Norcross Living Trust Lawyer for Non-Citizens
A living trust does not ask where you were born. Georgia’s trust and probate rules apply to green card holders, visa holders, and naturalized citizens alike, and a non-citizen can generally create a revocable trust under the same state law as anyone else. What changes is everything around the trust: where your assets sit, where your family lives, and how federal tax rules treat you. That is why a Norcross living trust lawyer for non-citizens needs to look past the trust document itself. Bowman Law Firm handles trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advance directives, and Medicaid and asset protection planning for families in Norcross, throughout Gwinnett County, and across the greater Atlanta area, with staff who speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Many of the families who ask us about this have a mix of statuses under one roof: a parent with a green card, adult children who are citizens, perhaps a spouse who has not yet naturalized. They also tend to own things in more than one place, such as a home in Gwinnett, a bank account abroad, or a relative’s property overseas. A trust can organize all of that, but only if it is designed around those facts rather than copied from a form built for a household with one passport and one state.
What a Georgia Living Trust Does the Same for Everyone, and Where Status Matters
The basics do not depend on citizenship. A revocable living trust in Georgia must be in writing and signed by the person creating it, and the Georgia Revised Trust Code treats a trust as non-revocable unless the document expressly reserves the power to change or cancel it. Once you reserve that power, you can amend or revoke the trust in a signed writing, and a power to revoke is treated as including a power to modify. You stay in control while you are alive. Assets properly titled in the trust can move to your beneficiaries without the court process a will would require, and a successor trustee you chose can step in if you become incapacitated.
Where status enters the picture is mostly on the federal side. Whether you are treated as a resident or non-resident alien for estate and gift tax purposes depends on your domicile, which is a question of where you actually live and intend to remain, not simply what your visa or card says. A non-domiciled non-citizen can face a far smaller federal estate tax exemption on U.S. assets than a citizen or domiciliary does, and the marital deduction works differently when a surviving spouse is not a citizen. Georgia itself levies no estate tax and no inheritance tax, so the real tax questions for a non-citizen client are federal and cross-border, and they should be raised with the attorney before the trust is drafted, not after.
Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Trust Planning Across Citizenship Lines
Bowman Law Firm is a Norcross estate planning, trust, and elder law firm serving families in Gwinnett, Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, and Hall counties and throughout the Atlanta area. Before focusing on families, she tried cases for a national consumer law firm, served as Law Clerk to a Federal Judge in Georgia, and handled personal injury defense work for a large Florida law firm. That background matters when a trust has to hold up under scrutiny from banks, courts, and opposing parties.
The firm’s working principle is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number. In practice, you work directly with an attorney who knows your family and your goals, and the plan is built from a conversation about who depends on you, what you own, and where, before any document is drafted. Our staff speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, so parents and adult children can sit at the same table and discuss the plan in the language each of them is most comfortable with. Clients describe Ms. Bowman as knowledgeable, reassuring, and thoughtful, and one longtime client wrote that he has worked with her for over seven years. The process is simple: a free discovery call, an initial consultation to design your plan for $100, and an in-person signing meeting where the finished plan is presented to you. Virtual consultations are also available for families who cannot easily come in.
Planning Issues That Come Up Most for Non-Citizen Trust Clients
- Revocable Living Trust for a Green Card Holder: A lawful permanent resident can create and fund a Georgia revocable trust the same way a citizen can, naming a successor trustee to manage the home and accounts if illness strikes and a beneficiary group to receive them afterward.
- Mixed-Status Families: When a spouse is not a citizen, federal estate tax treatment of transfers between spouses can differ from the citizen-spouse rules, so the trust may need to be structured with that in mind instead of assuming everything passes tax-free to the survivor.
- Domicile and the Federal Estate Tax Exemption: Someone treated as domiciled in the United States generally has access to the large federal exclusion, while someone who is not may have a much smaller one on U.S. assets. Which category you fall into depends on facts about your life, not just your immigration paperwork.
- Foreign Property and Overseas Accounts: A Georgia trust does not automatically control land or accounts in another country. Those assets often need separate local documents, and the trust should be drafted so it does not conflict with them.
- Beneficiaries Living Abroad: Children or siblings who live outside the United States can inherit through a trust, but the trustee may face practical hurdles in sending funds, reporting, and communicating, so the document should give the trustee clear authority and flexibility.
- Choosing a Trustee and Agent You Can Rely On: A trustee, financial agent, and health care agent must be people who can actually act in Georgia. Naming someone who lives overseas can slow everything down, so a local backup is often wise.
- Pour-Over Will and Guardian Nomination: Even with a trust, you need a will to catch assets left outside it and to name a guardian for minor children, something a trust cannot do. A Georgia will must be signed by you and by two competent witnesses.
- Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning: A Medicaid asset protection trust can help preserve savings and the family home, but Georgia reviews transfers made during a 60-month look-back period, so the timing of any transfer matters a great deal.
What to Do If You Are a Non-Citizen Thinking About a Trust
Start by gathering a clear picture of what you own and where. List your home and any other real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement plans, life insurance policies, business interests, and anything held outside the United States. Write down who your family members are, where each of them lives, and what each one’s immigration or citizenship status is. Do not worry about getting the tax or legal labels right. The attorney will sort that out with you, but the raw facts have to come from you.
Next, think about who you would trust in three roles: a successor trustee, a person to handle your finances under a power of attorney, and a person to make health care decisions if you cannot. Georgia’s financial power of attorney is generally durable unless it says otherwise, and it must be signed by you, witnessed, and acknowledged before a notary who is not the witness. An advance directive for health care needs two adult witnesses and no notary, and neither witness may be your chosen agent or someone who stands to inherit from you. A person directly involved in your medical care also cannot serve as your agent. These are the documents your family will lean on first, long before any trust distribution happens.
Then call to schedule a discovery call. Bring your questions about domicile, foreign assets, and family members abroad, and be candid about your status. Attorney-client communications are confidential, and a trust plan built on incomplete information is the kind most likely to fail. After you sign, the work is not finished. A trust only does its job if assets are retitled into it and beneficiary designations are coordinated, which is the step most often skipped. If you ever need a court, the relevant probate court is the one in the county where you live; for Norcross residents, that is the Probate Court of Gwinnett County in Lawrenceville, which handles probate of wills, estates, and guardianships and conservatorships for minors and incapacitated adults. A well-funded trust is designed to keep your family out of that courtroom as much as the law allows.
Common Mistakes With Trusts for Non-Citizens
The most frequent error is assuming that a trust created for a citizen can simply be reused. The documents may look similar, but the planning around them is not. Another is leaving the trust unfunded: a signed trust that holds no assets controls nothing, and the family ends up in probate anyway. A third is overlooking creditors. In Georgia, the property of a revocable trust remains reachable by the creator’s creditors during life, and after death it can be reached if the probate estate cannot cover the debts, so a revocable trust is a tool for control and privacy rather than a shield by itself.
Digital assets are another quiet trouble spot, especially for families whose relatives are overseas. Georgia lets you give your fiduciary written permission to access online accounts, and if you use an online tool offered by a provider, that tool’s direction can override what your will says. Add the instructions to your plan so a trustee is not locked out of email, photos, and financial portals. Finally, review everything after a status change, such as naturalization, a marriage, a move, or a new grandchild. Each of those can shift the tax and planning picture, and a trust amendment can bring the plan current without starting over.
Questions Non-Citizens Ask About Living Trusts in Georgia
Can a non-citizen create a living trust in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia’s trust law does not require citizenship to create a revocable trust. The person creating it must sign a written trust document, and if you want the power to change or cancel it later, the document has to say so expressly.
Does a living trust protect me from the federal estate tax if I am not a citizen?
Not on its own. A revocable trust is generally treated as part of your estate for tax purposes. Whether your estate is large enough to owe federal estate tax depends largely on whether you are considered domiciled in the United States, and non-domiciled individuals may have a much smaller exemption on U.S. assets. Georgia has no state estate or inheritance tax.
Do I still need a will if I have a trust?
Yes. A pour-over will sends any assets you forgot to place in the trust into it, and a will is where you name a guardian for minor children. A Georgia will must be in writing, signed by you, and attested by two competent witnesses. Notarization is not required, though a self-proving affidavit can simplify things later.
What happens if I own property in another country?
A Georgia trust does not automatically govern foreign real estate or accounts. Those assets are often controlled by the other country’s law, so you may need a separate local document alongside your Georgia plan. The goal is to make sure the two do not contradict each other.
Can my children who live overseas inherit through my trust?
They can. The trustee will need clear authority to send distributions abroad and to handle communication and reporting. Many families name a local successor trustee in Georgia to avoid delays and then leave the overseas children as beneficiaries.
Will a trust help my family avoid probate court in Gwinnett County?
In most cases, yes, for assets actually titled in the trust. Property that never makes it into the trust generally goes through probate. That is why funding the trust, including retitling real estate and coordinating retirement and insurance beneficiary designations, is part of the work we do with you.
Can I use a power of attorney I signed in another country?
Georgia will generally honor a power of attorney signed elsewhere if it was properly executed under the law of the place where it was signed. Banks and title companies can still be cautious about foreign documents, so many families sign a Georgia power of attorney as well so there is no argument at the bank counter.
Is a spendthrift clause worth including for a beneficiary who struggles with money?
It can be. A valid Georgia spendthrift provision has to restrict both voluntary and involuntary transfers of the beneficiary’s interest. It does not defeat every claim, though; child support, alimony, taxes and other government claims, tort judgments, and certain other obligations can still reach the funds.
How early should I plan for nursing home costs if I own a home here?
As early as possible. Georgia Medicaid reviews transfers made within the 60 months before an application, and giving assets away for less than fair value can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. Planning years in advance leaves more options than waiting until a crisis.
Does my immigration status affect my right to a financial or health care agent?
No. Your status does not limit who you can appoint. The practical concern is choosing someone who can act promptly in Georgia, and for a health care agent, someone who is not one of your witnesses and not directly involved in your care.
Can I update my trust later if I become a citizen or move?
Yes, as long as the trust is revocable and you reserved the power to amend it. Any change must be in writing and signed by you. Naturalizing, marrying, moving, or having a new grandchild are all good reasons to review the plan, and we recommend a review every three to five years in any event.
Serving Non-Citizen Families From Norcross to the Rest of Metro Atlanta
Bowman Law Firm begins with the families of Norcross and Gwinnett County and works outward from there. We serve neighbors in Peachtree Corners, Duluth, and Lilburn, along with Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford across Gwinnett. Along the Buford Highway corridor, we work with the diverse communities of Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven, where families often have ties to several countries at once. In north Fulton, we build trust-based plans for clients in Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Roswell, and in the Perimeter area we serve Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. We also work with families in Marietta, Decatur, Cumming, Gainesville, and Dalton. Clients come to us from Gwinnett, Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, and Hall counties, and virtual consultations make it easy for families whose members are spread across several time zones to take part.
Talk With a Norcross Living Trust Attorney About Your Family’s Plan
If you are a non-citizen, or your family includes people with different statuses, the right time to build a trust is while everyone is healthy and the questions are still theoretical. A Norcross living trust attorney at Bowman Law Firm will listen to your situation, explain the Georgia and federal rules in plain language, and design a plan you fully understand before you sign. Call our office to schedule a free discovery call, or set up a consultation with attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman, in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese.
