Robert H. McNair, Co-Executor of the Estate of W. O. McNair v. Richard "Richie" Harold McNair, A15A1627

Hazel McNair's will (dated Sept. 17, 2001) was filed for probate in solemn form in Turner County Probate Court in Nov. 2011.
Probate court denied the petition to probate the will in solemn form on June 12, 2013; the will's executors (R. McNair and Penny Thompson) appealed to Turner County Superior Court.
W. O. McNair filed a caveat contesting the will; his son Robert H. McNair (Appellant) later became one of three co-executors of W. O. McNair’s estate after W. O. died (co-executors: Robert H. McNair, Penny Thompson, and W. O. McNair, Jr.).
The caveat trial before a jury (Sept. 15–16, 2014) resulted in a verdict allowing the will to be probated in solemn form; judgment entered accordingly.
Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal on Oct. 23, 2014; the Court of Appeals docketed the case but concluded the Notice of Appeal was legally insufficient because a single co-executor cannot appeal on behalf of the estate without unanimous consent under OCGA § 53-7-5(a).
The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction due to the defective notice of appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Notice of Appeal filed by one co-executor conferred appellate jurisdiction	Appellant sought review of judgment allowing probate; implicitly argued his individual filing was sufficient	Judgment was against the estate/co-executors collectively; one co-executor cannot file appeal without unanimous consent or written delegation	Notice of Appeal was legally insufficient; Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal

Paine v. Nations, 301 Ga. App. 97 (court must first determine appellate jurisdiction before deciding merits)
Long v. Long, 247 Ga. 624 (proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is required to confer jurisdiction)
McCarley v. McCarley, 246 Ga. App. 171 (personal representatives must act on behalf of an estate)