Kennesaw Wills Lawyer

A will in Georgia is easier to get wrong than most people expect, and the mistakes rarely show up until the family needs the document to work. An unwitnessed handwritten page, a witness who also inherits, a will that never mentions the trust sitting next to it: each can unravel a plan that looked finished. Bowman Law Firm drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives for families in Kennesaw and across Cobb County, and the firm’s work starts with a plain question: what do you want to happen, and who needs to be able to act?

If you are looking for a Kennesaw wills lawyer, you are probably weighing a few real decisions. Who raises your children if something happens to you? Who gets the house? Who manages everything while the estate is settled? A will answers those questions in writing, but only if it is signed and witnessed the way Georgia requires. The sections below cover what a valid Georgia will looks like, where wills fall short, and how to get one done properly.

What Georgia Requires Before a Will Counts

Georgia’s rules for a valid will are specific and not negotiable. The will must be in writing and signed by you, or signed by someone else in your presence and at your express direction. You may sign with a mark or with any name you intend to serve as your signature. Two or more competent witnesses must then attest and subscribe the document. Another person cannot sign a witness’s name for them, even if the witness is standing right there and asks.

Several things people assume are enough are not. Oral wills are not valid in Georgia. Georgia also does not recognize holographic wills, meaning a handwritten document with no witnesses. A heartfelt letter in your own handwriting leaving the lake property to your daughter may express your wishes, but it will not control who inherits.

Some points are more forgiving than people fear. Notarization is not required for a will. Many families add a self-proving affidavit anyway, because it can make the will easier to admit in probate later. You must be at least 14 to make a will, and witnesses must be at least 14 as well. Changes to an existing will, called codicils, must be signed and witnessed with the same formality as the original.

Why Bowman Law Firm Is a Sound Choice for Kennesaw Will Drafting

Bowman Law Firm is an estate planning, trust, and elder law firm serving Kennesaw, Cobb County, and families throughout the greater Atlanta area, including Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell, and Gwinnett County. Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and their goals, and the firm’s guiding idea is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number.

Attorney Bowman’s background is broader than estate planning alone. 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 matters for will drafting, because the person writing your will should understand how documents get challenged and what a judge looks for when one does.

Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, reassuring, honest, and thoughtful, and one longtime colleague says he has worked with Attorney Bowman for over seven years on hundreds of cases. The staff speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, so a family can talk through a will in the language they are most comfortable with. Virtual consultations are available for clients who cannot come in.

The process is simple. You start with a free discovery call, then hold an initial consultation to design your plan, which costs $100. After the documents are prepared, you come to an in-person signing meeting where the plan is presented and signed correctly.

What a Kennesaw Will Can and Cannot Do

• Naming Guardians for Minor Children: A will is where a parent names who would raise a child if both parents die. A trust cannot do this, which is why even families with extensive trust planning still need a will.
• Directing Who Inherits: Without a will, Georgia’s intestacy rules divide your estate among your spouse, children, and other relatives by a fixed formula. A will lets you depart from that formula, including leaving gifts to friends, stepchildren, or charities.
• Choosing Your Executor: The executor you name collects assets, pays debts, and distributes what remains. Without a will, the court chooses someone, and it may not be the person you would have picked.
• Pour-Over Wills for Trust Plans: If you have a revocable living trust, a pour-over will sends any assets you forgot to retitle into the trust at death. It is a safety net, not a replacement for funding the trust.
• Codicils and Updates: A codicil changes part of a will but must be witnessed like the original. For anything beyond a small change, replacing the will is often cleaner and less likely to create conflicts.
• Digital Assets: Georgia’s fiduciary access law lets you state in your will whether your executor may access online accounts and digital property. A direction you give through an online account tool can override a contrary direction in your will, so the two should be coordinated.
• What a Will Does Not Control: Retirement accounts and life insurance pass to the named beneficiary, and jointly titled property passes to the surviving owner, regardless of what the will says. A will also does nothing if you become incapacitated while alive.

Getting a Will Done: What to Do and Where It Goes

Start by gathering the facts a will depends on: who your family members are, what you own, how each asset is titled, and which accounts already have beneficiaries. Retirement plans and insurance policies are where most mismatches hide. A will that leaves everything equally to three children means little if a 401(k) names only one of them.

Decide who should serve as executor and who would be guardian for any minor children, and pick backups for both. Then decide whether a will alone is enough. For many Kennesaw homeowners it is not. A will must go through probate, and in Cobb County that means the Probate Court of Cobb County in Marietta, where the will is filed and admitted after your death. Probate is a public process, and it takes time. If privacy and speed matter to you, a funded revocable trust paired with a pour-over will often fits better, and we can walk through that choice with you.

Signing is where plans go wrong. Use two competent adult witnesses who are not beneficiaries, sign in front of them, and have them sign in your presence. A witness who stands to inherit invites a challenge. Do not sign a draft, a template printed from the internet, or a document you do not fully understand. Afterward, store the original somewhere your executor can find it, and tell them where it is.

Plan to revisit the will after a marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, or major change in your finances. A will that names an ex-spouse as executor or leaves out a new grandchild is not wrong on paper, but it no longer reflects what you want.

Wills Compared With Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Advance Directives

A will is one document in a plan, and it only works after death. Incapacity during life calls for different tools. A durable financial power of attorney in Georgia must be signed by you, witnessed by a competent witness, and acknowledged before a notary who is not the witness, with everyone present together. Powers of attorney generally stay effective if you become incapacitated, unless the document says otherwise, and they end at death. They do not replace a will.

A Georgia advance directive for health care covers medical decisions. It requires two adult witnesses of sound mind, and neither may be your named agent or someone who would inherit from you. Notarization is not required. Your health care agent cannot be a physician or provider directly involved in your care.

Georgia does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax, so most Kennesaw families are planning around control, privacy, and family protection rather than state tax bills. The federal estate tax applies only to very large estates. For nursing home costs, Georgia Medicaid looks back 60 months at transfers made for less than fair market value, which is why long-term care planning should begin well before a crisis. We handle that planning alongside wills as part of a complete estate plan.

Kennesaw Will Questions, Answered

Is a handwritten will valid in Georgia?

Not unless it is signed and witnessed the way any other will must be. Georgia does not recognize holographic wills, so a handwritten document with no witnesses will not control who inherits.

Does my will have to be notarized?

No. Georgia does not require notarization for a will. A self-proving affidavit is allowed and can make the will easier to admit in probate, so many attorneys include one.

Who can witness my will?

You need at least two competent witnesses, each at least 14 years old. In practice, choose adults who are not beneficiaries, so no one can argue they had a financial reason to say the will was valid.

What happens if I die without a will in Georgia?

Georgia’s intestacy laws decide who inherits, dividing your property among your spouse, children, and other relatives by a fixed formula. You lose the chance to choose your executor or name a guardian for minor children.

If I have a living trust, do I still need a will?

Yes. A pour-over will catches anything left outside the trust and sends it in. A will is also the only document that names a guardian for minor children.

Can I change my will without rewriting the whole thing?

You can use a codicil, but it must be signed and witnessed with the same formality as the will. For significant changes, a new will is usually clearer and less likely to be misread later.

Does a will avoid probate?

No. A will is the document the probate court reviews and admits. Assets in a funded trust or with a named beneficiary typically pass outside that process, which is one reason many families pair a will with a trust.

My spouse and I own everything jointly. Do we still need wills?

Usually yes. Joint ownership covers the first death, but it leaves gaps if both spouses die together, if one spouse has children from another relationship, or if you want to name a guardian for minor children. Wills close those gaps.

What happens to my email and online accounts when I die?

Georgia law lets you say in your will whether your executor may access digital accounts, though a direction set in an account’s own online tool can override your will. Terms of service and copyright law still limit what a fiduciary can do, and a fiduciary cannot impersonate you.

Can I write my will in Spanish or Vietnamese?

You can discuss your plan in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese with our staff. Because a will must be clear and enforceable in a Georgia court, we explain the terms in the language you prefer and make sure the final document works for the court that will read it.

Can I use a will drafted in another state after moving to Georgia?

Often it can still be recognized, but a will drafted elsewhere may not match your Georgia property, your family situation, or the way you want your executor to act. A move is a good reason to have the whole plan reviewed.

How much does it cost to get started?

The firm offers a free discovery call, and the initial consultation to design your estate plan is $100. From there, the plan is built around your family rather than a template.

Serving Wills Clients Across Kennesaw and the Metro Area

Bowman Law Firm works with Kennesaw families and with neighbors throughout Cobb County, including Marietta, where the Cobb County Probate Court sits. We also serve clients across Gwinnett County in Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford, and along the Buford Highway corridor in Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven.

In north Fulton we serve Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Roswell, and in the Perimeter area Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. Families in Decatur, in DeKalb County, in Cumming, in Forsyth County, and in Gainesville, in Hall County, also work with the firm, as do clients in Dalton. Virtual consultations make it easy to plan from anywhere in the region.

Talk With a Kennesaw Wills Attorney

A will works only if it is drafted for your family and signed the way Georgia requires. Bowman Law Firm can walk you through the choices, explain them in plain language, and prepare a will that fits the rest of your plan. If you are looking for a Kennesaw wills attorney, call to schedule a free discovery call or an initial consultation with Shireen Hormozdi Bowman, and start getting your wishes down in a document your family can rely on.