Kennesaw Estate Planning Lawyer
The biggest surprise for most Georgia families is how little a will actually does on its own. It takes effect only at death, it has to go through probate court, and it says nothing about who handles your money or medical decisions if you are alive but unable to act. Bowman Law Firm is a Kennesaw estate planning lawyer that prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, and asset protection plans for families in Kennesaw and across Cobb County and metro Atlanta.
Kennesaw is a mix of long-settled households near the historic downtown, newer subdivisions toward Barrett Parkway and Town Center, and a large population of families with ties to Kennesaw State University, nearby Dobbins Air Reserve Base, and the corporate employers along I-75. That mix means a wide range of planning needs: young parents choosing a guardian, homeowners who want to keep the house out of probate, adult children caring for aging parents, and retirees worried about the cost of long-term care. Each of those situations calls for a different set of documents, and the right answer depends on what you own and who depends on you.
Cobb County residents who die with a will generally see it filed in the Probate Court of Cobb County, which sits in Marietta. Assets held in a properly funded trust or passing by beneficiary designation usually skip that process. Deciding which assets should travel which route is one of the first things a good plan sorts out.
Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Estate Planning Near Kennesaw
Bowman Law Firm is an estate planning, trust, and elder law firm serving Kennesaw, Cobb County, and the wider Atlanta area, along with Gwinnett, Fulton, DeKalb, Forsyth, and Hall counties. Before focusing on planning for families, she 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 means she has seen how disputes actually unfold in court, and it shapes how she drafts documents meant to hold up when a family needs them.
Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and their goals. The firm’s guiding idea is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number. Reviews on the firm’s site describe an attorney who is honest, hardworking, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and reassuring, and one client mentions working with her for over seven years. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, so a family can plan in the language they are most comfortable with, and virtual consultations are available for people who would rather not drive.
The process is simple. You begin with a free discovery call, move to an initial consultation where the estate plan is designed (the fee for that consultation is $100), and finish with an in-person signing meeting where your plan is presented and you review every document before you sign.
Documents a Kennesaw Estate Plan May Include
- Revocable Living Trust: Lets you keep control of your assets while you are alive, names a successor trustee to take over if you cannot manage things, and passes property to your beneficiaries without going through probate court. It only works if the trust is funded, meaning real estate and accounts are actually retitled into it.
- Last Will and Testament: Names a guardian for minor children, something a trust cannot do, and directs where property goes. Georgia requires it to be in writing, signed by you, and attested by at least two competent witnesses.
- Pour-Over Will: Acts as a safety net for a trust-based plan by sending any asset you forgot to retitle into the trust at death.
- Durable Financial Power of Attorney: Gives someone you trust authority over bank accounts, investments, and real estate if you are incapacitated. Under Georgia’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act it is durable unless the document says otherwise.
- Advance Directive for Health Care: Names a health care agent and records your wishes about life-sustaining treatment. Georgia requires two adult witnesses, and notarization is not required.
- Medicaid and Asset Protection Planning: Includes tools such as a Medicaid asset protection trust, designed to preserve savings and the family home while planning for long-term care eligibility.
- Specialized Trusts: Charitable trusts, life insurance trusts, testamentary trusts for young children, dynasty trusts, and spendthrift trusts for a beneficiary who struggles with money or creditors.
- Trust Funding, Amendments, and Administration: Retitling assets into a trust, updating a plan after a life change, and guiding a successor trustee through their duties after a death.
What a Kennesaw Family Should Do Right Now
If you have nothing in place, start by writing down what you own and who relies on you: the house, retirement accounts, life insurance, any business interest, and the people you would want making decisions if you could not. Then gather the paperwork, including deeds, account statements, and the beneficiary forms on your retirement plans and insurance. Beneficiary designations often override what a will says, so mismatches between the two are one of the most common ways a plan goes wrong.
Call for the free discovery call and bring those questions. In the initial consultation, attorney Bowman listens first and designs the plan afterward. If you already have documents, bring them. Many older plans are fine in structure but were never funded, or name an agent who has since died or moved away. Fixing that is often faster than starting over.
One mistake worth avoiding is signing documents from an online template without checking Georgia’s execution rules. A power of attorney in Georgia must be signed by you and witnessed, and the signing must also be attested before a notary who is not the witness, all in the presence of the required parties. A health care directive needs two qualifying witnesses, and neither can be your named agent or someone who stands to inherit from you. Documents that miss these formalities can be rejected by banks and hospitals at exactly the wrong moment.
Consider timing as well. If a parent may need nursing home care in the coming years, Georgia Medicaid looks back 60 months at transfers made for less than fair market value, and a transfer inside that window can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. Planning early gives more options than planning after a diagnosis. And if someone in your family has already lost capacity without a power of attorney, the route is usually a guardianship or conservatorship through the probate court, which is slower and more expensive than a document signed in advance.
How Georgia Law Treats Wills, Trusts, and Creditors
Georgia is strict about how a will is made. It must be in writing and signed by the person making it, or by someone else in their presence at their express direction. Oral wills are not valid, and Georgia does not recognize a handwritten will that lacks witnesses. Anyone 14 or older may make a will, and witnesses must also be at least 14. Notarization is not required, though a self-proving affidavit is allowed and makes the will easier to admit to probate later.
Trusts are governed by the Georgia Revised Trust Code. An express trust must be in writing and signed by the settlor, and a settlor can change or revoke it only if the trust reserves that power. Any revocation or modification has to be in writing and signed by the settlor. One point surprises many clients: a revocable trust does not shield assets from your own creditors during your life, and after death the trust can still be reached to the extent the probate estate cannot cover claims. A spendthrift clause protects a beneficiary’s share from their creditors, but it has exceptions, including claims for alimony or child support, taxes and other government claims, and tort judgments.
On the tax side, Georgia has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. The federal estate tax applies only to estates above a very high exclusion amount, so for most Cobb County families the practical reasons to plan are control, privacy, avoiding probate, and protecting a spouse or a vulnerable heir, not saving on estate taxes.
Digital Accounts and the Details People Forget
Georgia has adopted a law governing access to digital assets after death or incapacity. If an online platform offers a tool for naming someone to access your account, your choice there generally controls over what a will says. Otherwise, your will, trust, or power of attorney can say whether a fiduciary may see your digital records. A fiduciary’s access remains subject to the platform’s terms of service and copyright law, and a custodian has 60 days to respond to a proper request. Putting a line about digital assets in your documents saves your family from guessing.
Kennesaw Estate Planning Questions
Do I need an estate plan if my estate is modest?
Yes. Anyone who owns a home, has a retirement account, or has children benefits from naming guardians, choosing decision-makers, and deciding who inherits. Without a plan, Georgia law and the probate court make those choices.
Do I still need a will if I have a trust?
Yes. A pour-over will catches assets that never made it into the trust, and a will is where you name a guardian for minor children.
Can a trust keep my family out of probate court?
In most cases, yes, for assets properly titled in the trust. The key is funding, which is why the firm helps you retitle property and coordinate beneficiary designations instead of just handing you a signed document.
What happens if I die without a will in Georgia?
Georgia’s intestacy laws divide your estate among your spouse, children, and other relatives by a fixed formula. You lose the ability to choose who manages the estate or who raises your minor children.
Is a handwritten will valid in Georgia?
No. Georgia does not recognize a handwritten will that lacks the required witnesses, and oral wills are not valid at all.
Does a will have to be notarized in Georgia?
No. A will needs two competent witnesses, not a notary. A self-proving affidavit, which is notarized, is optional but useful because it can simplify admitting the will to probate.
What is the difference between a living will and a last will?
A last will directs who receives your property after death. A living will, handled in Georgia through an advance directive, addresses your medical care while you are alive. Most people need both.
Can I use a power of attorney signed in another state?
Georgia generally honors a power of attorney that was validly executed under the law of the place where it was signed. Even so, a Georgia-compliant document is usually accepted more readily by local banks, so many people who move to Kennesaw sign new ones.
Who should not serve as a witness to my health care directive?
Your named health care agent, anyone who knowingly stands to inherit from you or benefit financially from your death, and anyone directly involved in your health care cannot witness it. No more than one witness may be an employee or agent of the facility treating you.
Will my power of attorney still work after I die?
No. A power of attorney ends at death. After that, your will or trust governs, and the person named as executor or successor trustee takes over.
How long can Medicaid look back at my gifts before a nursing home application?
Georgia Medicaid reviews transfers made during the 60 months before an application. A transfer for less than fair market value in that window can cause a period of ineligibility, which is why early planning matters.
Can I meet with the firm in Spanish or Vietnamese, or without driving to an office?
Yes. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and virtual consultations are available, which many Cobb County families find convenient.
Serving Kennesaw and Cobb County Estate Planning Clients
Bowman Law Firm works with families in Kennesaw and throughout Cobb County, including Marietta, the county seat where the probate court sits. We also serve neighbors across metro Atlanta, from Roswell, Alpharetta, and Johns Creek in north Fulton to Sandy Springs and Dunwoody around the Perimeter. East of Kennesaw, we help families in Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford in Gwinnett County, and along the Buford Highway corridor in Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven. Families in Decatur, Cumming in Forsyth County, and Gainesville and Dalton to the north receive the same attention. Virtual consultations make it easy to plan from wherever you live.
Talk With a Kennesaw Estate Planning Attorney
The best time to plan is before a crisis forces the decisions. If you are starting from scratch, updating an old will, or wondering whether your trust was ever funded, a Kennesaw estate planning attorney at Bowman Law Firm can walk you through your options in plain language. Call to schedule your free discovery call, and take the first conversation at your own pace with attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman.
