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2018 Georgia Code 53-5-24 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 53-5-24 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 53-5-24

TITLE 53 WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES

Section 5. Probate, 53-5-1 through 53-5-71.

ARTICLE 4 WITNESSES; SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT; EXPENSES

53-5-24. Unavailability of subscribing witnesses.

When it appears that a will cannot be proved as otherwise provided by law because at the time the will is offered for probate one or more of the subscribing witnesses to the will is dead or mentally or physically incapable of testifying or otherwise inaccessible, the court may admit the will to probate in common or solemn form upon the testimony in person or by affidavit or by deposition of at least two credible disinterested witnesses that the signature to the will is that of the individual whose will it purports to be or upon other sufficient proof of such signature. This Code section shall not preclude the court, in its discretion, from requiring, in addition, the testimony in person or by deposition of any available subscribing witness or proof of such other pertinent facts and circumstances as the court may deem necessary to admit the will to probate.

(Code 1981, §53-5-24, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10.)

COMMENT

This section carries forward the substance of former OCGA Sec. 53-3-18.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Proof of signature from lawyer and paralegal.

- Although the witnesses to a will were deceased, the lawyer who prepared the will and the lawyer's paralegal were not permitted to testify that the signature on the will was the decedent's because the lawyer and paralegal did not demonstrate a familiarity with the decedent's signature. Ammons v. Clouds, 295 Ga. 225, 758 S.E.2d 282 (2014).

Cited in Harvey v. Sullivan, 272 Ga. 392, 529 S.E.2d 889 (2000).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 80 Am. Jur. 2d, Wills, § 853.

C.J.S.

- 95 C.J.S., Wills, §§ 616 et seq., 626, 661 et seq.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 53-5-24

Total Results: 4  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Harvey v. Sullivan, 529 S.E.2d 889 (Ga. 2000).

Cited 10 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 8, 2000 | 272 Ga. 392, 2000 Fulton County D. Rep. 1732

...Interrogatories sent to that witness were *891 completed, but the date placed on the answers by the notary preceded the date of the testatrix's death, which the trial court found to be a mistake by the notary. New interrogatories sent to the witness were returned without being completed. In accordance with OCGA § 53-5-24 [1] , the propounder put on a series of witnesses who established their familiarity with the testatrix's signature and testified that the signature on the will was hers. Harvey argues that OCGA § 53-5-24 is inapplicable to this case because it has not been shown that the living witness was inaccessible at the time the will was offered for probate, i.e., when the first petition for probate was filed....
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Ammons Et Al. v. Clouds Et Al., 295 Ga. 225 (Ga. 2014).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 5, 2014 | 758 S.E.2d 282, 2014 Fulton County D. Rep. 1261

...Although the jury found that the propounded will was Thomas’s valid last will and testament, the trial court granted Caveators’ motion for directed verdict.1 1. At the time of trial, both witnesses to the propounded will were deceased. Propounders sought to invoke OCGA § 53-5-24, under which, when a witness to a will is not available to testify, the trial court may admit the will to probate “upon the testimony in person or by affidavit or by deposition of at least two credible disinterested witnesses that the signature to the will is that of the individual whose will it purports to be ....
...Caveators filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on March 22, 2013, and the trial court granted the motion for directed verdict on August 26, 2013. See OCGA § 9-11-50 (b); Continental Ins. Co. v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 212 Ga. App. 839, 840-842 (1) (443 SE2d 509) (1994). 2 OCGA § 53-5-24 reads: When it appears that a will cannot be proved as otherwise provided by law because at the time the will is offered for probate one or more of the subscribing witnesses to the will is dead or mentally or p...
...Sullivan, 272 Ga. 392, 393 (2) (529 SE2d 889) (2000) (“[T]he propounder put on a series of witnesses who established their familiarity with the testatrix's signature and testified that the signature on the will was hers” so as to satisfy OCGA § 53-5-24.)....
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Parker v. Melican, 684 S.E.2d 654 (Ga. 2009).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 19, 2009 | 286 Ga. 185

...il in the presence of at least one, and possibly both, subscribing witnesses. Although propounders argue that the subscribing witnesses had forgotten the circumstances of their signing by the time of trial, thereby making them unavailable under OCGA § 53-5-24 and authorizing the jury to consider other evidence in determining the validity of the codicil, the record shows that Lockett's testimony was unequivocal that testator did not sign in her presence and he did not acknowledge his signature on the codicil....
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Mason v. Phillips, 290 Ga. 433 (Ga. 2012).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jan 23, 2012 | 722 S.E.2d 49, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 194

...at least “two credible disinterested witnesses that the signature to the will is in the handwriting of the person whose will it purports to be, or upon other sufficient proof of such handwriting.” OCGA § 53-3-18 (1997) (current version at OCGA § 53-5-24 (2011)); see Harvey v....