Marietta Estate Planning
Estate Planning Attorney in Marietta, Georgia
You've worked hard for your Marietta home and Lockheed Martin retirement account. You don't want your family stuck in court, guessing what you wanted, while they grieve.
Find Out Where You Stand
What Marietta Families Are Really Worried About
Military and pension benefits do not always go where you think they will, and that thought has probably crossed your mind more than once. Maybe you served, or your spouse did, and you are not sure your family knows the full picture. A written plan makes sure they do. Book a free call, and stop guessing about who gets what.
Why a Simple Will Is Not Enough in Marietta
Marietta households earn about $72,000 a year. The typical home here now costs near $450,000. Lockheed Martin has more than 5,600 workers here. They build parts for the C-130J and F-35. WellStar Health System is based in Marietta too. It is the largest health system in Georgia. Many of these jobs come with a pension or a retirement plan. A one-page will was not built to handle any of that.
A pension does not automatically go to your will. A home without a trust still has to go through Cobb County Probate Court. Retirement plans often need extra paperwork to prove who gets the benefit. A probate case can add nine to eighteen months and about $15,000 in legal fees.
A funded revocable living trust keeps your home out of Cobb County court process entirely. Your successor trustee can act for you right away. No judge’s order stands between your family and the accounts you planned to leave them.
A pension or retirement plan usually has its own survivor-benefit paperwork. This paperwork is separate from your will. We review that paperwork with your trust. That way, an old form does not override a decision you made years later.
Marietta also has many military and veteran families near Dobbins Air Reserve Base. Their benefits are often split across VA, pension, and personal accounts. A trust ties all of it together in one place, in writing, so a spouse is not left sorting out three systems alone. See our Georgia estate planning overview for how this works statewide.
What This Looks Like for Your Family
Without a Plan
Picture this: something happens to you. Your adult children are not sure if your Lockheed Martin pension pays your spouse. They do not know if the paperwork was ever filed.
Your home near Dobbins Air Reserve Base sits in Cobb County Probate Court. The case moves slowly through the system. The pension office will not talk to anyone about survivor pay without proof of legal authority. Your spouse waits on a fixed income, in a house tied up in court, at the exact time they need stability most.
With a Plan
Now picture the other path. Your revocable living trust already spells out how your pension, benefits, and home should be handled. Your children hand the pension office the trust paperwork. There is no wait for a Cobb County court date.
Your successor trustee can step in within weeks, not months. Your spouse’s income does not stall. The house does not sit in a public court case. Your children are not left untangling military and pension paperwork while grieving.
The Complete Family Trust Package
What's in Your Marietta Estate Plan
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Revocable Living Trust
Holds your assets, avoids Georgia probate, and controls exactly who receives what and when. A pour-over will acts as a safety net for anything not yet titled to the trust.
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Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Lets someone you trust handle your money and property if you get sick or hurt. A regular power of attorney can stop working the moment that happens. A durable power of attorney does not. It keeps working, so you will not need a court to name someone for you.
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Advance Healthcare Directive
Writes down your medical wishes. Names someone to speak for you if you cannot. Covers end-of-life care and other treatment choices.
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HIPAA Authorization
Lets the people you choose see your medical records. This helps them make good decisions for you.
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Trust Funding Guidance
Step-by-step support to transfer your home, investment accounts, and other assets into the trust. An unfunded trust does not avoid probate. We make sure yours works.
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One-Year Follow-Up
A check-in session at 12 months to update your plan if your family, assets, or wishes have changed. Estate planning is not a one-time event.
How It Works
Schedule Your Free Call
Book your 15-minute free strategy call with Shawn. No cost, no commitment.
Meet With Melissa
Melissa reviews your assets, your family situation, and your exposure. Virtual or in-person.
Get Your Plan
Receive a written plan with clear recommendations for protecting your family and your assets.
Move Forward
No pressure, no commitment required. Move forward when you are ready.
Melissa Breyer
Georgia Estate Planning Attorney
Melissa Breyer is a Georgia-licensed estate planning attorney focused exclusively on trust-based planning for individuals and families. She personally meets with every client and designs every plan from scratch. No templates. No associates handling your case. Every plan is built for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.
118+ Five-Star Google Reviews
What Our Clients Say
The whole process of creating a family trust felt simple, clear, and stress-free. We really appreciated how patient, helpful, and easy to communicate with the team was throughout everything. Shawn and Melissa gave us great guidance and helped us feel confident every step of the way. We're grateful for their support and would definitely recommend them.
After my father passed away, my mother had to rely on my father's employer to navigate the estate. It was a disaster. After this experience, I knew I needed a plan. I turned to Atlanta Estate Planning Attorneys to set up a trust. I no longer have to worry about my wife and children going through a difficult process if something happens to me. I highly recommend Atlanta Estate Planning Attorneys!
My biggest fear was that if I died first, my wife would have no idea how to navigate the estate and legal system. I reached out to Atlanta Estate Planning Attorneys and they put my mind at ease immediately. Their process is easy to follow and they took care of everything. Atlanta Estate Planning Attorneys is the best decision I've made for my family's future.
Working with Melissa Breyer to set up our Living Trust was one of the best decisions Scott and I have made. We did this so our boys are protected from confusion and chaos if something happens to us. Melissa was knowledgeable, patient, and made what felt overwhelming completely manageable. I would absolutely recommend Melissa Breyer.
Working with Shawn and Melissa at Atlanta Estate Planning Attorneys has been an excellent experience. They asked great questions during our initial call and clearly explained what we needed. We feel confident we're in good hands and would highly recommend them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not directly. Guardianship and conservatorship happen in a separate court case. This happens when someone cannot make decisions and never signed a Power of Attorney. Cobb County Probate Court then picks who is in charge. That can take months. It can cost thousands of dollars. Your Marietta estate plan already includes a Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Directive. These name your own choice of decision-maker ahead of time. Your family never has to go to Probate Court for that power.
Many Marietta families picture standing in a courthouse line, filling out unfamiliar forms while they are already grieving. That is not how this usually goes. Your attorney can start or manage the Cobb County filing on your family’s behalf, and for a pension or defense-retirement plan, a funded trust means the survivor paperwork goes straight to your successor trustee instead of sitting in a probate queue.
A pension typically pays out to whoever is listed on the plan’s own survivor form, regardless of what your will says. We review that form alongside your trust, so it actually matches what you and your spouse agreed to.
Nobody wants a surprise bill after months of legal work. Our revocable living trust package is a fixed fee of $3,500. You know the full cost before we start. There is no hourly billing and no invoice you did not expect.
Veteran and military families in Marietta often assume VA benefits will cover long-term care, and sometimes they do not stretch as far as expected. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust fills that gap by protecting a home and savings on top of whatever VA and pension benefits already provide, as long as it’s set up years before care is needed. We build it into the same plan that already handles your pension survivor paperwork.
Where We Serve
Other Cobb County Families We Help
We serve families across Cobb County. Select a city to learn more about estate planning where you live.
Find Out Where You Stand
Whatever brought you here today, the real question underneath it is simple: is your family protected if something happens to you? Without a plan, the people you love could face months in probate court, a fight over what you meant, or bills nobody has the authority to pay.
A clear plan closes every one of those gaps in writing, while you are still here to make the decisions. In one free 15-minute call, you will find out exactly what you have, what is missing, and what it takes to fix it.
- No pressure. This is a conversation, not a sales pitch.
- No jargon. We explain everything in plain language.
- A clear next step. You will know exactly what to do when the call ends.