refuses to disclose any information to them. Usually, the caller is unaware that the law in Georgia is very lenient on executors and administrators with respect to their duty to report. By default an executor and administrator is required to file an inventory with the probate court within 6 months of her appointment and an annual return not later than 60 days after the first anniversary of the appointment, and then annually thereafter until the estate is closed. It’s difficult enough for an heir to have to wait an entire year to receive a report on an estate. Still, each individual heir can waive his right to receive a copy of the inventory and return, and all of the heirs can consent unanimously to the waiver of the personal representative’s obligation to file an inventory and returns with the court at any time. It’s surprising to me how often heirs do this. Also, a Will can relieve the executor from the inventory and return filing obligations regardless of what the heirs wish to happen. When this happens, the… [Read More]
Atlanta Probate Lawyer on Joint Accounts: Use Them with Spouses, Not with Children
March 10, 2014 by ·
In my Atlanta estate law practice, I work with clients on a regular basis regarding accounts owned by a parent who added another person (most often a child) prior to the parent’s death (i.e., joint accounts). The problem that arises is that, upon the death of the parent, Georgia statutory law presumes the parent wanted the child who was added to receive all funds in the account, but other children of the parent typically do not believe such an outcome was intended by the parent. Therefore, the other children seek to pull those funds into the parent’s estate where it will be divided according to the parent’s will or Georgia intestacy laws, in which case the other children are likely to receive some portion of the funds. Joint accounts between parents and children are problematic because of the several ways the parent’s actions can be interpreted. Did the parent really intend the child to receive all of the funds in the account when the parent died? Maybe. Joint accounts can be useful estate planning tools, but if the parent does not tell his other children about the account and makes no mention of the account in his will or some… [Read More]
Georgia Estate Planning: Everybody Needs a Will
March 6, 2014 by ·
I’ve been an Atlanta estate planning lawyer for several years, and on a regular basis I get new calls from people seeking help with an estate of a loved one who died intestate (i.e., without a Will). Those calls usually begin with the caller complaining that the decedent made no Will. Having represented dozens of clients dealing with intestate estates, I am immediately sympathetic. I can still help the caller but know from the start the process will be more complicated than it needed to be. Rocket Lawyer, an online legal service provider, found in a recent estate planning survey that 61% of Americans do not have a Last Will and Testament. Even worse, that number climbs to 70% for people with children under 18 years old. Failing to make a Will, especially for people in the latter category, will subject your estate to unnecessary difficulty and, in some cases, utter calamity through family infighting, incompetent estate administration, and litigation. People have myriad reasons to not make a Will: I’m young. I don’t have kids. I don’t own enough stuff. I’m not sick. I don’t want to think about death. The law will take care of it. All of the… [Read More]
