When the legendary musician Prince passed away in 2016, he left behind an incredible legacy—but no will. At the time of his death, Prince was not married, had no children, and was preceded in death by his parents. What followed was a long, expensive legal battle among his family members, costing millions in legal fees and taking six years to settle. Without clear instructions, the courts decided that his fortune would be divided among six half-siblings. The half-siblings had differing ideas about how the estate - valued at $156 million and including his catalog of songs- should be managed. Following years of litigation, the estate was finally settled in 2021.
Although most of us don’t have estates valued as highly as Prince’s, most people do have an estate and do have some ideas about where they want that estate to after their death. When you die without a will, though, you die intestate.
If you die without a will in Georgia, your estate will be handled according to the state’s intestate succession laws. That means the courts—not you—will decide who gets what. Here’s what happens if you don’t have a will: If you have a spouse but no children, your spouse inherits everything. If you have children but no spouse, your children split the estate equally. If you have a spouse and one child, they each get half. If you have a spouse and more than one child, your spouse gets one-third, and the children split the rest. If any of your children have passed away, their share goes to your grandchildren. If you have no spouse or children, your estate goes to your parents. If your parents have passed away, your estate goes to your siblings. If you have no spouse, children, parents, or siblings, the estate moves to more distant relatives, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Without a will, the process can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful for your family—just like it was for Prince’s heirs. Making a will is the best way to ensure your assets go where you want them to and that your loved ones avoid unnecessary legal headaches.
Want to protect your family’s future? Take the first step by creating your will today. |