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O.C.G.A. § 53-10-2 — Disposition of property upon simultaneous deaths where devolution depends on priority of death | Georgia Code

O.C.G.A. § 53-10-2 (2018) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Scholar Amendments

TITLE 53 WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES

Section 10. Simultaneous Death, 53-10-1 through 53-10-6.

ARTICLE 3 NONDOMICILIARIES

53-10-2. Disposition of property upon simultaneous deaths where devolution depends on priority of death.

When the title to property or the devolution of property depends upon priority of death and there is no sufficient evidence that the individuals have died other than simultaneously, the property of each individual shall be disposed of as if that individual had survived, except as provided otherwise in this chapter.

(Code 1981, §53-10-2, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10.)

COMMENT

This section carries forward former OCGA Sec. 53-11-2.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former O.C.G.A. § 53-11-2 are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Burden of proof on party challenging simultaneous death.

- The Simultaneous Death Act becomes applicable if the order of the decedents' deaths cannot be determined by sufficient evidence. Consistent with this interpretation, the burden is on the party whose claim depends upon survivorship to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the person upon whom his or her claim depends survived the other decedent. Fiumefreddo v. Scudder, 252 Ga. 279, 313 S.E.2d 683 (1984) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 53-11-2).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 23 Am. Jur. 2d, Descent and Distribution, §§ 46, 47. 80 Am. Jur. 2d, Wills, §§ 1455, 1456.

C.J.S.

- 25A C.J.S., Death, §§ 6, 7, 15, 16. 26B C.J.S., Descent and Distribution, §§ 6 et seq., 83, 84. 96 C.J.S., Wills, §§ 1033 et seq., 1243, 1341, 1348. 97 C.J.S., Wills, §§ 1803, 1811 et seq.

U.L.A.

- Uniform Simultaneous Death Act (U.L.A.) § 1.

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