In In Re Estate of Henry, 366 Ga. App. 638 (2023), Charles Henry executed a new Will in 2017, revoking his Will from 2007. Charles had divorced his previous wife, leaving substantially all of his estate to his two children, Tenika and LaRon. In 2011, Charles married Shirley. An antenuptial agreement was executed, although the […]
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In Bell v. Hargrove, 313 Ga. 30 (2021), Bell applied for a weapons carry permit. The Probate Court denied the application because a prior arrest indicated he might be a domestic abuser, but there was nothing in his criminal history report indicating how the charges were handled. Bell filed a mandamum action, which the Supreme […]
In In re Dallas, 369 Ga. App. 553 (2023), the Probate Court denied a Petition for Year’s Support. In Georgia, there is no spousal right to a portion of a decededant’s estate. Instead, the surviving spouse and any dependent children may file a Petition for Year’s Support. The purpose of year’s support is to provide […]
We previously reported on In re Estate of Curvan, 362 Ga. App. 665 (2022). This case made its way back to the Court of Appeals in 2025 in a pro se appeal. The first lesson from this case is “hire a lawyer” before filing an appeal. No transcript was submited and the appellant failed to […]
There is no right to appeal a case until a final Order is entered. In Long v. City of Madison, 372 Ga. App. 643 (2024), James Long appealed a probate Court Order determining that his dog was dangerous and ordering the dog to be euthanized. Nothing in the record showed that an Order was entered […]
In many cases in involving the Probate Court, the moving party must present clear and convincing evidence to prevail. But what does that mean? The standard was explained (at least in part) in In re Knight, 372 Ga. App. 485 (2024). Lillian Knight passed away, naming her daughter, Karen, as executor. Prior to her death, […]
In In re Stroud, 361 Ga. App. 736 (2021), Shawn Stroud married Chelsea Lawson. At the time, Stroud’s legal name was Shawn Courtney Jr. Stroud went to Superior Court to have his name legally changed to Shawn Donovan Stroud. He then went to Probate Court where he filed a petition to have his old name […]
In In re Bruni, 369 Ga. App. 488 (2023), the adult children of a proposed ward filed a petition for guardianship and conservatorship, and later filed an emergency petition. The proposed ward’s wife had been liquidating the proposed ward’s assets and lost $220,000 in one transaction. As a result the Probate Court “appointed an emergency […]
In In Re Estate of Kurtzman, 366 Ga. App. 725 (2023), Bette Kurtzman, 85 years old, had dementia and was residing in an assisted living facility. In December of 2020, Kurtzman’s daughter, Amy, and brother, Myron, filed a Petition for Guardianship and Conservatorship. Bette Kurtzman objected to the petition, alleging she had nominated her son, […]
Moratorium on Nursing Home Staffing Standards On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law. One of its provisions placed a moratorium on the Biden Era minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Specifically, Section 71111 of the OBBBA provides: Subchapter B—Preventing Wasteful Spending SEC. 71111. MORATORIUM ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RULE […]
