Estate Planning Law

An estate planning attorney offers legal help for pre-planning the control, management, and distribution of assets legally forced into the probate process.

What does an estate planning attorney do?

An estate planning lawyer can enable you to avoid common costly problems, time delays, and unnecessary penalties otherwise incurred due to state and federal laws. A qualified estate planning lawyer understands state and federal probate laws, and how to protect the financial interests of their clients. Typical services include, but are not limited to:

• Create a Durable Power of Attorney
• Creating and updating a Final Will & Testament
• Designating your Executor for your estate
• Identifying and designating legal beneficiaries
• Creating a durable power of attorney and healthcare directives
• Development of strategies to minimize and/or avoid certain taxation
• Representation to secure titles, deeds, and similar ownership documents for real property
• Representation to secure access and control of bank accounts, investment accounts, safety deposit boxes, etc.
• Creating legal Trusts to protect your assets in any situation
• Legal guardianship designations (if you have minor children)

Am I required get an estate lawyer?

No, there is no law that says you must hire an estate lawyer. However, without a professionally prepared Estate Plan, your heirs will find navigating the probate process to be very frustrating. This is increasingly true as the complexity of the estate increases.

If your list of heirs exceeds one person, you probably should hire an estate lawyer. Things will be resolved sooner, and at less cost and conflict if you have a Will and proper Directives.

Key reasons to hire an estate lawyer

Control Distribution of Your Assets

You’ve probably heard stories about relatives fighting over the property after someone’s death. A formal Will is your way of knowing your assets will be distributed according to your decisions. A professionally prepared Will can prevent heirs from fighting over your assets or taking property to which they are not deserving.

As your attorney, we can work with you to create your Will and keep it up-to-date. We can assure that your Will is prepared in the manner that meets the standards required by a probate court. While an informal Will can be accepted by a judge, it does not have to be accepted.

Assign Administrative Control

A critical part of estate planning is identifying the person(s) who will have legal authorization and be responsible for executing and implementing your decisions.

The common titles for these people are Administrator and Executor. Generally speaking, these titles indicate how an individual came to have such authority over a Will.

An Estate Administrator is a person appointed by a probate judge to manage an estate for someone who does not have a Will. The court typically appoints a person who is the closest relative, and works out from there if necessary (i.e., spouse, child, grandchild, etc.)

The Estate Executor is a person specified in a Will as being the person the deceased had selected to manage their affairs in probate matters. The court, through the probate process, will review the Will and confirm the person who shall serve as the Estate Executor.

Power of Attorney – Help for the Incapacitated

A legal document called a Powers of Attorney authorize and empowers a person (Agent) you (Pricipal) designate to handle your personal matters should you become incapacitated. In Georgia, there are three options of which you should be aware. These three types of powers of attorney are: durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and springing power of attorney.

Getting Started – It’s Easier Than You May Think

Simply call our office to arrange a consultation with local attorney Ade Adeboye. During your consultation, you can get answers to how probate laws apply to your particular situation. You can also learn about the many ways our services can help you.

Need answers on estate planning questions? Call us at 678-354-3554 to arrange a consultation with estate planning lawyer Ade Adeboye.