I’ve been practicing as a Georgia probate lawyer for several years, so I get a lot of the same questions on a regular basis.  One question callers often ask is whether they should sign a petition that was sent to them by someone trying to probate a Will.  The question used to throw me for a loop.  “Only the person trying to probate the Will should sign the petition,” I’d say.  “Not a beneficiary.”  But as my experience has grown, I’ve learned to know exactly what the caller means.  She is referring to the Acknowledgment of Service and Assent to Probate Instanter form. When a deceased person leaves a Last Will and Testament, an interested party usually will file a petition to probate the Will in the probate court in the county where the deceased resided at the time of death.  Typically, the person nominated as executor in the Will does this.  Often, the petitioner will provide a copy of the petition along with the Will to the heirs-at-law of the deceased and ask them to sign a form entitled Acknowledgment of Service and Assent to Probate Instanter.  If all heirs-at-law sign the form, and there are no other issues… [Read More]