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.