IN RE ESTATE OF George Thomas CORNETT, Jr. In re Est. of Cornett, 357 Ga. App. 310 (2020)
Oct 23, 2020OUTCOME: Probate Court removal of executor affirmed.
Represented Appellee heirs seeking removal of spouse/executor. Background: Heirs of decedent petitioned for an accounting, for removal of decedent's spouse as executor, and for appointment of a succes ... sor. The Probate Court, Hall County, Patty Walters Laine, J., removed spouse as executor and ordered her to return certain estate assets, and to pay certain funds back to the estate. Spouse appealed. Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Reese, P.J., held that:1 Superior Court's dismissal of spouse's declaratory judgment action did not render moot her claim that the probate court lacked jurisdiction under the first-to-file rule; but2 the first-to-file rule did not operate to deprive the probate court of jurisdiction over heirs' petitions for an accounting and to remove spouse as executor;3 the Probate Court did not improperly encroach upon a marital trust by ordering decedent's spouse to divest herself of assets from the trust, and to return them to the estate;4 the 15 day period for spouse to file a demand for a jury trial began to run on the date decedent's heirs filed a petition for an accounting; and5 the Probate Court did not clearly err by removing decedent's spouse as executor of decedent's estate. Motion to dismiss denied, Probate Court judgment affirmed. Procedural Posture(s): On Appeal; Judgment; Motion for Jury Trial.
