Personal Execution: the First Ground of Contest
A will contest in Georgia almost always begins with the formal requirements of the Civil Code. Under Article 1346, a will must be drawn up by the testator in person, and drawing up a will through a representative is not allowed. This means that a document prepared by a third party, or signed by someone else on the testator's behalf, has questionable validity and gives interested parties a clear basis to go to court. Violation of the personal-execution rule is the most common argument raised against suspicious wills, because it can be verified from the face of the document and the surrounding circumstances.
Article 1366 governs the technical side of execution. The text of a will may be conveyed by generally accepted technical means, but it must be signed by the testator. In such a case the drawing up of the will and the signing by the testator must take place in the presence of two witnesses, who confirm that the will was drawn up in their presence using technical means. The witnesses' confirmation must be made immediately after the testator signs, in the presence of the testator and both witnesses, by making an appropriate inscription on the will and indicating the witnesses' first name, surname and place of residence. Where the inscription or the witnesses' details are missing, the party defending the will has to prove compliance through witness testimony, which makes such documents vulnerable.
The Compulsory Share: the Overlooked Heir's Main Instrument
The compulsory share is the most frequently used instrument in will disputes. Article 1371 provides that the decedent's children, parents and spouse are entitled, irrespective of the content of the will, to a compulsory share, which must be half of the share that each of them would have received by law at the time of inheritance. So even where a will leaves these heirs entirely outside the distribution, they may still claim half of their statutory share, and satisfying that claim changes the distribution planned in the will.
Article 1373 settles how the compulsory share is quantified: the total volume of the compulsory share is determined from the entire estate, including property earmarked for a legacy or for the performance of some action for the general benefit. Property left as a legacy, or designated for a public-purpose action, therefore still counts toward the estate against which the compulsory share is calculated. Scattering assets through legacies does not reduce the compulsory share.
Article 1376 resolves the interaction between the compulsory share and a legacy. A person who is entitled to a compulsory share and at the same time is the recipient of a legacy may claim the compulsory share if they refuse the legacy; if they do not refuse the legacy, they lose the right to the compulsory share to the extent of the value of the legacy. A close heir who has been left a legacy must therefore weigh this choice carefully before filing a claim, because accepting the legacy quietly may forfeit part of the compulsory entitlement.
Validation: What the Lawyer Checks Before and During the Dispute
Validation of a will starts with formal review: confirmation of personal execution, the presence of the testator's signature, compliance with the witnesses' regime where the will was drawn up using technical means, and verification of the witnesses' identity. The next layer is the circle of compulsory-share holders — children, parents and the spouse — because their entitlement does not depend on the content of the will. The final layer is the composition of the estate and the value of legacies, since the volume of the compulsory share depends on exactly these figures.
Limitation periods for contesting a will, the form of court proceedings and the detailed rules of evidence are not determined by these articles of the Civil Code and are governed by other provisions of the Code. That is why a claim should analyse formal defects and the compulsory share together: sometimes the stronger position is not annulment of the will at all, but a claim for the compulsory share, which works even if the will itself stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a will be drawn up through a representative?
No. A will must be drawn up by the testator in person; execution through a representative is prohibited. A document prepared that way becomes an object of contest.
Is a typed will valid?
Yes, if the text conveyed by technical means is signed by the testator and the drawing up and signing took place before two witnesses, who confirmed it by an inscription on the will with their names and residence.
Who is entitled to a compulsory share?
The decedent's children, parents and spouse, irrespective of the content of the will. The compulsory share is half of the share each would have received by law at the time of inheritance.
I received a legacy — can I still claim the compulsory share?
Only if you refuse the legacy. If you keep it, you lose the right to the compulsory share to the extent of the legacy's value. Analyse the figures before accepting.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Lawyers on Legal.ge work both sides of these disputes — contesting wills and defending them. We examine personal execution and the witnesses' regime, calculate the compulsory share against the entire estate including legacies, assess the consequences of refusing a legacy, and prepare the claim or a written position for court. Contact us for an assessment of your situation at an initial consultation.