MCRAE - The great-niece of a member of Georgia's prominent Talmadge family is contesting her will, which named the son of former governor and senator Herman Talmadge as the primary beneficiary. <br>
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Margaret Talmadge Shepherd, the daughter of the late Gov. Eugene Talmadge and Herman Talmadge's sister, died in December at 85. <br>
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Shepherd's great-niece, Galen Peterson, a nurse who was Shepherd's primary caregiver for the last three years, filed suit Friday in Telfair County seeking to nullify the 1997 will. <br>
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The suit claims that Shepherd, the last of the relatives to live in the Telfair County Talmadge family homeplace, was essentially abandoned by her relatives in her later years. <br>
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It also says that a later will naming Peterson as beneficiary may have been hidden or destroyed. <br>
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Peterson said Shepherd made an oral promise that her estate, with an estimated value of $12 million, would be willed primarily to Peterson in return for her care and companionship. <br>
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Herman's son, Gene Talmadge of Clayton County in suburban Atlanta, was named co-executor and primary beneficiary in the 1997 will. He declined Friday to respond to the specific allegations. <br>
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He said he had not seen the suit. But he disputed Peterson's basic contention that Shepherd wished to disinherit him.
