People often ask me what is one of the requirements in a Georgia Will. It is the “affidavit of due execution”. What is is the “Affidavit of Due execution”? It is a signed statement by a notary that the witness and the testator are who they said they were, were together when the document was signed, that they were competent and that the witnesses were over 14 and of sound mind and that the testator or testatrix or Will maker was of sound mind and over age 14. The key is that this without this, in Georgia, the Will is not self-proving. What does self-proving mean in real terms? It means the Will is complete, and the court is not going to ask further questions of the administrator. Those questions to witnesses which are called interrogatories add another step to the probate process. So it may seem a lawyer’s Will has lots of unnecessary legalese but it saves time and energy at the end.
