In Johnson v. Fitzgerald the Georgia Supreme Court brought attention to the importance of keeping track of all copies of your will. Georgia law specifies that if the original will of a testator cannot be found for probate there is a rebuttable presumption that the testator intended to destroy the will. The presumption must be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that the testator did not mean to revoke his will and that the copy is a true copy of the will. In Johnson, there was enough evidence that the testator did not mean to revoke his will. Some of the evidence included conversations with beneficiaries of the will, conversations explaining his wishes not to include certain family members as beneficiaries, conversations with his attorney, and other documents that referenced the will.
See Luke Lantta Copy of Will Was Good Enough, Bryan Cave Fiduciary Litigation, Nov. 26, 2013.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
