Gwinnett County Living Trust Lawyer for Non-Citizens
A green card holder in Lawrenceville, a visa holder in Duluth, or an immigrant family in Norcross with a house, a small business, and children born here all face the same question: what happens to everything if something happens to me? Bowman Law Firm is a Georgia estate planning and trust firm that helps Gwinnett County families, citizens and non-citizens alike, build revocable living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and long-term care plans, with staff who speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
If you are searching for a Gwinnett County living trust lawyer for non-citizens, the good news is that Georgia trust law does not ask about your citizenship. A person who lives in or owns property in Georgia can sign a trust here. What changes for non-citizens is everything around the trust: federal estate tax exposure, the rules for naming a surviving spouse, the choice of a trustee who may live abroad, and the way assets held in another country fit into the plan.
Those differences are where generic online trust forms fail. A trust that works well for a U.S. citizen couple can create real problems for a family where one spouse is not a citizen, or where the owner lives in Gwinnett but holds bank accounts and land overseas.
Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for a Non-Citizen Living Trust
Her background is unusually broad for an estate planner: she has 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 courtroom and chambers experience shapes how she drafts. She knows how documents get challenged, how banks and institutions push back, and where plans break down under pressure.
The firm serves families across Gwinnett County, including Norcross, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Lilburn, Suwanee, Buford, and Peachtree Corners, and throughout the greater Atlanta area. Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and goals, and the plan is built from a conversation about who depends on you, what you own, and where it is located. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, which matters when family members, successor trustees, or aging parents are more comfortable planning in their first language.
Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, reassuring, honest, and hardworking, and one reviewer noted having worked with Ms. Bowman for over seven years. The firm’s guiding principle is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number.
Where Citizenship Status Changes a Trust Plan
- Noncitizen Spouse: Assets passing to a surviving spouse who is not a U.S. citizen do not automatically receive the unlimited marital deduction that citizen spouses get. A specially structured trust may be needed to preserve that treatment, and it must be set up correctly while both spouses are living.
- Federal Estate Tax Exposure: Georgia levies no estate tax and no inheritance tax, so the real question is federal. Non-citizens who are domiciled in the U.S. are generally treated like citizens for federal estate tax purposes, while nonresident non-citizens face a much lower exemption on U.S.-situated assets such as Gwinnett real estate.
- Foreign Bank Accounts and Property: Property in another country often cannot be retitled into a Georgia trust without local legal steps. The plan has to identify what can be funded here, what needs a separate foreign will or local counsel, and how the pieces coordinate.
- Trustee Selection: A successor trustee who lives abroad, or who may leave the country, creates practical problems with banks, tax filings, and signing authority. Naming alternates and thinking through residency is part of the design.
- Beneficiaries Overseas: Children or relatives in another country can inherit through a trust, but distributions, currency transfers, and tax reporting add layers. A spendthrift provision and clear distribution standards help the trustee act without guessing.
- Immigrant-Owned Businesses: Many Gwinnett families own restaurants, shops, trucking companies, or nail and beauty businesses. Holding an LLC interest in a trust keeps the business running if the owner dies or becomes incapacitated, without a court appointing someone to step in.
- Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning: Eligibility for Georgia nursing home Medicaid depends on immigration status as well as assets, so a non-citizen parent’s care plan needs to be checked against both before any transfers are made.
- Guardians for U.S.-Born Children: Parents with uncertain long-term status should name a guardian in a will and backstop it with powers of attorney, so children are cared for no matter what happens to a parent’s ability to remain in the country.
What a Gwinnett Non-Citizen Should Do Before Signing Anything
Start by taking inventory. List every asset by location: Georgia real estate, U.S. accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, business interests, and anything held abroad. Note your immigration status, your spouse’s status, and where your children and likely beneficiaries live. This inventory drives every decision about how the trust should be built, and gaps in it are the most common reason plans have to be redone.
Then gather your documents: deeds, account statements, beneficiary designations, any existing wills from another country, and a copy of your immigration paperwork. If you already have a foreign will, bring it. It can sometimes coexist with a Georgia plan, and sometimes it conflicts with one, and the attorney needs to read it to know which.
Bowman Law Firm’s process has three steps: a free discovery call, an initial consultation to design the plan for $100, and an in-person signing meeting where the finished documents are presented and explained. Virtual consultations are available for clients who cannot come in, including family members overseas who need to be part of the conversation.
Avoid the common mistakes. Do not buy a generic online trust and assume it fits a cross-border family. Do not sign the trust and stop there; a trust only controls assets that have been retitled into it, so funding comes next. Do not name a spouse or child as trustee without checking where they live and whether they can realistically serve.
If a loved one passes before a plan was made, or while a trust still needs to be administered, the matter may involve the Probate Court of Gwinnett County in Lawrenceville, which handles probate of wills, estate administration, and guardianships and conservatorships for minors and incapacitated adults. Assets held in a properly funded trust usually avoid that process, which is one of the main reasons families choose a trust.
How a Georgia Living Trust Works for Non-Citizens
Georgia’s trust law is found in the Revised Trust Code, O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 12. A trust must be in writing and signed by the person creating it. Under Georgia law, a settlor cannot change or cancel a trust unless the document expressly reserves that power, so a living trust needs to say clearly that it is revocable. Any later amendment or revocation must also be in writing and signed by the settlor. These are not technicalities; a trust drafted without the reservation can end up locked in.
Revocable does not mean creditor-proof. Property in a revocable trust remains reachable by the settlor’s creditors during life, and after death it can be reached to the extent the probate estate cannot cover claims. A trust is a tool for control, privacy, and avoiding court, not a shield. For protection from creditors or nursing home costs, different irrevocable structures are needed, and timing becomes critical.
A trust works alongside the rest of the plan. A pour-over will catches assets left outside the trust. In Georgia, a will must be signed by the testator and attested by two competent witnesses; notarization is not required, though a self-proving affidavit is allowed and makes admission easier. Georgia does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed wills, and oral wills are invalid, which surprises clients from countries where those are accepted.
Incapacity documents matter just as much. A Georgia power of attorney must be signed by the principal, attested by a witness, and acknowledged before a notary who is not the witness, with everyone present together. It is durable unless it says otherwise, and it ends at death. An advance directive for health care needs two adult witnesses, who cannot be the named agent or someone who stands to inherit, and does not require a notary. A document signed in another state or country that was valid where signed may be honored in Georgia, but a Georgia-compliant version is accepted far more readily by banks and hospitals.
Gwinnett Living Trust Questions From Non-Citizen Families
Can a non-U.S. citizen create a living trust in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia trust law does not require citizenship. What matters is that the trust is in writing, signed by you, and properly funded. Your status affects tax treatment and practical choices, not your ability to sign.
Does my immigration status affect whether my trust is valid?
No. Status does not change the validity of the document. It can affect federal estate tax treatment, who you can safely name as trustee or beneficiary, and public benefit eligibility, which is why the design matters.
Will Georgia tax my estate because I am not a citizen?
Georgia has no estate tax and no inheritance tax. Federal estate tax is a separate question, and the rules differ depending on whether you are domiciled in the United States. This is a point to discuss during your consultation.
My spouse is not a citizen. Does that change our trust?
It can. The unlimited marital deduction that shields assets passing to a citizen spouse does not apply automatically to a noncitizen spouse. A specially designed trust may be needed so the surviving spouse’s inheritance is not taxed unnecessarily.
Can I put property I own in another country into my Georgia trust?
Sometimes, but often not by itself. Foreign real estate and accounts follow the rules of the country where they sit. Many families pair a Georgia trust with a local will or local counsel abroad so the plan holds together.
Can my trustee or beneficiaries live outside the United States?
They can, but a trustee abroad creates practical hurdles with U.S. banks and tax filings. We usually recommend a U.S.-based trustee or co-trustee, with alternates named in case someone cannot serve.
If I already have a will from my home country, is it still enough?
Probably not for your Georgia assets. A foreign will may or may not be recognized here, and it can conflict with a new plan. Bring it to your consultation so it can be reviewed and coordinated.
Do I still need a will if I have a living trust?
Yes. A pour-over will sends any assets left outside the trust into it, and a will is where you name a guardian for minor children. A trust cannot do that.
What happens to my U.S.-born children if I cannot care for them?
A guardian named in your will, combined with a power of attorney and clear instructions, gives the court and your family a roadmap. Parents with uncertain long-term plans should not leave this to chance.
Can a trust protect my savings from Georgia nursing home costs?
A properly structured Medicaid planning trust can help, but Georgia looks back 60 months at transfers made for less than fair market value, and a transfer can create a penalty period of ineligibility. Starting early gives the most options, and a non-citizen’s eligibility also depends on immigration status.
How long does it take to set up a living trust?
Drafting itself is usually quick once the inventory is complete. The longer part is funding the trust, which means retitling real estate and accounts and updating beneficiary designations. Cross-border assets take longer than purely local ones.
Can I meet with the firm in Spanish or Vietnamese, or by video?
Yes. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and virtual consultations are available, which helps when relatives overseas need to join the discussion.
Serving Non-Citizen Trust Clients Across Gwinnett County and Metro Atlanta
Bowman Law Firm works with families throughout Gwinnett County, from Norcross, Peachtree Corners, and Lilburn through Duluth and Lawrenceville to Suwanee and Buford. Gwinnett’s immigrant communities are among the most diverse in Georgia, and the firm’s multilingual service reflects that reality.
Beyond Gwinnett, the firm serves clients in neighboring DeKalb County, including Doraville, Chamblee, Brookhaven, and Decatur, as well as Fulton County communities such as Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Roswell, Dunwoody, and Sandy Springs. Families in Cobb County, including Marietta, and in Forsyth County, including Cumming, also work with the firm, as do clients in Hall County, including Gainesville, and in Dalton. Virtual consultations make it practical to plan from any of these communities or from outside Georgia entirely.
Speak With a Gwinnett County Living Trust Attorney Today
A trust built for a non-citizen family has to account for tax rules, foreign assets, and family members in more than one country. Bowman Law Firm is a Gwinnett County living trust attorney team that starts with a free discovery call and a $100 initial consultation to design your plan, followed by an in-person signing meeting once the documents are ready.
Call to schedule your consultation with attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman, in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese, and get a plan that fits your family as it actually is.