Estate Planning Attorney in Alpharetta, Georgia

Fulton County Probate Court runs a real e-filing system. It works around the clock, not just business hours. A software engineer used to logging in late at night will find this part familiar. Most Alpharetta families never set foot in the downtown courthouse. Your attorney files the case for you online. A funded trust skips this whole process for the assets it holds.

An Employee Stock Purchase Plan account has its own beneficiary form. That form is separate from a will, and separate from a 401(k). Shares in that account pass to whoever is named on that form, no matter what a will says. Atlanta Estate Planning checks that form as part of every plan we build. A form signed the first week on a new job should not still decide where years of paycheck deductions end up.

The Complete Family Trust Package at Atlanta Estate Planning starts at a flat $3,500. That is a flat fee, not an hourly rate. It covers a trust, a will, a power of attorney, and a healthcare directive. Many local firms will not name a price until after a paid visit.

A great many Alpharetta parents work long hours at a demanding tech job. Many have close friends nearby but few relatives in Georgia. Georgia law does not let a close friend or a coworker step in automatically. This is true no matter how big a role they already play for your kids. A Fulton County judge has to hold a hearing instead. That hearing can take months to resolve. Naming a guardian in writing means a judge never has to guess.

Nursing home care in Georgia costs a lot. Medicaid will not pay for it right away. A parent must first use up most of what they own. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can protect a home and savings from that cost. But it only works if you sign it years before care starts. If a parent already lives with your Alpharetta family, ask about this timing now.

Georgia has no state estate tax of its own. An Alpharetta family only has to think about the federal estate tax. That exemption is $15,000,000 per person in 2026. Very few families reach that number, even with a home and a stock account. The real cost most Alpharetta families face is not a future tax bill. It is the time and money a house or a brokerage account loses sitting in probate court.

Even a simple estate with one home and one bank account still goes through Fulton County Probate Court without a trust. Many Alpharetta families think a stock plan or a 401(k) makes their estate too small to bother with a trust. A small estate is not automatically exempt from probate. A revocable living trust costs a flat $3,500. That price stays the same, whether your estate is simple or not. One free call can tell you if a trust is worth it for your family.

If an Alpharetta resident dies without a will, Georgia intestacy law decides who gets everything. That includes a stock account or an ESPP balance. Nobody asks what that person actually wanted. A spouse usually splits the estate with the kids, instead of getting all of it. That rule comes from O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. A trust or a will hands each of those decisions back to you instead of the state.

Federal tax law treats a marriage differently when one spouse is not a U.S. citizen. It removes a tax break most married couples count on. This mostly matters for bigger estates, think a home, stock, and retirement accounts added together. A special trust can bring that tax break back. But it has to be built into the plan from day one. Alpharetta has a lot of workers from other countries, so this question comes up here a lot.

A 401(k) has its own beneficiary form, the same as an Employee Stock Purchase Plan account. In Georgia, that form controls who gets the money, not your will. Divorce cancels an ex-spouse’s share in a will automatically. That rule does not reach a 401(k) form. An old form can still send money to a former spouse. Atlanta Estate Planning checks every beneficiary form like this, not just your will.

A crypto wallet has no beneficiary form. It has no paper statement. It will not pass to anyone on its own. Your trustee can only act with your written permission. They also need your password or key. Georgia law lets a trust give a trustee that power over digital assets like a crypto wallet. Someone still has to know the wallet exists in the first place.