As a Blairsville estate law firm, we work with clients throughout the Blairsville area and help them to prepare for their future. Regardless of how sizeable your assets are, it is important to create wills and trusts that document how those assets will be distributed. When you die, your estate includes everything that you own including homes, cars, personal belongings, bank accounts, retirement funds, investments, life insurance policies, and more. If you don’t plan for how they will be distributed, the government will decide for you in probate court. Avoid this situation by calling our office and scheduling an appointment to ensure that your wishes are carried out both now and in the future.
Creating a WillWe can draft a will that is created after gaining an understanding of what goals you have for your family. When representing clients throughout Georgia we always ask if they have any minor children. If so, the will is necessary to appoint a guardian for them. This is one provision that must not be left to chance, as their entire future depends on it. Even if you have a trust, you need to have a will as well in order to protect your children.
The main advantage of creating a will is that it can be done fairly quickly and is affordable. Those that don’t have the funds to invest in a trust now can start with a will and create a trust at a later date. Once you pass away, creditors will have a set amount of time to file a claim before it can expire, which is a benefit to your heirs. Probate is still required with a will, but the process will go smoothly when working with an estate law firm. To create your will call our office today.
Advantages of a Trust
When you leave someone an inheritance, it will impact their entire future, so it is important to create a document that does more than simply transfer assets. If you are looking for a more comprehensive estate planning solution, ask David E Barrett Attorney at Law to create a trust for you and your family. There are many reasons that people throughout Blairsville, GA have a trust created. It provides the ability to plan for the future beyond what is available when creating a will. For example, if you are giving assets or money to certain heirs, you can control when the funds pass to them. This is particularly relevant if you want children or grandchildren to have reached a certain age and passed milestones prior to giving them any money. By exercising more control, you can set them up for a successful future where the funds are, hopefully, used wisely.
For people that lived in one state and moved to another for retirement, a trust can be particularly helpful. You can own property in GA and other states, put all of those assets into the trust and avoid needing to go through probate in order for those assets to be distributed. We can help by setting up the trust and transferring the property into it.
When establishing your trust, you can name an attorney to manage the distribution of assets. This will provide you with additional peace of mind knowing that someone you have a relationship with will be handling your estate. Another benefit of a trust is that it remains private after you die so that no one will know how assets were distributed. By creating one, you will also prevent the need to go through probate which can be time-consuming and costly.
Transferring AssetsRemember that both real and personal property needs to be transferred into the trust in order for it to accomplish anything. David E Barrett Attorney at Law can establish your trust but unless you move assets into it, they will remain unprotected and the benefits of a trust will not apply to them. Once your trust is established, real property can be transferred to it by changing the title. Our staff will provide you with instructions on how the property should be titled and we can either complete the transfer for you or you can do it on your own using a Quit Claim Deed. It is important that everything is titled correctly, so if you have any doubts it is better to have us handle the transfer.
Your personal property can be transferred by changing the account ownership. For example, if you have a large savings account that you want to transfer to the trust you just need to speak with your banker and provide them with the instructions. By placing all of your properties into the trust, it will be protected and transfer to your heirs without going through the probate process in GA.
Planning for Estate TaxesPeople living in Georgia have to live by the tax laws at both the state and federal levels. When you die, your estate is exempt from paying taxes up to a certain amount. This can change on an annual basis based on what the legislature does. For the updated limits call our office. If it looks like your estate will be over the state or federal limit, we can discuss various strategies for minimizing your tax exposure. If your heirs live outside of GA, we will also explore how receiving an inheritance can impact them from a tax perspective. We can provide you with solutions and engage the expertise of a CPA or tax attorney if necessary.
Probate
We get a lot of calls from people in the Blairsville area that want to avoid probate. The best way to do so is to create a trust and transfer your assets into it. The majority of your assets can be held by the trust so that when you die, there is no need to go through probate. If you only have a will, probate is still typically required in order to complete the distributions and settlement of the estate. How long this takes is dependent on how backed up the court system is at the time. The probate process generally costs around ten percent of the estate so by creating a trust you can prevent the time and money that your heirs will spend.
Additional Practice Areas
As a real estate lawyer in Georgia, David E Barrett Attorney at Law can also assist you with zoning issues, permitting, and other issues related to construction real estate. This process can be extremely complicated with each county having different guidelines and real estate laws. If you're experiencing a property line dispute, call and schedule a consultation with us for assistance.