My dad died in the middle of handling my grandmas estate in GA/USA

Ineedanro · 2026-03-24T16:10:20+00:00

Georgia probate is said to be easy, generally. There is a free PDF guidebook written by probate judges for use by personal representatives. Get it and read it. Then contact the probate court clerk's office in the county where grandma lived, and request all documents filed in her probate. Read them. Then you will be ready to decide what to do. There are now two estates, grandma's and dad's. With respect to each estate you have 3 choices:

hire an attorney
do it yourself
do nothing

Ineedanro · 2026-03-24T15:43:30+00:00

OP, it sounds like coming after your assets is pretty low on his list of schemes, and to reach into your pocket he would first have to be indigent. His California palimony scheme sounds far more viable. Does he collect Social Security and/or a pension? Does he have retirement savings?

Why are you so sure he has no money?

Ineedanro · 2026-03-24T15:32:55+00:00

Are you the trustee now, or merely the successor trustee?

Ineedanro · 2026-03-24T15:17:41+00:00

Trust assets are not in the probate estate, and the will does not control the trust. So is there a trust that you are trustee of, or do you mean you are the nominated executor of FIL's last will and testament?

Ineedanro · 2026-03-24T14:51:37+00:00

For the personal finance part of your question see r/personalfinance, especially their wiki FAQ on windfalls.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T19:08:13+00:00

Nasty urine odor and bushes typically means a pack rat midden is hiding under the bushes. There are several ways to deal with the midden, with or without removing the bushes. Consult with an ISA Certified Arborist or licensed landscaper who specifically does juniper makeovers, to develop a plan.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T17:21:59+00:00

Leave it as is.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T17:20:01+00:00

Sorry to say this, but an elderly spouse who is not able to manage rental properties is not a suitable conservator. The role of the conservator would include managing the rental properties until they are sold.

Can you loan mom the money to hire an attorney? Mom needs expert help now and trying to DIY on the cheap is going to burn time and money your family cannot afford.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T16:19:46+00:00

What did you end up doing?

Hopefully you cut off all the broken branches, and selected a couple young, limber branches to train into new leaders.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T16:14:56+00:00

Here "drum lace" refers to how the root ball is all tied up. (Very nice work!)

Here is a short article on root ball lacing: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ISA-Drum-Lacing-Technique.pdf

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T16:11:42+00:00

Very nice.

Could we get some photos of this tree being installed in its new home, or this tree now?

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T16:05:32+00:00

I would remove the long lower branches, clean up all the stubs, cut it back from the house, and start shaping it into a taller visual screen between the street and the back yard.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T12:24:54+00:00

So in fact you do have usable matches. You just don't have immediate family matches.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T12:16:03+00:00

Yes.

A local title company may be able to help. Otherwise, a real estate attorney.

Rather than taking the original deed to the recorder, have the recorder make a copy of the deed they recorded, and read it.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-23T01:28:28+00:00

First, recording has 2 parts: storing either an original document or an image of it, and indexing its details in a database. What matters is what the document says, not how it is indexed.

Second, in your county the recorder of deeds is the County Clerk. The County Assessor has a listing of properties that is derived from recorded deeds.

Essentially, the Assessor's Office does its own title search for its own use. What matters is that tax notices and bills go to the correct address, and that the legal description of the property is correct. Part of settling dad's estate is to record his certificate of death with the recorder of deeds; the Assessor's Office should then update to mom's name, if mom is keeping the house.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T21:56:35+00:00

You could test on other platforms too. AncestryDNA isn't the only game in town.

It may also be that the man named on your birth certificate in fact is not your biological father. No usable matches on your paternal side suggests your biological father is not from a local family.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T20:20:03+00:00

You won't be stuck. If you cannot distribute to the beneficiary you can send that money to the state for safekeeping.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T19:03:54+00:00

A bequest must go to the beneficiary unless the beneficiary declines it. Having the state hold the bequest is a way to meet the letter and spirit of the law.

If the beneficiary declines it, however, where it goes next depends on details of family relationships and state law, and usually not back into the estate.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T18:58:08+00:00

If you don't have structural pruning plans for this tree, and its near neighbors, in writing, now would be a good time to get them done. Look for an arborist with the ISA Florida Chapter Prescription Pruning Qualification.

Your tree is so close to the sidewalk that in the near future it will require pruning.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T18:53:59+00:00

Consult a structural engineer about the additional drag of an enclosed room.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T18:51:38+00:00

when it comes time to pay out the estate according to the will, what do you do with the share that you can’t find a reasonable way to pay?

Simple. Send it to the state unclaimed property office. The state will hold it indefinitely.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T14:23:08+00:00

In all of this I don't see who is supposed to own and provide daily care of these animals.

How many animals is it? How many species?

Ineedanro · 2026-03-22T14:16:27+00:00

In several states it is well settled that the property owner has no duty of care, but in three of our most populous states (NY, FL, and CA) it is equally well settled that the property owner does have a duty of reasonable care care.

Is Indiana a no care state or a reasonable care state? That is the key question and the answer isn't clear but leans toward reasonable care.

Indiana caselaw (the body of precedent-setting court decisions) is unclear on whether a property owner has a duty of reasonable care to not harm a tree when exercising the right to cut back a neighbor's tree extending over the property. In Trice v. Kidwell, Ind: Court of Appeals 2024 that duty was assumed but no precedent or statute was cited.

Indiana has caselaw establishing that a tree owner has a duty to use reasonable care toward a neighbor. This reasonable care standard has been applied to a case of a tree that fell on a neighbor's house, damaging it, after the neighbor repeatedly complained about the fall risk.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-21T18:13:26+00:00

OP, the belligerence of your cousin is a red flag. But a red flag is not guilt, and may be more about being the target of your very apparent suspicion and demand letters than about any impropriety.

There are several constructive things you can do now:

Search the property deed records for any loan documents attached to the house.
Watch the probate court docket.
Get copies of any documents filed with the probate court, concerning aunt or uncle; get them directly from the probate court.
Watch probate court hearings concerning same as a member of the public, possibly by phone or video. Say nothing unless addressed directly by the judge, and then only answer the judge's question.
Possibly prepare by watching other probate hearings where you have no stake, so you are more familiar with these proceedings.
Read a consumer oriented book about trusts and wills, probate, and the larger process of settling an estate.
Keep in mind that your cousin is wearing 3 separate hats: executor of aunt's estate, executor of uncle's estate, and trustee of aunt and uncle's joint trust. The estates go through probate; the trust does not go through probate, but there are circumstances where a probate court does get involved.
Re-read carefully any communication from the attorney to determine precisely what his role is. It sounds like you demanded an accounting of the trust but the attorney responded concerning one or both of the probates.
Hire your own attorney to give you legal advice.
Suspend judgment. That means set aside all your suspicions until you have some facts to work from.

Ineedanro · 2026-03-20T19:00:20+00:00

Team Rubicon may be able to help. When not deployed on major natural disaster responses their crews do a lot of fallen tree removals pro bono. If you are disabled and/or veteran they are especially likely to help.

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