Peachtree Corners Estate Planning Lawyer
The goal of any estate plan is simple to say and harder to build: your assets go to the people you chose, a person you trust can act if you cannot, and your family never has to ask a judge for permission to handle things you could have arranged in advance. Bowman Law Firm helps families get there with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, and asset protection and Medicaid planning, serving Peachtree Corners, the rest of Gwinnett County, and communities across the Atlanta area.
A Peachtree Corners estate planning lawyer spends much of the time on questions that never show up in a template. Many families here own a home in one of the area’s established neighborhoods, hold retirement accounts built over a long career, and may have relatives who live overseas or speak another language at home. Each of those facts changes which documents make sense and how they should be signed, titled, and coordinated. A plan that looks complete on paper can still fail if one account was never retitled or one witness was the wrong person.
What an Estate Planning Attorney Actually Does for Peachtree Corners Families
Clients often expect a lawyer to hand over forms. The real work happens before and after the drafting. It starts with a conversation about who depends on you, what you own, who you worry about, and what you would not want to happen. From there the attorney decides which instruments belong in the plan, writes them so they fit together, supervises the signing so every formality is met, and then makes sure the plan is connected to your actual property.
That last step is where plans quietly break. A revocable trust only controls what is titled in it or directed into it. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation no matter what the trust says. A lawyer reviewing the whole picture catches the account that names a former spouse, the home deed that was never changed, and the pour-over will that needs to match the trust. Our trust funding work exists for exactly this reason, and trust amendments keep the plan current after a marriage, divorce, birth, or move.
Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Estate Planning in Peachtree Corners
Bowman Law Firm is an estate planning, trust, and elder law firm serving families in Peachtree Corners, throughout Gwinnett County, and across the greater Atlanta area. Her background includes trying cases for a national consumer law firm, serving as law clerk to a federal judge in Georgia, and handling personal injury defense work for a large Florida law firm. That mix of courtroom and chambers experience matters in estate planning, because she knows how documents hold up when someone challenges them or a bank or hospital questions them.
Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and their goals, not a file number. The firm’s guiding principle is that every client is a person first and a client second. Staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, which lets whole families, including parents and adult children, take part in planning in the language they are most comfortable with. Virtual consultations are available for clients who cannot come in person.
Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, reassuring, thoughtful, and honest, and one longtime colleague says she has worked with Ms. Bowman for over seven years. The process is deliberately straightforward: a free discovery call, an initial consultation to design your plan for $100, and an in-person signing meeting where you receive the finished documents and understand them before you sign.
Documents and Planning Tools That Matter Most in Georgia
- Revocable Living Trust: Lets you keep control while you are alive and well, names a successor trustee to step in if you become incapacitated, and moves property to your beneficiaries without the probate court process that applies to a will. Georgia requires an express trust to be in writing and signed by the settlor, and a settlor can only change or revoke it if that power was expressly reserved.
- Last Will and Testament: Must be in writing, signed by you, and attested by at least two competent witnesses. Oral wills are not valid, and Georgia does not recognize handwritten wills that lack witnesses. A will is also where you name a guardian for minor children.
- Pour-Over Will: A safety net for clients with a trust, directing any asset that was never retitled into the trust to flow into it at death.
- Durable Financial Power of Attorney: Gives an agent authority over accounts, real estate, and other finances. Under Georgia’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act it must be signed by you, witnessed, and acknowledged before a notary who is not the witness, and it is durable unless it says otherwise.
- Advance Directive for Health Care: Names a health care agent and records your treatment wishes. Two adult witnesses are required, neither may be your agent or someone who stands to inherit from you, and notarization is not required.
- Medicaid and Asset Protection Planning: Trusts and related strategies that position savings and the family home ahead of a nursing home stay, built around a five-year look-back period for transfers.
- Specialized Trusts: Testamentary trusts for young children, spendthrift trusts for heirs who struggle with money or creditors, life insurance trusts, charitable trusts, and dynasty trusts for multigenerational planning.
- Digital Asset Directions: Georgia’s fiduciary access law lets you authorize or restrict access to email, cloud storage, and online accounts, and an instruction given through an account’s own online tool can override a conflicting will or trust.
What to Do and Where to Go When You Are Ready to Plan
Start by gathering the facts a lawyer will need: a list of what you own and how each item is titled, the beneficiaries currently named on retirement accounts and life insurance, a copy of your deed, and any existing will or trust. Write down who you would want as guardian, trustee, and agent, and who you would want as backups. People often skip the backups, and a plan that depends on one person who turns out to be unavailable is a fragile plan.
Then schedule the free discovery call. It costs nothing and lets you describe your situation and learn whether a trust, a will-based plan, or something else fits. The $100 initial consultation is where the plan is actually designed, and the signing meeting follows once the documents are ready. Do not sign the documents anywhere else or with casual witnesses; Georgia’s formalities differ by document, and a will, a power of attorney, and an advance directive each have their own witness and notary rules.
If you are in a hurry because a parent’s health is declining, say so at the first call. A power of attorney and advance directive can be put in place quickly while a fuller plan is built, but they must be signed while the person still has capacity. Once capacity is gone, the only route is usually a guardianship or conservatorship petition in the probate court, which is slower, public, and expensive.
When a plan is eventually needed, estates are handled through the probate court of the county where the decedent lived. For Peachtree Corners residents that is generally the Probate Court of Gwinnett County in Lawrenceville, which handles probate of wills, estate administration, and guardianships and conservatorships, and accepts electronic filing. Part of Peachtree Corners’s surroundings falls in Fulton and DeKalb as well, and those counties have their own probate courts, so the county of residence controls which court applies. A funded trust keeps most of that out of court altogether.
The most common mistakes are leaving a trust unfunded, relying on a handwritten note, naming a minor or a disabled beneficiary outright, forgetting that a will does nothing during incapacity, and waiting too long on Medicaid planning because the look-back reaches back five years.
How Georgia Law Shapes the Plan You Build
Georgia has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so for most Peachtree Corners families the planning concern is control, privacy, incapacity, and long-term care costs rather than state tax. Federal estate tax applies only to very large estates, and the exemption is high enough that most families will never reach it, though it is worth reviewing if your assets are substantial.
Creditor protection is where clients most often hold wrong assumptions. In Georgia, 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 valid spendthrift clause protects a beneficiary’s interest from voluntary and involuntary transfer, but it does not stop claims for alimony, child support, taxes and other government claims, tort judgments, or necessaries. If asset protection is the goal, the type of trust and its timing matter far more than the label on it.
For long-term care, Georgia Medicaid reviews transfers made in the five years before an application. A gift for less than fair market value can create a penalty period of ineligibility, which begins only once the applicant is otherwise eligible. The asset and income limits, the community spouse allowance, and the home equity cap are all set and adjusted periodically, so current figures should be confirmed at the time of planning. This is why early planning keeps more options open.
Peachtree Corners Estate Planning Questions Answered
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
A will works for some families, but it does nothing if you become incapacitated and generally passes through probate. A funded revocable trust adds incapacity management and avoids probate for the assets it holds. The right choice depends on what you own, who your beneficiaries are, and how much privacy and speed matter to you.
How many witnesses does a Georgia will need?
At least two competent witnesses must attest and subscribe the will, and you must sign it or direct someone to sign in your presence. Notarization is not required, though a self-proving affidavit can make later admission easier. Nobody may sign a witness’s name for them.
Is a handwritten will valid in Georgia?
No. Georgia does not recognize handwritten wills that were not properly witnessed, and oral wills are not valid. A note in your own writing may express your wishes but will not control who inherits.
Can I change or cancel my trust later?
Only if the trust reserved that power. Under Georgia law a settlor cannot modify or revoke without an express reservation, and any change must be in writing and signed by the settlor. A well-drafted revocable trust reserves the power, which is why amendments are routine as life changes.
What is the difference between a durable power of attorney and an advance directive?
The power of attorney covers money and property; the advance directive covers health care decisions and names a health care agent. They have different signing rules, and most people need both. Neither survives your death, since a power of attorney ends at death and a will or trust takes over.
Who can witness my advance directive?
Two adults of sound mind who watch you sign. Neither can be your health care agent, someone who will inherit from you or benefit financially from your death, or anyone directly involved in your care, and no more than one may be an employee or medical staff member of the facility treating you. Notarization is not required.
Is a power of attorney signed in another state valid in Georgia?
Generally yes, if it was signed in compliance with the law of the place where it was executed. An advance directive valid where it was signed is also treated as complying in Georgia. Banks and hospitals can still be slower to accept an out-of-state document, so many people update when they move.
Can my executor access my email and online accounts?
Georgia’s digital asset law gives you control. You can authorize or restrict access in a will, trust, or power of attorney, and an instruction given through an online tool offered by the account provider overrides a conflicting document. A fiduciary remains subject to the provider’s terms of service and cannot impersonate you.
Will my kids owe Georgia tax on what I leave them?
Georgia levies neither an estate tax nor an inheritance tax. Other consequences may still apply, such as income tax on inherited retirement accounts, which is one reason beneficiary designations deserve review alongside the trust.
How soon should I plan for nursing home costs?
As early as possible. Georgia Medicaid looks back sixty months at transfers, and a transfer for less than fair market value can lead to a penalty period calculated by dividing the amount by a divisor the state updates each year. Planning after a crisis leaves far fewer tools than planning years ahead.
Do I need new documents if my old plan was drafted in another state?
Often it still works, but it should be reviewed. Georgia-specific forms and execution rules are more readily accepted by local banks and hospitals, and powers and trustee provisions may refer to laws that no longer fit your situation. A review is usually quicker and cheaper than finding a problem later.
Can my family be involved in the planning meeting?
Yes, and in a multilingual household that often helps. Our staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, so parents and adult children can discuss the plan together. Because the attorney has to be sure the plan reflects your own wishes, some portions of the conversation may be held with you alone.
Serving Peachtree Corners Estate Planning Clients and Nearby Communities
Bowman Law Firm works with families in Peachtree Corners and across Gwinnett County, including Norcross, Duluth, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford. Along the Buford Highway corridor the firm serves Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven, and into north Fulton County it helps families in Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Roswell, and Sandy Springs. In DeKalb County that reach includes Dunwoody and Decatur, and in Cobb County it includes Marietta. Families in Forsyth County and Cumming, and in Hall County and Gainesville, are served as well, along with clients in Dalton and throughout the greater Atlanta area. Since estates are handled by the probate court of the county where a person lives, we plan with the right county in mind.
Talk With a Peachtree Corners Estate Planning Attorney About Your Plan
If you want a plan that fits your family instead of a stock form, speak with a Peachtree Corners estate planning attorney at Bowman Law Firm. Call the office to schedule your free discovery call, and we will take it from there, in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese, in person or by video.
The best time to plan is before anyone needs the plan. Contact Bowman Law Firm today to set up a consultation with attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman.
