Sole Question on Petition to Probate Will in Solemn Form

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 follow the Court’s rules. This made review difficult and contributed to the poor outcome.

Of note here, the Court stated:

Under Georgia law,

[t]he sole question in a proceeding to probate a will in solemn form is whether the paper propounded is, or is not, the last will and testament of the deceased. The result turns on three issues: (1) whether the document was properly executed; (2) whether the testator had the mental capacity to execute a will; and (3) whether the document was the result of undue influence, fraud, duress, or mistake.

During the initial determination of the Will’s validity, other issues are not relevant. The Court said “[w]here a will was properly executed by a person having testamentary capacity, the court should order it to probate and record, leaving all questions of construction and the fate of particular bequests for action of the parties or future direction in the proper court. . . . The construction of an item of the will and the question of the validity thereof is for some other forum. The probate of a will is merely conclusive of the factum of the will.”