Alpharetta Wills Lawyer

Bowman Law Firm helps Alpharetta families put their wishes about property, children, and guardianship into a document Georgia courts will actually honor, and the firm serves Fulton County and the surrounding north Atlanta communities in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. If you are looking for an Alpharetta wills lawyer, the first thing to know is that Georgia is strict about how a will gets signed, and a document that misses one formality can fail entirely.

Georgia does not accept oral wills. It also does not recognize a handwritten will that nobody witnessed, no matter how clearly it states your wishes. A will needs your signature and at least two competent witnesses, and the details of who can sign for whom are narrower than most people expect. A will drafted at the kitchen table or from an online form is where many families first discover the problem, usually when it is too late for the person who wrote it to fix.

For Alpharetta homeowners, parents of young children, and anyone with a retirement account or a house in Fulton County, a properly executed will is the baseline of an estate plan. It decides who inherits, who serves as executor, and who raises minor children if both parents die.

What Georgia Requires for a Valid Will

The rules come from the Georgia probate code, and each one has a practical consequence. The will must be in writing. You sign it yourself, or another person signs for you in your presence and at your express direction. You may sign with a mark or with any name that you intend to authenticate the document as your will. Two or more competent witnesses must attest and subscribe it. Nobody else can sign a witness’s name for them, even if the witness is standing right there and asks them to.

Age matters at both ends. A person can make a will starting at 14, and witnesses must also be at least 14, though we strongly recommend adult witnesses with no stake in the outcome so there is never a question later about their competence or motives.

Notarization is not required for a Georgia will. What many families do instead is add a self-proving affidavit, which Georgia allows, so that the witnesses’ testimony is already on paper when the will is later offered to the probate court. Without it, the court may need to locate the witnesses years later. That is a real risk when witnesses have moved or passed away.

A codicil, which is a formal amendment to an existing will, has to be signed and witnessed with the same formality as the will itself. Writing changes in the margin, crossing out a beneficiary, or attaching a signed note does not do the job. If your circumstances change enough to need edits, the cleaner path is often a new will that clearly replaces the old one.

Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Your Alpharetta Will

Before focusing on estate planning, Attorney Bowman tried cases for a national consumer law firm, served as Law Clerk to a Federal Judge in Georgia, and handled personal injury cases on the defense side for a large Florida law firm. That background in courtrooms and chambers shapes how she drafts: she knows what judges and opposing lawyers look for when a will is challenged, and she writes to hold up.

The firm serves families across Fulton County, including Alpharetta, along with Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, and Hall counties and the greater Atlanta area. Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and goals, not a rotating cast of staff. Our team speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, which matters when a will needs to reflect wishes a family has discussed in another language and every person in the room needs to understand what is being signed.

Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, reassuring, and helpful, and one long-time colleague called Attorney Bowman smart and effective. The firm’s guiding idea is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number. In practice that means an unhurried conversation about who depends on you and what you own before any document is drafted, not a form with your name typed in.

Situations That Call for a Carefully Drafted Will

• Parents of Minor Children: A will is where you nominate a guardian for your children. A trust cannot do this. Without a will, a court decides who raises them, and the choice may not be the person you would have picked.
• Blended Families: Second marriages and stepchildren are where Georgia’s default inheritance rules most often produce results nobody intended. A clear will lets you provide for a spouse and for children from an earlier marriage on your terms.
• Pour-Over Wills for Trust Plans: If you have a living trust, a pour-over will catches any asset you forgot to retitle and sends it into the trust at death. It is a safety net, not a substitute for funding the trust.
• Naming an Executor: The person you choose will deal with the probate court, pay debts, and distribute property. Naming a capable, organized person, plus a backup, prevents disputes and delay.
• Digital Assets: Email, cloud storage, photos, and online accounts are covered by Georgia’s fiduciary access law. A will can state whether your executor may access them, though a direction you give through an online account tool can override the will.
• Immigrant and Multilingual Families: Relatives may live abroad, and family members may be more comfortable in Spanish or Vietnamese. We plan so the people who will carry out your wishes understand them.
• Updating After a Life Change: Marriage, divorce, a new grandchild, a move, or the sale of a business can leave an old will pointing at the wrong person or the wrong asset.
• Homeowners and Retirement Savers: A house and a retirement account are often the largest assets a family owns, and how each passes depends on titling and beneficiary designations as much as on the will.

What Happens After a Will Is Signed and After a Death

Signing the will is not the end of the work. Store the original somewhere your executor can find it, and tell that person where it is. A will nobody can locate is, in practical terms, close to having no will at all.

When someone dies with a will, the executor offers it to the probate court. For Alpharetta residents, that is typically the Fulton County Probate Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over probate of wills for decedents in the county. The court sits in Atlanta and also operates a north service center in Sandy Springs, which can be more convenient for north Fulton families. If the decedent lived or owned property elsewhere, such as Forsyth, Gwinnett, Cobb, or DeKalb, the probate court of that county handles the matter. Georgia has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so a Georgia will is rarely about avoiding state tax. It is about control, clarity, and speed.

If you are the person named as executor and you are holding a will right now, do not wait to act on it, and do not alter, mark, or discard anything in it. Gather the original document, a certified death certificate, and a list of accounts, real estate, and debts, then call an attorney before filing anything. An executor who guesses wrong can create personal liability and family conflict that a short consultation would have prevented.

If you are writing your own will, the practical sequence is simple. Start with a free discovery call. Then attend an initial consultation, where we review your family, assets, and concerns and design the plan; that consultation is $100. The process ends with an in-person signing meeting where the documents are presented, explained, and properly witnessed. Virtual consultations are available for those who cannot come in.

The most common mistakes are predictable: using witnesses who are also beneficiaries, signing a form with the wrong state’s requirements, leaving out a backup executor, forgetting that retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation rather than by will, and never updating after a divorce. Each is easy to avoid with a conversation up front.

Alpharetta Wills Questions Answered

Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Georgia?

The law does not require one, but the signing formalities are unforgiving and the cost of a mistake falls on your family after you can no longer correct it. A lawyer makes sure the will is properly witnessed, coordinated with your beneficiary designations, and clear enough that the probate court will not have to interpret it.

How many witnesses does a Georgia will need?

At least two competent witnesses must watch you sign and then sign the will themselves. Another person cannot sign a witness’s name for them. We recommend adult witnesses who are not beneficiaries.

Does a Georgia will have to be notarized?

No. Notarization is not required. Many wills include a self-proving affidavit, which Georgia allows and which makes it easier to admit the will to probate later without tracking down the witnesses.

Is a handwritten will valid in Georgia?

Not unless it meets the same requirements as any other will, including two witnesses. Georgia does not recognize a handwritten will that was signed only by the writer, and oral wills are not valid at all.

What happens if I die without a will in Georgia?

Georgia’s intestacy law divides your property among your spouse, children, and other relatives under a fixed formula. You lose the ability to choose your executor or to name a guardian for minor children, and the outcome may look nothing like what you would have wanted.

How old do you have to be to make a will in Georgia?

You must be at least 14. That is the legal minimum, though most people who need a will are adults with a home, a family, and accounts to coordinate.

Can I change my will with a handwritten note?

No. A codicil has to be signed and witnessed with the same formality as the original will. Marking up the document itself can create confusion or invalidate the part you changed. A new will is often cleaner than a codicil.

If I have a living trust, do I still need a will?

Yes. A pour-over will sends any asset you did not retitle into the trust, and the will is the only place to nominate a guardian for minor children.

Can my executor access my email and online accounts?

Georgia’s fiduciary access law lets you decide. If you have used an online tool offered by a provider to name someone, that choice generally controls. Otherwise your will can allow or prohibit access. The executor’s authority is still limited by the platform’s terms of service and copyright law, and cannot be used to impersonate you.

My spouse and I live in Alpharetta. Do we need separate wills?

Yes, each spouse needs their own. Many couples use matching wills that name each other first and then the children, but separate documents let each of you name backup executors and guardians and adapt as circumstances differ.

I made a will in another state. Is it still good after moving to Georgia?

Often a will that was validly signed elsewhere remains effective, but it may not match your current family, property, or Georgia’s rules for matters like executors and self-proving affidavits. A review after a move is worth doing.

How often should I revisit my will?

We suggest every three to five years and after any major event: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death in the family, a move, or a big change in finances.

Serving Alpharetta Wills Clients Across North Fulton and Metro Atlanta

Our work for Alpharetta families starts with Fulton County and extends naturally to neighboring communities. In north Fulton, we serve clients in Alpharetta, Johns Creek, and Roswell, and toward the Perimeter in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody. Just across the line in Forsyth County, we work with families in Cumming, and in Gwinnett County we serve Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford.

Along the Buford Highway corridor we help the diverse communities of Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven, and in Cobb and DeKalb counties we serve families in Marietta and Decatur. The firm also works with clients in Gainesville and Hall County, and in Dalton. Wherever you live, a will has to be signed the Georgia way, and a virtual consultation can start the conversation if you cannot meet in person.

Talk to an Alpharetta Wills Attorney at Bowman Law Firm

If you need an Alpharetta wills attorney who will explain every option in plain language and draft a document that holds up, Bowman Law Firm is ready to help. Call to schedule a free discovery call or an initial consultation with Shireen Hormozdi Bowman, and begin putting your family’s future in writing the right way.