Gwinnett County Revocable Living Trust Lawyer
A revocable living trust changes what happens at the Gwinnett County Probate Court in Lawrenceville, because assets that are properly titled in the trust generally never need to pass through that court at all. Bowman Law Firm is an estate planning and trust law firm that prepares revocable living trusts for families across Gwinnett County and the greater Atlanta area, working in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
If you are searching for a Gwinnett County revocable living trust lawyer, the real question is usually not whether a trust is a good idea. It is whether the trust will actually do its job. A trust that is signed but never funded, or one that conflicts with your beneficiary designations, can leave your family in probate anyway. Getting the document right and getting the assets into it are two separate tasks, and both matter.
Below, we explain what a revocable trust can and cannot do under Georgia law, how it fits with a pour-over will and powers of attorney, and what to do first if you are ready to set one up.
What a Revocable Trust Does Under Georgia Law
Georgia’s Revised Trust Code governs these documents. An express trust must be in writing and signed by the settlor, the person who creates it. Georgia also has a rule that surprises many people: a settlor cannot change or cancel a trust unless the document expressly reserves that power. A well-drafted revocable trust states that power clearly. Once it does, the law treats a power to revoke as including a power to modify, and any revocation or modification must be in writing and signed by you.
Because you keep that control, a revocable trust is not an asset protection device against your own creditors. While you are alive, the property in a revocable trust remains reachable by your creditors, with or without a spendthrift clause. After death, trust property that was revocable at the time of death can also be reached if your probate estate cannot cover valid claims. If shielding assets is a goal, that is a different conversation, and our firm handles Medicaid and asset protection planning separately.
What the trust does give you is continuity and privacy. You act as your own trustee while you are well. If you become incapacitated, the successor trustee you named steps in without a court order. At death, the trustee distributes assets under your written terms rather than waiting on a probate case that becomes part of the public record.
Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Your Revocable Trust
The firm serves families in Gwinnett County and across Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, and Hall counties, with virtual consultations available for clients who prefer them. Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and their goals, and the firm’s guiding principle is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number.
Attorney Bowman’s background is unusually varied for an estate planning lawyer. 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 informs how she drafts: she knows how documents get challenged, which clauses invite disputes, and what a judge expects to see when a trust is questioned.
Client reviews describe the same qualities. People call her knowledgeable, reassuring, thoughtful, and honest, and one client who has worked with her for more than seven years says she is smart, effective, and well liked. Our staff speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, which matters in a county as diverse as Gwinnett, where many families want to plan in the language they use at home. As a Gwinnett County estate planning attorney, Shireen Hormozdi Bowman begins by listening to who depends on you, what you own, and what worries you, and the plan follows that conversation.
What a Complete Revocable Trust Plan Includes
A trust document alone is rarely the whole plan. These are the pieces we typically put together, depending on the family:
- The Revocable Living Trust Itself: The signed instrument naming you as trustee, your successor trustee, your beneficiaries, and the terms for distribution, with an express reservation of your power to amend or revoke.
- Pour-Over Will: A safety net that directs any asset left outside the trust into it at death. A will must be in writing, signed by you, and attested by at least two competent witnesses. Georgia does not recognize oral wills or unwitnessed handwritten wills.
- Guardian Nominations for Minor Children: A trust cannot name a guardian for your children. Your will does that, so it stays part of the plan even when a trust holds most of your property.
- Durable Financial Power of Attorney: Lets a trusted agent handle accounts and property that never made it into the trust. Georgia’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act requires your signature, one competent witness, and a notary who is not the witness, all present together. These powers end at death, which is why the trust carries the long-term load.
- Advance Directive for Health Care: Names your health care agent and records your treatment wishes. It needs two adult witnesses, and neither may be your agent or someone who stands to gain from your death. Notarization is not required.
- Trust Funding: Retitling real estate and accounts into the trust and coordinating beneficiary designations on retirement plans and life insurance so they do not contradict the plan.
- Digital Asset Instructions: Georgia law lets you authorize your trustee or agent to access online accounts, subject to each platform’s terms of service, so email, photos, and financial portals are not left in limbo.
Funding, Amending, and Maintaining the Trust
An unfunded trust is the most common failure we see. If your home deed still shows your own name and your bank accounts were never retitled, those assets may still need probate, and the trust sits empty. Funding means recording a new deed for real estate, changing account ownership, and reviewing each beneficiary form. Our trust funding services are part of the process from the start, not an afterthought.
Life keeps moving after you sign. A marriage, divorce, new grandchild, move, or business sale can make an old trust obsolete. Because Georgia requires modifications to be in writing and signed by you, an amendment is simple to prepare and prevents informal changes from creating confusion. When the time comes, we also help successor trustees understand their duties and administer the trust correctly.
One point of good news for Georgia families: the state levies no estate tax and no inheritance tax. The federal estate tax applies only to very large estates, so for most Gwinnett families the reasons to create a revocable trust are privacy, incapacity planning, and avoiding probate, not tax reduction.
Getting Started: What to Do and Where Probate Fits
Start by taking inventory. List your real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, and business interests, and note who is currently named as beneficiary on each. Gather your existing will, powers of attorney, and any prior trust. Then decide who you trust as successor trustee, as financial agent, as health care agent, and as guardian for any minor children. Those choices matter more than any clause in the document.
Our process has three steps: a free discovery call, an initial consultation to design your plan for $100, and an in-person signing meeting where your finished documents are presented and explained. We want you to understand every page before you sign it.
It also helps to know what you are planning around. The Probate Court of Gwinnett County in Lawrenceville handles the probate of wills, estate administration, and guardianships and conservatorships for minors and incapacitated adults, and it accepts electronic filing through eFile GA. A funded trust, together with a power of attorney and an advance directive, is how many families keep a parent’s incapacity or death from ever reaching those proceedings. If you have already signed a trust and are unsure it was funded, bring your deeds and account statements to a consultation and we will review them with you.
Gwinnett Revocable Living Trust Questions, Answered
Does a revocable living trust avoid probate in Gwinnett County?
Assets titled in the trust at your death pass to your beneficiaries under the trust terms without going through probate court. Assets left in your individual name generally do not. That is why funding the trust is as important as signing it.
Do I still need a will if I have a trust?
Yes. A pour-over will catches anything not transferred into the trust and directs it there. The will is also where you nominate a guardian for minor children, which a trust cannot do.
Can I change or cancel my revocable trust later?
Yes, if the trust reserves that power, which a properly drafted revocable trust does. Georgia requires any amendment or revocation of an express trust to be in writing and signed by you.
Does a revocable trust protect my assets from creditors?
Not during your lifetime. Because you can revoke it, Georgia law allows your creditors to reach the property in a revocable trust, spendthrift clause or not. After death, it can also be reached if your probate estate is too small to pay valid claims. Protection from creditors or long-term care costs requires different planning.
Will a revocable trust reduce my taxes?
Generally not. Georgia has no state estate or inheritance tax, and the federal estate tax exclusion is large enough that most families owe nothing. People choose a revocable trust for privacy, incapacity planning, and probate avoidance.
Do I need a power of attorney if I have a trust?
Yes. A trust only controls what is titled in it. A durable power of attorney lets your agent handle everything else, such as retirement accounts, tax matters, and any asset you forgot to retitle, if you become incapacitated.
What happens to my trust if I become incapacitated?
Your successor trustee takes over under the terms you wrote, pays bills, and manages investments without a court order. This can spare your family a court-supervised conservatorship.
My parents live in Gwinnett and signed a trust years ago. Should we review it?
Yes, especially if the family has changed or the trust was never funded. We recommend a review every three to five years and after any major life event. Many older trusts name trustees who have since died or move, and many were never funded properly.
Can I use an online template instead of hiring a lawyer?
You can, but templates do not check how your deed is titled, how your beneficiary forms interact with the trust, or whether the document meets Georgia’s signing and witnessing rules. Mistakes usually surface only after you cannot fix them, which is when your family is left to sort them out.
Can a revocable trust help with Medicaid planning?
A revocable trust alone does not shield assets for Medicaid eligibility, because you still control them. Georgia Medicaid reviews transfers made during a 60-month look-back period, and a transfer for less than fair market value can create a penalty period. Families concerned about nursing home costs should plan early and consider a Medicaid asset protection trust.
Do you serve clients who prefer Spanish or Vietnamese?
Yes. Our staff speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and virtual consultations are available if you or your family members cannot attend in person.
Serving Revocable Trust Clients Across Gwinnett County and Metro Atlanta
We work with families throughout Gwinnett County, including Lawrenceville, Duluth, Lilburn, Suwanee, Buford, and Peachtree Corners. Along the Buford Highway corridor, we serve the diverse communities of Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven, where multilingual planning is especially valuable.
Our reach extends into neighboring counties as well. In north Fulton, we prepare trust-based plans for families in Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Roswell, and in the Perimeter area we serve Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. We also assist clients in DeKalb County, including Decatur, in Cobb County, including Marietta, in Forsyth County, including Cumming, and in Hall County, including Gainesville, as well as families in Dalton. Wherever you live, you receive the same personal attention from the attorney who prepares your plan.
Speak With a Gwinnett Revocable Trust Attorney
A trust works best when it is drafted around your family, funded correctly, and kept current. If you are weighing whether a revocable trust fits your situation, or you want to confirm that an existing one actually works, a Gwinnett revocable trust attorney at Bowman Law Firm can walk you through the options in plain language. Call our office to schedule a free discovery call and begin planning with attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman.
