Determination Of Heirs Worksheet

There are all sorts of forms executors, beneficiaries, and probate court clerks have to fill out and correspond with during probate and estate settlement, including affidavits, letters, petitions, summons, orders, and notices.

Determination Of Heirs Worksheet is a commonly used form within Georgia. Here’s an overview of what the form is and means, including a breakdown of the situations when (or why) you may need to use it:

Atticus Fast Facts About Determination Of Heirs Worksheet

Sometimes it’s tough to find a quick summary— here’s the important details you should know about Determination Of Heirs Worksheet:

• This form pertains to the State of Georgia

• The current version of this form was last revised on March 22, 2001

Government forms are not typically updated often, though when they are, it often happens rather quietly. While Atticus works hard to keep this information about Georgia’s Form Determination Of Heirs Worksheet up to date, certain details can change from time-to-time with little or no communication.

Step 1 - Download the correct Georgia form based on the name and ID if applicable

Double check that you have both the correct form name and the correct form ID. Some Georgia probate forms can look remarkably similar, so it’s best to double, even triple-check that you’re using the right one! Keep in mind that not all States have a standardized Form ID system for their probate forms.

Step 2 - Complete the Document

Fill out all relevant fields in Form Determination Of Heirs Worksheet, take a break, and then review. Probate and estate settlement processes in GA are long enough to begin with, and making a silly error can push your timeline even farther back. No thank you!

Note: If you don’t currently know all of the answers and are accessing Form Determination Of Heirs Worksheet online, be sure to avoid closing the browser tab and potentially losing all your progress (or use a platform like Atticus to help avoid making mistakes).

Step 3 - Have Form witnessed or notarized (if required)

Some States and situations require particular forms to be notarized. If you have been instructed to get the document notarized or see it in writing on the document, then make sure to hire a local notary. There are max notary fees in the United States that are defined and set by local law. Take a look at our full guide to notary fees to make sure you aren’t overpaying or getting ripped off.

Step 4 - Submit Determination Of Heirs Worksheet to the relevant office

This is most often the local probate court where the decedent (person who passed away) is domiciled (permanently resides) or the institution involved with this particular form (e.g. a bank). Some offices allow you to submit forms online, other’s don’t, and we while we generally recommend going in-person to expedite the process, sometimes that simply isn’t an option.

It’s also a generally good idea to establish a positive working relationship with any probate clerk (unfortunately there’s enough people & process out there making things more difficult and unnecessarily confusing for them), so a best practice is to simply ask the probate clerk proactively exactly how and where they’d prefer you to submit all forms.

Need help getting in touch with a local probate court or identifying a domicile probate jurisdiction?

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Different probate forms or processes can require different deadlines or response times for completing the appropriate form.

While some steps in the process are bound to specific deadlines (like petitioning for probate, having to submit an inventory of assets, or filing applicable notices to creditors and beneficiaries), many probate forms or processes are not tied to a specific deadline since the scope of work can vary based on situational factors or requirements involved.

Either way, there are a bunch of practical reasons why personal representatives should work to complete each step as thoroughly and quickly as possible when completing probate in Georgia.

5 reasons you should submit this form as quickly as possible:

1. The sooner you begin, the faster Georgia can allow heirs and beneficiaries to get their share of assets subject to probate. Acting promptly can also decrease the costs & overall mental fatigue through an otherwise burdensome process.
   
   Helpful Context: What’s the Difference Between Probate and Non-Probate Assets?

2. In general, creditors of an estate usually have around 3-6 months from the time you file notice to creditors to file any claims for debt against the deceased’s assets. If they don’t, then that debt is forfeited (and more importantly, the executor won’t be held personally responsible). So doing this sooner means you have a better idea of who is owed what and ensures you won’t get a surprise collector months later.

3. Not filing a will within 30 days (on average) could mean that the probate process proceeds according to intestate laws (laws that govern what happens to someone's stuff without a will) or is subject to unnecessary supervision by the probate court. And if you aren't directly related to the deceased (a.k.a. next of kin), this could also mean you lose your inheritance.

4. It’s important to file any necessary state tax returns on behalf of the deceased or estate by the following tax season in Georgia. If you don’t, you could owe penalties and interest. This also includes any necessary federal tax returns such as Forms 1040, 1041, or even a Form 706 estate tax return.

5. If a house in the State of Georgia is left empty (or abandoned) for a while, insurance can get dicey. For example, if the house burns down and no one has been there for a year, an insurance company may get out of paying your claim.

If you’re not using Atticus to get specific forms, deadlines, and timelines for Georgia probate, then try and stay as organized as possible, pay close attention to the dates mentioned in any correspondence you have with the State’s government officials, call the local Georgia probate clerk or court for exact answers regarding Form Determination Of Heirs Worksheet, and when in doubt— consult a qualified trust & estates lawyer for that area.

Determination Of Heirs Worksheet is one of the many probate court forms available for download through Atticus.

It may also be available through some Georgia probate court sites, such as . In order to access the latest version, be updated with any revisions, and get full instructions on how to complete each form, check out the Atticus Probate & Estate Settlement software or consider hiring a qualified legal expert locally within Georgia.

While Atticus automatically provides the latest forms, be sure to choose the correct version of Form Determination Of Heirs Worksheet f using any other site or resource in order to avoid having to re-complete the form process and/or make another trip to the Georgia probate court office.

Determination Of Heirs Worksheet is a .pdf, so opening it should be as simple as clicking “View Form” from within the Atticus app or by clicking the appropriate link found on any Georgia-provided government platform. Once you’ve opened the form, you should be able to directly edit the form before saving or printing.

Here’s the text, verbatim, that is found on Georgia Form Determination Of Heirs Worksheet. You can use this to get an idea of the context of the form and what type of information is needed.

Revised 03/22/01 HEIRS DETERMINATION WORKSHEET A.Name of Decedent:___________________________________ Date of Death:___________________________________ County of Domicile:___________________________________ Address:___________________________________ ___________________________________ B.Name of Proposed Petitioner:__________________________________ Address:__________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ 3.List of heirs (Spouse and Blood Relatives Only): 1.(a)Name of decedent’s surviving spouse, if any (NOTE: Do not list a person from which the decedent was divorced at time of decedent’s death): __________________________________________ (2)If a person is named in (a) immediately above and that person has died since the decedent, show the date of death of the person named in 1(a): __________________________________________ (3)(This question relates only to the right to serve as administrator.) If there was a surviving spouse who is still alive, was an action for divorce or separate maintenance pending between the decedent and the surviving spouse at the time of decedent’s death? ___________________ NOTE: IF THERE WAS A SURVIVING SPOUSE AND THERE ARE NO CHILDREN OR DESCENDANTS OF CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED THE DECEDENT, YOU MAY STOP. 2.(a)Children of decedent born in wedlock or legally adopted by decedent: Living Children Deceased Children Name Age Name DOD Revised 03/22/01 (b)Children of decedent born out of wedlock: Living ChildrenDeceased Children Name Age Name DOD NOTE: IF ALL OF THE CHILDREN OF DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 3.Grandchildren of the decedent: Living Grandchildren Name Age Parent’s Name Deceased Grandchildren Name DODParent’s Name NOTE: IF ALL OF THE GRANDCHILDREN OF THE DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. Revised 03/22/01 4.Great-grandchildren of the decedent: Living Great-grandchildren Name Age Parent’s Name Deceased Great-grandchildren Name DODParent’s Name NOTE : IF ALL OF THE GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN OF THE DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. IF THERE ARE ANY DECEASED GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN, YOU MUST ATTACH AN ADDITIONAL SHEET FOR THEIR CHILDREN. 5.Mother and father of the decedent: Name Age Date of Death, if Deceased Mother: ________________________________________ _________ ________________________________ Father: ________________________________________ _________ ________________________________ NOTE : IF ANY PARENT IS ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 6.Brothers and Sisters of the Decedent: Living Brothers and Sisters Deceased Brothers and Sisters Name Age Name DOD NOTE : IF ALL OF THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. Revised 03/22/01 7.Nieces and nephews of the decedent: Living Nieces and Nephews Name Age Parent’s Name Deceased Nieces and Nephews Name DOD Parent’s Name NOTE: IF ALL OF THE NIECES AND NEPHEWS OF THE DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 8.Great-nieces and nephews of the decedent: Living great-nieces and nephews Name Age Parent’s Name Revised 03/22/01 Deceased great-nieces and nephews Name DOD Parent’s Name NOTE: IF ALL OF THE GREAT-NIECES AND GREAT-NEPHEWS OF THE DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 9.Grandparents of the decedent: Name Age Date of Death, if Deceased Mother’s Mother: _______________________________________________________________________________ Mother’s Father: _______________________________________________________________________________ Father’s Mother:: _______________________________________________________________________________ Father’s Father: ________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: IF ANY GRANDPARENT OF THE DECEDENT IS ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 10.Aunts and uncles of the decedent: Living aunts and uncles Name Age Parent’s Name Revised 03/22/01 Deceased aunts and uncles Name DOD Parent’s Name NOTE: IF ALL OF THE AUNTS AND UNCLES OF THE DECEDENT ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 11.First Cousins of the decedent who are alive: Name Age Parent’s Name NOTE: IF ANY FIRST COUSINS ARE ALIVE, YOU MAY STOP. 12.The more remote degrees of kinship are determined by counting the number of steps in the chain from the claimant to the closest common ancestor of the claimant and the decedent, and from said ancestor back to the decedent. The sum of the two chains is the degree of kinship. The surviving relatives who have the lowest sum are in the nearest degree and thus inherit the estate equally.