Georgia Bar Exam — Annotated Model Essay

GEORGIA — ANNOTATED MODEL ESSAY: WILLS & ESTATES (YEAR'S SUPPORT)

I chose Georgia Wills & Estates, anchored on Georgia's signature own-law device: year's support. It is the most distinctively-Georgia, frequently-tested doctrine in the subject — Georgia has no elective/forced share for spouses like most states, and instead protects a surviving spouse and minor children through year's support, which leapfrogs even creditors and devisees. Black text is your timed answer; the gold boxes flag where Georgia departs from the general rule.

Model Answer — with annotations

Black text is the answer you could write under timed conditions. The gold boxes explain why each move earns points and flag where Georgia law departs from the general rule.

I. Georgia has no spousal elective share — the threshold distinction

The first and most important point of Georgia law is what Maria does NOT have. Unlike the great majority of states and the Uniform Probate Code, Georgia does not give a surviving spouse an elective (forced) share against the will. A Georgia testator may, in general, disinherit a spouse entirely, and the mere fact that the will omits Maria does not, by itself, entitle her to a fixed percentage of the estate. Maria's protection comes from a different and distinctively Georgia mechanism: year's support.

II. Year's support — the core Georgia protection

Georgia law entitles the surviving spouse, and any minor children, to a year's support out of the decedent's estate — an amount of property (which may include the home and other assets, real or personal) reasonably sufficient to maintain the surviving spouse and minor children for the year following the decedent's death, judged by their standard of living and the condition of the estate. The petitioner files in the probate court; the amount is not a fixed fraction but is set by the court (subject to objection) based on the support standard. Importantly, year's support is available whether the decedent died testate or intestate; it is not defeated by a will that omits the spouse, and an omitted spouse like Maria may petition for it notwithstanding the will's terms.

III. Year's support outranks creditors AND devisees — the priority rule

The feature that makes year's support so powerful, and so heavily tested, is its priority. A properly awarded year's support is generally superior to the claims of the decedent's unsecured creditors and takes precedence over the rights of devisees and heirs. In other words, the property set apart for year's support comes off the top of the estate before Northside's unsecured claim is paid and before Ben receives anything under the residuary clause. This is a sharp departure from the general rule, where a family allowance is typically modest and creditors' claims and the testator's dispositive scheme dominate.

Applying that priority here: if Maria petitions and the probate court sets apart year's support — which can include the family home she wishes to keep — that award is satisfied first. Only the estate remaining after the year's support is set aside is available to pay Northside's 90,000 dollar unsecured claim, and only what remains after both passes to Ben under the residuary clause. Depending on the amount awarded, Maria's year's support can substantially reduce or even consume what Northside and Ben would otherwise receive.

IV. Lily — minor children share the year's support

Year's support is not limited to the surviving spouse; the decedent's minor children are also beneficiaries. Lily, age 8, is a minor child of George and is entitled to be included in the year's support award. Where there is both a surviving spouse and minor children, the support is generally awarded for their joint benefit, and a minor child who is not living with the surviving spouse (not the case here) could seek a separate award. Maria may therefore petition for year's support covering both herself and Lily, providing for the child's maintenance for the year following George's death with the same priority over creditors and devisees described above.

V. Note on the omitted child theory — distinguishing the general rule

To be thorough, the universal "pretermitted child" doctrine (giving a child omitted because the testator did not know of or forgot the child an intestate-type share) is not the operative protection on these facts; George knew of Lily, and Georgia's principal safety net for a surviving spouse and minor children is year's support. Maria's strongest move is to petition promptly for year's support for herself and Lily.

VI. Conclusion

(1) Maria has no elective share, but she may petition the probate court for year's support — an amount sufficient to maintain her and Lily for the year after George's death, which can include the family home. That award is set apart first, ahead of Northside's unsecured claim and ahead of Ben's residuary gift. (2) Lily, as a minor child, is included in the same year's-support petition rather than taking through a pretermitted-child share. The omission from the will does not defeat these rights.