What to Know About Making a Will in Georgia

Making a will is important for everyone in the Norcross, Georgia area, and if you do not yet have a will, it is important to find out more about making one by speaking with an estate planning lawyer. There are many misconceptions about who needs a will, and many Georgia residents mistakenly assume that wills are only necessary for very wealthy people, or only necessary for elderly individuals. While wealthy and elderly Georgia residents certainly should have wills, so should all other adults, too.

What do you need to know about making a will in Georgia? Consider the following information.

Georgia Law Has Specific Requirements for a Will to Be Valid 

To ensure that your will is valid, it is important to work with a lawyer who can go over the requirements for a valid will set forth under Georgia Code Sections 53-4-1 through 53-4-75. In the meantime, we can provide you with the general requirements that you will need to consider:

• You must be at least 14 years old to make a will in Georgia (which is a younger age than is required in many other states);
• You cannot be “laboring under some legal disability arising either from a want of capacity or a want of perfect liberty of action” (in other words, you must have legal capacity to make the will);
• You must have a “decided and rational desire” about how you want to leave your property; and
• You must be making the will freely and voluntarily (in other words, you cannot be making the will under duress or undue influence).

Georgia law sets out a range of information about when a person has legal capacity to make a will, and when they may not have capacity to make a will. The law clarifies that, even if a person no longer has the capacity to enter into a legal contract, they may still have the capacity necessary to make a will. Georgia law also clarifies that being convicted of a crime does not prevent you from making a will and does not affect your capacity to make a will.

Witnesses and Signing Your Will 

To be valid, your will must be a hard-copy document (in other words, it cannot be an electronic file alone), and it must be typed. In Georgia, your will cannot be handwritten (a handwritten will is also known as a holographic will).

Once you have a hard copy of your will, you must sign it in front of two witnesses, and then your two witnesses must sign the will in front of you.

Contact an Estate Planning Attorney in Norcross, Georgia 

All adults in Norcross and throughout Gwinnett County should have a valid will in place and should consider other aspects of estate planning. Regardless of your age or health, and regardless of whether you have only limited assets or substantial assets, it is important to speak with a Norcross, Georgia estate planning lawyer at Bowman Law Firm about making a will and engaging in other aspects of estate planning for peace of mind. Contact us today to find out more about how we can assist you with your will.

Sources:

law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-53/

law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2019/title-53/chapter-4/article-2/section-53-4-10/