Nonjudicial settlement agreement
A nonjudicial settlement agreement (NJSA) is a binding agreement that Georgia allows in will matters. The nominated or qualified personal representative and all affected persons may enter one. Colorado practitioners describe a pre-mortem version. Owners of businesses, real estate and private investments, along with their spouses and adult children, meet the term when a will is involved.
How it works
Georgia HB 865 adds the Code section that governs these agreements. Any matter involving a will can be the subject of one.
Georgia HB 865 provides that entering into an NJSA, or petitioning a court about one, does not violate an in terrorem condition. An in terrorem condition is a no-contest condition.
Where it shows up for owners of businesses, real estate and private investments
Georgia's Code section allows an agreement on any matter involving a will, which includes a will that addresses a business, real estate or private investment interest.
Points that are easy to confuse
An in terrorem condition and an NJSA are separate concepts. An in terrorem condition is a no-contest condition in a document, while an NJSA is an agreement among the persons it names.
Common questions
What do signatories to a Colorado pre-mortem NJSA agree?
Practitioners say signatories to a Colorado pre-mortem NJSA agree that the settlor had capacity and was not unduly influenced.
What does Georgia say about in terrorem conditions in trust disputes?
Georgia law makes an in terrorem condition unenforceable against an individual who sues to interpret or enforce a trust, seeks an accounting or trustee removal or other relief, or enters a settlement.