In Re Estate of Russell John Blake

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 5, 2025
• Docket: A25D0344
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 05, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25D0344. IN RE ESTATE OF RUSSELL JOHN BLAKE, DECEASED.

On March 20, 2023, the Probate Court of Fulton County entered an order dismissing a caveat to a petition for year’s support filed by Russell Quincy Blake. Blake appealed this ruling to the Fulton County Superior Court, and Maria Blake — the surviving spouse of Russell John Blake — moved to dismiss the appeal. Rather than dismissing the appeal, the superior court transferred the matter to this Court where it was docketed as an application for discretionary appeal. Under OCGA § 15-9-123 (a), a party in a civil case in probate court shall have the right of appeal to an appellate court. A probate court is defined as “a probate court of a county having a population of more than 90,000 persons according to the United States decennial census of 2010” or any future census. OCGA § 15-9-120 (2). According to the 2010 census, Fulton County had a population of 920,581. Because the Probate Court of Fulton County meets the statutory definition of a probate court, Russell Blake has a right of direct appeal to this Court without first seeking review in superior court, and no application was required. See O’Regan v. Brennan, 204 Ga. App. 50, 50 (418 SE2d 389) (1992). Accordingly, this matter was improvidently docketed as an application for discretionary appeal, and the application is hereby DISMISSED. The Clerk of the Court is hereby DIRECTED to docket the case as a direct appeal. To the extent the record as transferred by the superior court is incomplete, it shall be the burden of the appellant to seek supplementation to include the full probate court record.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/05/2025 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.