Talmadge family member disputes will

MCRAE - The great-niece of a member of Georgia&#39;s prominent Talmadge family is contesting her will, which named the son of former governor and senator Herman Talmadge as the primary beneficiary. <br> <br> Margaret Talmadge Shepherd, the daughter of the late Gov. Eugene Talmadge and Herman Talmadge&#39;s sister, died in December at 85. <br> <br> Shepherd&#39;s great-niece, Galen Peterson, a nurse who was Shepherd&#39;s primary caregiver for the last three years, filed suit Friday in Telfair County seeking to nullify the 1997 will. <br> <br> 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> <br> It also says that a later will naming Peterson as beneficiary may have been hidden or destroyed. <br> <br> 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> <br> Herman&#39;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> <br> He said he had not seen the suit. But he disputed Peterson&#39;s basic contention that Shepherd wished to disinherit him.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/198416