Atlanta Living Trust Lawyer for Non-Citizens
If you live in metro Atlanta on a visa, a green card, or a pending application, you may be wondering whether a trust is even available to you, and whether your citizenship status changes how it should be built. Atlanta living trust lawyer for non-citizens work at Bowman Law Firm starts from a simple answer: Georgia trust law does not require citizenship to create a revocable living trust, and the firm helps immigrant families across Atlanta, Gwinnett County, and the surrounding counties put one in place.
What does change with immigration status is the planning around the trust. Federal estate tax rules treat residents and non-residents differently, the marital deduction works differently when a spouse is not a citizen, and a trust that names a foreign relative as trustee or beneficiary raises practical questions about banks, taxes, and enforcement.
Bowman Law Firm handles estate planning, trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advance directives, trust funding, and asset protection for families who want their plan written in language they actually understand, including in Spanish and Vietnamese.
Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Trust Planning When You Are Not a U.S. Citizen
Before focusing on trusts and elder law, 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 litigation matters for planning: she knows how documents are challenged, where they break, and what institutions expect to see.
Clients consistently describe the firm as knowledgeable, reassuring, and attentive, and the firm’s guiding idea is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number. You work directly with an attorney who knows your family and your goals. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, which matters when you are discussing a document that will govern your children’s inheritance and you want to be certain every term is understood by you and by the relatives who will rely on it. Virtual consultations are available for clients who cannot easily travel.
The process is straightforward. You start with a free discovery call, move to an initial consultation to design your plan for $100, and finish with an in-person signing meeting where the completed plan is presented to you.
Situations That Shape a Living Trust for Non-Citizens
- Green card holders and long-term residents: A lawful permanent resident who is domiciled in the United States is generally treated like a citizen for federal estate tax purposes, so the planning looks much like it would for a citizen, with a revocable living trust holding the home, accounts, and investments.
- Visa holders and non-resident aliens: Someone who is not domiciled in the United States but owns U.S. property, such as an Atlanta condo or rental house, can face federal estate tax on those U.S.-situated assets with a much smaller exemption than residents receive. Structuring ownership before death is often the whole point of the planning.
- Married couples where one spouse is not a citizen: The unlimited marital deduction that lets citizen spouses pass assets to each other without estate tax is not available for a non-citizen surviving spouse unless the assets go into a qualified domestic trust. A trust drafted without that in mind can create an unexpected tax bill at the first death.
- Families with children born in the United States: Parents who are not citizens still need a plan for who raises minor children and who manages their inheritance. A will names the guardian, and a trust can hold and distribute the money over time instead of handing it over at 18.
- Property or relatives abroad: A trust can govern U.S. assets, but foreign real estate and foreign bank accounts usually answer to the law of the country where they sit. Coordinating the Georgia trust with whatever planning exists overseas avoids documents that contradict each other.
- Foreign beneficiaries or trustees: Naming a sibling in another country as successor trustee or beneficiary is allowed, but it can slow banks, complicate tax reporting, and make administration harder. Choosing a local co-trustee or a backup trustee is often a practical safeguard.
- Immigrants planning for long-term care: Medicaid asset protection planning depends on the Medicaid look-back period, which in Georgia is 60 months for long-term care, and on the applicant’s own immigration status for benefit eligibility. Early planning gives more room to maneuver.
What to Do Before You Sign Anything
Start by gathering a clear picture of what you own and where. Make a list that includes the Georgia home, bank and retirement accounts, life insurance policies, any business interests, and anything held outside the United States. Note how each asset is titled and who is named as beneficiary, because beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance policies override what a trust or will says. Write down your immigration status and your spouse’s, and the status of each person you want to name as a beneficiary, guardian, or trustee.
Next, think about who you trust to act. Georgia requires a trust to be in writing and signed by the person creating it, but the harder question is who steps in when you cannot act. Pick a successor trustee who can realistically deal with Georgia banks and who is reachable. If your first choice lives abroad, ask whether a second person closer to home should serve alongside or behind them.
Then book a discovery call. The call is free, and the consultation that follows is $100. Bring your asset list, any existing documents from your home country, and any questions about how your status affects the plan. If a family member will be involved in the decisions, they can join and the discussion can happen in Spanish or Vietnamese.
The most common mistakes are signing a template downloaded online, creating a trust and never transferring assets into it, and forgetting to update beneficiary designations. A trust that was never funded leaves the house and accounts exposed to probate in the county where you live, whether that is Gwinnett Probate Court in Lawrenceville, Fulton County Probate Court, or the probate court of whichever county applies. A signed trust with nothing in it protects almost nothing.
How Georgia Law Treats Trusts, Wills, and Incapacity Documents
A trust is only one piece of the plan, and Georgia has specific rules for each of the others. An express trust under the Georgia Revised Trust Code must be in writing and signed by the settlor. A revocable trust can be changed or revoked only if the document reserves that power, and any change must itself be in writing and signed. During your lifetime, property in a revocable trust remains reachable by your creditors, so a revocable trust is a tool for avoiding probate and managing incapacity, not for shielding assets from lawsuits.
Even with a trust, you will want a pour-over will. In Georgia a will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by at least two competent witnesses. Oral wills and handwritten wills without witnesses are not valid. Notarization is not required, though a self-proving affidavit can simplify things later. The will is also where you name a guardian for minor children.
Two incapacity documents round out the plan. A Georgia power of attorney must be signed by you, witnessed by a competent witness, and acknowledged before a notary who is not the witness, with everyone present at the same time. It is durable unless it says otherwise, and it ends at death. A Georgia advance directive for health care requires two adult witnesses, and neither witness may be the person you name as your health care agent or someone who stands to inherit from you. Notarization is not required for the directive. Powers of attorney and directives signed in other places can be honored in Georgia if they were valid where signed, but a document drafted to Georgia’s standards avoids arguments with banks and hospitals.
Georgia does not impose its own estate tax or inheritance tax. The federal estate tax is the one that matters, and it is the reason status and domicile get so much attention in non-citizen planning.
Questions Non-Citizens Ask About Living Trusts in Atlanta
Can a non-citizen create a living trust in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia law does not require citizenship or any particular immigration status to create a revocable living trust. The requirements are that the trust be in writing and signed by the person creating it, with a clear purpose and identifiable beneficiaries.
Does my immigration status affect whether I should have a trust?
It affects how the trust is designed rather than whether you can have one. Domicile, the citizenship of your spouse, and the location of your assets all influence estate tax exposure and who should serve as trustee. Those are the questions to settle first.
Do I still need a will if I have a trust?
Yes. A pour-over will sends any asset you forgot to transfer into the trust, and it is where you name a guardian for minor children. A trust cannot do that second job.
What is a funded trust and why does it matter?
A trust is funded when your home, accounts, and other assets are retitled in the name of the trust or when the trust is named as beneficiary where appropriate. An unfunded trust does not avoid probate, so funding is part of the work, not an afterthought.
Will my trust avoid probate in Gwinnett or Fulton County?
Assets properly titled in your living trust generally pass without going through the probate court, whichever county you live in. Assets left outside the trust may still need probate, which is why the pour-over will exists as a backup.
Can I name a relative who lives in another country as trustee?
You can, but it can create friction. Banks may want additional documentation, tax reporting can become more complicated, and administration takes longer when the trustee is far away. Many clients name a local co-trustee or a local successor to make day-to-day management easier.
My spouse is not a citizen. Does that change the plan?
It can. The estate tax marital deduction is not available for a non-citizen surviving spouse unless the assets pass through a qualified domestic trust. Whether this matters depends on the size of your estate, your spouse’s status, and your plans, and it is one of the first things to review.
Can I own Atlanta real estate through a trust if I live abroad?
Often yes, and it is a common reason non-residents seek a trust. Holding U.S. property in the right structure can simplify transfer at death, though non-residents face different federal estate tax rules and should plan for them deliberately.
Can a living trust protect my assets from a lawsuit?
A revocable trust does not. Under Georgia law, assets in a revocable trust remain subject to your creditors while you are alive. Other tools, such as certain irrevocable trusts or an LLC held in trust, serve asset protection goals, but they involve giving up control and require careful planning.
How does Medicaid planning work for immigrants in Georgia?
Georgia Medicaid for long-term care looks back 60 months at transfers made for less than fair market value, and a penalty period of ineligibility can follow. Eligibility also depends on immigration status, so both questions belong in the early conversation. The earlier a plan is made, the more options remain.
Do I need to update my trust if my immigration status changes?
Often it is worth a review. Becoming a permanent resident or a citizen, marrying, or moving abroad can change tax treatment and who is best suited to serve as trustee. A revocable trust can be amended in writing, so updating does not mean starting over.
Can I meet with you in Spanish or Vietnamese?
Yes. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and virtual consultations are available if travel is difficult.
Atlanta Trust Planning for Immigrant Families Across Metro Atlanta
Bowman Law Firm works with non-citizen families starting in Atlanta and Fulton County, and extends across Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, and Hall counties. In north Fulton, the firm serves clients in Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Roswell. Along the Buford Highway corridor and the I-85 side of the metro, it works with families in Doraville, Chamblee, Brookhaven, and Dunwoody. In Gwinnett County, clients come from Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford.
The firm also serves families in Marietta in Cobb County, Decatur in DeKalb County, Cumming in Forsyth County, and Gainesville in Hall County, as well as Dalton to the north. Whether your household is in the city itself or in one of the surrounding communities, the planning is built around your family, your assets, and the language you are most comfortable using.
Talk to an Atlanta Trust Attorney Who Plans for Non-Citizen Families
The right time to build a plan is before an illness, a death, or a change in status forces the issue. If you are looking for an Atlanta trust attorney who will explain how your immigration status, your spouse’s status, and your assets fit together, Bowman Law Firm is ready to help. Call to schedule a free discovery call, and Attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman will walk you through the next step in plain language, in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese.
