Your wills are only valid if your children find the original draft that you signed off. You may find numerous attorneys in Georgia that offer to keep the original will for free so that they may probate your estate. When you die, your children will call the name of the lawyer on the will, and it is more likely that he will take up the probate.
When your will stays with your attorney, there is certainty of its safety since you cannot lose them and none of your family members may get the chance to destroy the will in their bid to grab onto a larger share of the inheritance. But what do you do if you cannot trace your lawyer?
If your lawyer is not dead, you may trace them down by contacting the Georgia State Bar Association and find if they have the lawyer’s new contact information. You may also contact the local lawyers that practice the same estate law. Lawyers are a community that keeps in close contact with each other. They may know about your lawyer’s whereabouts.
According to legalzoom, if a lawyer retires or dies, it is the responsibility of the staff to mail you the original will. However, if they retire, they may have transferred the will to another attorney or the probate court for safekeeping while giving notice to the state bar association.
If you fail to locate a will in Georgia, the law considers it revoked by destruction. If you, however, have a copy of the original, you may still file it for probate.
This information is given for educational use only. Please do not consider it as legal advice.