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Suntrust Bank v. Peterson

The superior court lacked jurisdiction to hear the probate of decedent's 1997 will.

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This case raises questions of jurisdiction and venue concerning the probate of a will and equitable counterclaims against non-resident executors. The material facts are not in dispute. The record shows that on November 13, 1997, Margaret Talmadge Shepherd executed a will. On December 5, 2001, Shepherd, a resident and domiciliary of Telfair County, died leaving an estate that includes 300 acres of land in Telfair County. In late January 2002, Suntrust Bank and Herman Eugene Talmadge, Jr., co-executors under the will, filed to probate the will in common form in Telfair County. On January 25, the probate court admitted the will to probate. On February 20, 2002, the co-executors filed for probate in solemn form.

Two days later, Galen L. Peterson, the decedent’s grandniece, filed a caveat to the will. She alleged 1 that the decedent was unduly influenced to execute the 1997 will, 2 that a subsequent will naming her the primary beneficiary had been destroyed, and 3 that the decedent had promised and contracted that she would receive the entire estate in exchange for taking care of the decedent. Asserting that she had raised equitable claims and that therefore the probate court had no jurisdiction to hear the entire matter, Peterson included in her caveat a motion to transfer the case to superior court.

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