Doctrine Of Incorporation By Reference Might Not Apply To Georgia Wills
October 31, 2012
Authored by: Luke Lantta
The case of Lee v. Swain has a long history in Georgia, first going up to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2010. In “Swain I,” the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings and found that it was a question of fact whether two documents taken together were Eloise Collins’ will. These two document were (1) an unwitnessed letter written in 1999 detailing how Collins wanted her property distributed after her death, and (2) a partially filled-out commercial will form that, while properly witnessed, did not address distribution of property.
When the case was sent back down to the trial court, a jury found that the two instruments together were “the true Last Will and Testament of Eloise Harley Collins.”
The caveator appealed on a number of grounds and the Georgia Supreme Court had another chance to weigh in on