Who Needs a Will? Part 1: If You Want to Decide Who Gets Your Stuff

Have you ever thought about who you want to give your stuff to after you pass away? If you have a spouse or children, it’s likely you’ve considered passing your belongings on to them. Maybe you have a close friend or beloved cousin you’d prefer to leave your belongings to. No matter the scenario, having a Will allows you to make sure your wishes are honored.

Without a Will, you don’t have a say in how or to whom your assets are distributed. Instead, the distribution of your assets is dictated by Georgia Law. Under Georgia Law, your assets are divided among your family in fractions based on who and how many family members are alive when you die.

More specifically:

• Spouse and no children** - all to spouse

• Children** and no spouse - equal shares to each child

• Spouse and 1 or 2 children** - equal shares to spouse and each child**

• Spouse and 3 or more children** - 1/3 to spouse, the children** split the remaining 2/3 in equal shares

• No spouse or children** - all to surviving parent or parents in equal shares

• No spouse, children** or parents - all to siblings** in equal shares

• No spouse, children**, parents, or siblings** - all to surviving grandparent or grandparents in equal shares

• And so on, and so on ...

*Specifically, O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1(c)

**Or their descendants, if they predecease you. If this is the case, things can get really complicated, including multiplying fractions. You don’t want to force your loved ones to have to multiply fractions, do you?

This is the law. Friends, stepchildren, children’s spouses, college roommates, favorite charities, etc., get nothing. That crazy uncle who always thought Thanksgiving dinner was the best time to argue politics could receive the same as the nice aunt who taught you to drive. The child who hasn’t called you in 20 years could receive more than the grandchild who brought you donuts every Saturday.

A well-drafted Will allows you to decide who gets what. If you want a specific house, car, gun, ring, etc. to go to a specific person, you can say that in your Will. If you want to prevent certain people from inheriting anything (like your cousin that’s in jail) then you can do that in your Will. Or if you want to include certain people (like the friend who helped you through your divorce), you can do that, too.

So, if you want to avoid the game of Inheriting Relative Roulette and decide for yourself who gets what, you need a Will. Otherwise, the Georgia General Assembly will decide for you. We are here to guide you through this process, give us a call.