Recent Blog Posts
The Magic Words: “Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship”
When it comes to your home, a few words on your deed can determine whether your family receives the property automatically or has to go through Probate Court. Those magic words are “Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship.” What Does Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship Mean? Under O.C.G.A. § 44-6-190, a deed can… Read More »
A Power of Attorney Is One of the Most Powerful Documents You Will Ever Sign
A Power of Attorney is an important part of a comprehensive estate plan—but it is also one of the most powerful legal documents you may ever sign. When you name someone as your financial agent under a Power of Attorney, you may be giving that person significant authority over your money and property. Depending… Read More »
A Trustee Can Manage Your Property Without Becoming the Owner
One of the most powerful benefits of a Revocable Living Trust is that you can give someone you trust the legal authority to manage your property without simply giving that property away to them. This distinction is important. People sometimes add a child, relative, or friend to the deed to their home or make… Read More »
The Trust Is Signed. Now What Actually Goes Inside It?
Setting up a trust often feels like the finish line, but it is really the starting point. A trust with nothing inside it offers no protection at all, no matter how carefully the language was drafted. So which assets actually belong in a trust, and which ones are better left where they are? The… Read More »
What Happens to Your Pet When You Are Gone? Georgia’s Pet Trust Law Explained
Who will feed the cat at 6 a.m. if you cannot? It is a question that catches most estate planning clients off guard, mostly because pets rarely make it onto the standard checklist of wills, beneficiaries, and powers of attorney. Yet for many Georgia families, a dog or cat is as central to daily… Read More »
Your Rental Property Is a Business. Does Your Estate Plan Treat It Like One?
If you own a rental property, you already manage leases, tenants, repairs, and a mortgage or two. That is, functionally, a small business. So why does the estate plan protecting it so often consist of a will written years ago that never mentions the property at all? That gap deserves more attention than it… Read More »
Deportation Does Not Mean You Have to Lose Your Home
If you are undocumented or concerned about deportation, you may be worried about what will happen to your home and other property if you are forced to leave the United States. Being deported, by itself, does not mean you lose your house. You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to own real… Read More »
Georgia Transfer-on-Death Deeds: Important Changes to the Law in 2026
Georgia’s Transfer-on-Death Deed law is still relatively new, and the Georgia Legislature has already made significant changes to it. Transfer-on-Death Deeds, commonly called TOD Deeds, became formally available in Georgia on July 1, 2024, under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-1 et seq. A TOD Deed allows a property owner to designate one or more beneficiaries to… Read More »
What Really Happens to a Mortgage When the Homeowner Passes Away?
Losing a parent or loved one is hard enough without also wondering what happens to the house they left behind. Does the mortgage disappear along with them? Does the bank demand the balance in full? Can you simply keep making the monthly payments and stay in the home? These are common questions for Georgia… Read More »
What Happens to Your Spouse If You Need Nursing Home Care?
Have you and your spouse ever talked about what would happen if one of you needed nursing home care next year? It is not the easiest conversation to start, but it may be one of the most important ones a married couple can have. Long term care is expensive, it is often unexpected, and… Read More »
