Roswell Estate Planning
Estate Planning Attorney in Roswell, Georgia
Atlanta Estate Planning builds revocable living trusts for Roswell families. You pay one flat fee. Not an hourly rate. Roswell's median home value is near $567,100. Many families here have owned that same home for decades. A one-page will was never built to carry a family that far into the future.
Find Out Where You Stand
What Roswell Families Are Really Worried About
You did not start looking for an estate planning attorney because of one bad day. You started because you know something. Nobody has checked your plan in a long time. Maybe not since it was first written. Maybe you are the one holding the papers for a house that has been in your family for years. You are not sure everything in it still works. You do not want your kids guessing. Or fighting over what you meant. A plan that gets checked, not just signed once, fixes that. Book a free call. Find out where things stand.
Why a Simple Will Is Not Enough in Roswell
Roswell families earn a median income near $128,654 a year. The typical home here is worth about $567,100. Kimberly-Clark runs a big campus here, with roughly 1,600 workers. OTR Solutions, a freight-payment company, is based in Roswell too. Roswell is also one of the oldest cities in Fulton County. It was founded in 1854. Many families here have owned their home for decades, not years. A one-page will was never built to carry a family, or a house, that far.
A house owned for decades still has to go through Fulton County Probate Court, the same as any other. Someone has to ask the court and get named before they can act. A simple Georgia estate takes about 13 months on average. Legal fees can run near $14,700, before anyone even touches the deed. Maybe that deed still sits in your name alone. Maybe it sits inside an old trust that was never actually funded. Either way, your family finds that out during probate, not before.
A revocable living trust fixes that. But only once the deed is moved into the trust’s name. Not just signed and put in a drawer. Once that step is done, your successor trustee can act fast. Often the same week. Nobody has to ask a Fulton County judge first. There is no case number. No stranger decides what happens to a house your family has called home for years.
Many Roswell families also have a 401(k) from a job at Kimberly-Clark or a place like it. That account sits on top of the house itself. It passes to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, not through a will. That form is easy to forget once you sign it. We check that form as part of your plan, so an account you have not looked at in years still goes where you actually want it.
Roswell also has a lot of second marriages later in life. Sometimes one spouse already owned the house before the wedding. A will alone does not say who gets that home. A stepchild? A biological child? Just a share of it, or all of it? A trust settles that while everyone still gets along, not after. Our Georgia estate planning overview covers how this works statewide.
What This Looks Like for Your Family
Without a Plan
Picture this: something happens to you. Your kids come back to the house you have owned for thirty years, the one they grew up in.
Nobody can find a trust that was ever actually funded. Just an old folder of papers from years ago. Fulton County Probate Court has to open a case before anyone can sell the house, or even pay its taxes. Your kids do not agree on keeping it or selling it. There is no paper settling that either way. A judge who never set foot in that house decides what happens to it next.
With a Plan
Now picture the other path. The deed to your home was moved into your trust years ago. Your successor trustee already knows it.
There is no Fulton County filing standing between your family and the house. Your successor trustee can act the same week, whether your kids keep the house or sell it. They spend that season grieving together in the house, not fighting a court over what happens to it.
The Complete Family Trust Package
What's in Your Roswell 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
Most Roswell families never have to go downtown for a probate case. Fulton County Probate Court takes most filings online. Your attorney handles that part for you. A revocable living trust can skip this process. But only for what it actually holds. And only if it was funded before anyone needed it.
A long-owned Roswell home still needs its estate plan checked, especially if it has been a while since anyone looked at it. A will or trust from twenty years ago does not update itself. Not when a child grows up. Not when a spouse passes away. Not when your home’s value changes. We review whatever plan you already have, then build a new one that actually fits your life today.
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.
A Fulton County judge holds a hearing to decide who raises your kids if you and your spouse never named a guardian. Roswell families have often lived here for generations, so more relatives may live close by. More than one of them can ask the court to be considered. That can turn a hard time into a longer one. Write your choice into your plan, and a judge never has to guess.
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can shield a home and savings from the cost of long-term care. But it only works if you set it up years before care is actually needed. If a parent already lives in your Roswell home, or nearby, ask about this timing on your free call. Then you will know exactly where things stand.
Georgia has no state estate tax of its own. A Roswell family only has to think about the federal estate tax. That tax only applies above $15,000,000 per person in 2026. Very few families reach that number. The bigger cost most Roswell families face is the time and money a house loses sitting in Fulton County Probate Court.
A simple estate, one house and one bank account, still goes through Fulton County Probate Court without a trust. Owning that house for a long time does not make it exempt. A revocable living trust costs a flat $3,500, whether your estate is simple or not. One free call can tell you whether a trust is worth it for your family.
Georgia’s intestacy law decides who gets your house and everything else you own if you never sign a will. A spouse usually splits the estate with your children, instead of receiving all of it, no matter how long you owned the house together. That rule comes from O.C.G.A. § 53-2-1. A will or trust puts that decision back in your own hands.
A Fulton County judge decides who manages your money and your medical care, if you have no plan and can no longer decide for yourself. That process is called a conservatorship. It can take months. It can cost real money in court fees, even for a family that has lived in the same house for years. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Directive name your own choice ahead of time. Then a judge never has to decide for you.
A Roswell Historic District designation stays with the property, no matter who owns it. Your heirs inherit those rules along with the house. Moving a historic home into a trust does not remove that status or change it. We walk you through what your heirs need to know, before they decide to keep the home or sell it.
An older will or trust is not always enough on its own. A trust only works if your home and other property were actually moved into its name, not just signed and filed away. We check whether an older plan was ever really funded. If it was not, we fix it. That way, your family is not the one who finds out during probate.
A Roswell home that has gained value over the years usually gets a tax reset when you inherit it. That reset is called a step-up in basis. It uses the home’s value on the day you inherit it. Not the price you paid decades ago. Your family usually owes little or no capital gains tax if they sell soon after. This works the same way through Fulton County Probate Court or through a funded trust.
Where We Serve
Other Fulton County Families We Help
We serve families across Fulton 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.