Peachtree Corners Wills Lawyer

A will that holds up when your family needs it, names the right people, and says exactly who gets what is the result most people want from a trip to a lawyer’s office. Bowman Law Firm helps Peachtree Corners residents and families across Gwinnett County and metro Atlanta get there, drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives that fit the way each family actually lives.

Finding a Peachtree Corners wills lawyer matters because Georgia is strict about how a will gets made. A document that misses one formality can be thrown out, and then the state’s default rules decide who inherits. In a community where many households own a home, hold retirement accounts, and have children or aging parents depending on them, that outcome can land hard.

The firm serves English, Spanish, and Vietnamese speakers, which matters in a part of Gwinnett where families often plan across languages and generations. A first conversation costs nothing through the Free Discovery Call, and the work moves from there at a pace you can follow.

What Georgia Requires Before a Will Counts

Georgia does not bend on execution rules. A will must be in writing. The person making it, called the testator, has to sign it, or have someone else sign in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s express direction. A mark or any name meant to authenticate the document works as a signature. Two or more competent witnesses must attest and subscribe to it, and nobody else may sign a witness’s name for them, even if the witness asks.

Just as important is what Georgia refuses to honor. Oral wills are not valid. Georgia also does not recognize holographic wills, meaning handwritten documents with no witnesses. A heartfelt letter in your own handwriting, left in a drawer, will not control who inherits your home.

Notarization is not required for a will, but Georgia allows a self-proving affidavit, which can make it easier to get the will accepted by the court later without tracking down witnesses. A testator must be at least 14 to make a will, and witnesses must also be at least 14. Changes to an existing will, called codicils, need the same signing and witnessing formality as the original. Scribbling a correction in the margin of a signed will is a common way to create a dispute rather than fix a problem.

Why Choose Bowman Law Firm for Your Will

The firm serves Peachtree Corners, Norcross, Duluth, Lilburn, and the rest of Gwinnett County, along with Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, and Hall counties. Clients work directly with an attorney who knows their family and their goals, not a file passed between staff.

Attorney Bowman’s background is unusually broad for an estate planner. 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 shapes how she drafts: she knows how documents get challenged, which phrases cause disputes, and what a judge wants to see when a will is offered for probate.

Clients describe the firm as honest, hardworking, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and reassuring, and one reviewer who has worked with Attorney Bowman for over seven years recommends the firm without reservation. The firm’s guiding principle is that every client is a person first, a client second, and never a file number. For wills, that means a plan built from a real conversation about who depends on you and what you own, not a form with your name typed in.

What a Peachtree Corners Will Can Accomplish

• Guardian for Minor Children: A will is where parents name who raises their children if both parents die. A trust cannot make that appointment, and without a will the decision is left to a court.
• Naming Your Executor: You choose the person who gathers assets, pays debts, and distributes property. Leave it blank and the court picks someone under default rules.
• Specific Gifts to Specific People: Jewelry, a family home, a vehicle, or a business interest can go to the person you intend, rather than being split by a statutory formula.
• Pour-Over Wills for Trust Plans: If you have a living trust, a pour-over will catches any asset you forgot to retitle and sends it into the trust.
• Blended and Second-Marriage Families: Without a will, Georgia’s intestacy rules divide an estate by a fixed formula that may shortchange stepchildren or leave a surviving spouse with less than you intended.
• Digital Assets: Georgia’s digital assets statute lets you state in a will whether your executor may access online accounts, though an account-holder’s direction through a platform’s own online tool can override it.
• Codicils and Updates: After a marriage, divorce, birth, or move, a properly executed codicil or a fresh will keeps the document current.

What to Do If You Need a Will, or Someone Has Died Without One

If you are drafting a will, start by listing what you own, who depends on you, and who you trust to act. Include real estate, bank and retirement accounts, life insurance, vehicles, and any business interest. Think hard about the executor and the guardian; those two choices do more to determine how your plan works than any clause. Then check beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance, because those forms pass property regardless of what your will says.

Bring that information to a consultation. The firm’s process has three steps: a call, email, or Free Discovery Call to talk through your situation; an initial consultation, which costs $100, where the plan is designed; and an in-person signing meeting where you review the finished documents before you sign. Signing is done with the two witnesses Georgia requires, so the will is executed correctly the first time.

If a family member has died, locate the original will before anything else. A photocopy can create problems. Peachtree Corners sits in Gwinnett County, so wills for Gwinnett residents are generally offered for probate in the Probate Court of Gwinnett County in Lawrenceville, which handles probate of wills, estate administration, and guardianships. The court accepts electronic filing through eFile GA. If the person died owning property tied to another county, such as a Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Forsyth, or Hall County address, the probate court of that county may be involved instead.

Common mistakes are avoidable. Do not throw away an old will before a new one is signed. Do not hand-edit a signed will. Do not assume a will controls assets that already pass by beneficiary designation or joint ownership. And do not wait: when someone becomes incapacitated, it is too late to make a valid will.

When a Will Alone Is Not Enough

A will does nothing while you are alive. It cannot help if a stroke or dementia leaves you unable to manage your finances, and what it covers generally has to pass through probate court before reaching your beneficiaries. That process takes time, adds cost, and puts your affairs on the public record. For many families, a revocable living trust paired with a pour-over will is the stronger structure, because trust assets pass privately and a successor trustee can step in immediately if you become incapacitated.

Georgia law makes the companion documents important. A durable financial power of attorney lasts through incapacity unless it says otherwise, and it must be signed by you, witnessed by a competent witness, and acknowledged before a notary who is not that witness, all in the presence of everyone involved. An advance directive for health care names your health care agent and records your wishes about treatment; it requires two adult witnesses, and notarization is not required. Neither a power of attorney nor a will gives authority over the other’s territory, and a power of attorney ends at death, which is exactly when the will takes over.

Georgia has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so most Peachtree Corners families do not need a tax-driven plan. The larger risks are intestacy, court delay, and long-term care costs. Medicaid looks back 60 months at transfers made for less than fair market value, which is why asset protection planning works best when it starts early.

Wills Questions We Hear From Peachtree Corners Families

Does a will have to be notarized in Georgia?

No. Notarization is not required for a will to be valid. What is required is your signature and the signatures of at least two competent witnesses. A self-proving affidavit, which is notarized, is optional but can simplify the probate process later.

Is a handwritten will valid in Georgia?

Not unless it meets the same execution rules as any other will. Georgia does not recognize holographic wills, so a handwritten document without two witnesses will not be honored. The same is true of oral wills.

What happens if I die without a will in Georgia?

Georgia’s intestacy laws divide your property among your spouse, children, and other relatives by a fixed formula. The result may not match your wishes, and you lose the ability to name your executor or the guardian for minor children.

Can I write my own will and have a lawyer review it?

You can, but a review often turns into a rewrite. The common problems are improper witnessing, unclear gifts, no backup beneficiaries, and a will that conflicts with beneficiary designations or joint ownership. Drafting it correctly the first time costs less than fixing a dispute later.

Do I still need a will if I have a living trust?

Yes. A pour-over will sends any asset not retitled into the trust to the trust. A will is also where you name a guardian for minor children, which a trust cannot do.

Who can witness my will?

Two or more competent adults, and Georgia sets the minimum witness age at 14. Even so, it is wise to use disinterested adults who are not beneficiaries, because a witness with a financial stake invites a challenge.

Can I change my will after I sign it?

Yes, with a new will or a codicil. A codicil must be signed and witnessed with the same formality as the original. Crossing out lines or writing in the margins of a signed will is risky and often ineffective.

Will my will cover my online accounts and digital photos?

It can state whether your executor may access them, and Georgia law provides a framework for fiduciary access. But if a platform offers its own online tool for naming who gets access, your choice in that tool can override what the will says, and an executor’s access is still limited by the provider’s terms of service.

My parents live in another state. Is their will valid here?

A will signed in another state is generally treated as valid in Georgia if it was executed correctly under the law of that place. Because rules differ, it is still worth having a Georgia attorney review it if a parent has moved here, owns Georgia property, or may need it probated in a Georgia court.

How often should I update my will?

Every three to five years, and after any major life event: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death in the family, a move, or a significant change in finances. An out-of-date will can name an ex-spouse, a deceased executor, or a guardian who is no longer able to serve.

Do I need a will if my estate is small?

Yes. Owning a home, a retirement account, or having children is enough to need one. Without it, Georgia’s default rules and the probate court make the decisions you could have made yourself.

Wills Representation Across Peachtree Corners and Gwinnett County

For Peachtree Corners clients, Bowman Law Firm works with families from the neighborhoods around Technology Parkway and Peachtree Parkway through the communities near Holcomb Bridge Road. Because Peachtree Corners sits in Gwinnett County, we also serve neighbors in Norcross, Duluth, and Lilburn, and families across Lawrenceville, Suwanee, and Buford.

Beyond Gwinnett, the firm helps families in nearby Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven, and in north Fulton communities such as Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Roswell. We also serve Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, as well as Marietta in Cobb County, Decatur in DeKalb County, Cumming in Forsyth County, and Gainesville in Hall County, along with Dalton. Virtual consultations are available for clients who cannot make it in person, and staff speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Talk With a Peachtree Corners Wills Attorney

A will you sign this month is one your family will not have to wonder about later. If you are starting from nothing, updating an old document, or sorting out what a loved one left behind, a Peachtree Corners wills attorney at Bowman Law Firm can walk you through each decision in plain language. Call or schedule a Free Discovery Call to speak with attorney Shireen Hormozdi Bowman and get your plan moving.