The Hive Law
Estate Planning Attorney in Georgia
Attorney Melissa Breyer builds complete trust-based estate plans for Georgia families that keep every asset out of probate court. Everything is handled over the phone. No office visits required.
Find Out Where You Stand
What a Georgia Estate Planning Attorney Does for Your Family
Most Georgia families don't know they're one accident away from leaving their family to deal with probate court. A revocable living trust keeps your assets out of probate and gives your family control when you can't be there. The Hive Law drafts every plan personally — no templates, no handoffs, and no surprises.
This Is for You If...
If any of these sound familiar, you likely need a trust.
If two or more of these describe you, start here.
Find Out Where You StandMost Families Have a Will. Most Families Are Not Protected.
A will tells your family who gets what. It does not keep them out of court. In Georgia, every will goes through probate, and probate is slow, expensive, and public. A trust bypasses that process entirely. The difference between a will and a trust is the difference between your family waiting 18 months in front of a judge and your family receiving what you built for them the right way.
What Probate Actually Costs Georgia Families
Probate in Georgia takes 9 to 18 months on a standard estate. Complex estates can take up to 30 months. The average cost is $15,000, and complicated situations can reach $35,000 or more. Your estate also becomes a public record during probate, meaning anyone can look up what you owned, what you owed, and who received what. A properly funded trust avoids all of it.
What The Complete Family Trust Package Includes
The Hive Law builds complete trust-based estate plans using The Complete Family Trust Package. Every package includes six custom legal documents, three implementation sessions that make sure your plan actually works after you sign, and four services your family will need when the time comes. Every asset we place into your trust is guaranteed to avoid probate. If anything ever goes through probate due to an error on our part, we handle that probate for your family at no charge.
How The Hive Law Works
Attorney Melissa Breyer personally designs every plan. She works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. You will not be handed off to a paralegal. You will not receive a template. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes. Most families go from their first call to a signed estate plan in 2 to 3 weeks. Everything is handled over the phone. No office visits required at any stage.
How We Help Georgia Families
What We Help Georgia Families Do
Every plan starts with a free 15-minute call with Shawn. If it is a fit, your next step is a Design Meeting, where Melissa reviews your assets and family situation, then designs the right plan for you.
Keep Your Assets Out of Probate Court
Probate in Georgia costs families an average of $15,000 and takes up to 18 months. A funded revocable living trust keeps every asset you place into it out of court entirely.
Learn How It WorksProtect Your Assets From Nursing Home Costs
If you or your spouse ever need long-term care, an irrevocable trust can protect your home and savings from being spent down before Medicaid steps in.
Learn How It WorksPass a Business or Rental Portfolio Without Court
If you own an LLC, rental properties, or a business, your entity structure and your estate plan need to be legally connected. Without that connection, your family faces delays, disputes, and court.
Learn How It WorksMake Sure Your Spouse Is Never Left Without Access
If something happens to you tomorrow, your spouse needs legal authority to access accounts, manage property, and make medical decisions. Every document needs to be in place before you need it.
Learn How It WorksHow It Works
A 15-Minute Call With Shawn
Tell us what is going on with your family. Shawn walks you through your options and what each one costs. Free.
Melissa Designs Your Plan
She builds your estate plan from scratch based on your specific assets and family. You get an exact quote before you commit to anything.
Review Every Document With Melissa
Before you sign, Melissa walks through every document with you in plain language. No legal jargon. No confusion about what you are signing.
Your Plan Is Complete
Melissa delivers your completed documents and explains exactly what your family needs to do. You leave knowing your plan is in place and your family is protected.
Melissa Breyer
Georgia Estate Planning Attorney
Melissa Breyer is a Georgia estate planning attorney who works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. She personally designs and drafts every plan at The Hive Law after the initial call. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.
113+ Five-Star Google Reviews
What Our Clients Say
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 The Hive Law 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 The Hive Law!
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 The Hive Law and they put my mind at ease immediately. Their process is easy to follow and they took care of everything. The Hive Law is the best decision I've made for my family's future.
Working with Melissa Breyer to set up our Living Trust was a wonderful experience. She and her entire team were knowledgeable, professional, and made the whole process easy to understand. I highly recommend The Hive Law for all your estate planning needs!
We highly recommend Hive Law. They were extremely patient and responsive, answering our many rounds of questions regarding trusts and estate planning. Shawn consistently responded the same day we sent our questions, even while his family was on vacation, which we greatly appreciated. Shawn was also always available to discuss matters by phone whenever we needed additional clarification on the options we were considering. Both are very knowledgeable in estate planning, and we would confidently recommend Hive Law to friends and family.
The Hive Law made the entire estate planning and trust process easy to understand and stress-free. Melissa and Shawn walked us through every step and answered all of our questions. We feel confident that our family is protected. Highly recommend!
My mom chose The Hive firm to help with estate planning and developing a trust to protect her assets. I sat in on her meeting with Melissa, and Melissa did a great job of simplifying complex legalese into easily understood concepts. Shawn was very quick to get us our documents and all steps in the process were clear and easy. They make a great team and we are thankful for their help!
I used The Hive Law to help me create a trust for my family. The process was straightforward and Melissa and Shawn made sure I understood each step. They were responsive to all of my questions. I feel much more confident about my family's future now. Highly recommend!
Working with Shawn and Melissa at The Hive Law has been an excellent experience. They were one of three firms we contacted, but she made the strongest impression during our initial call. They asked great questions to understand our situation and clearly explained what we needed to put in place. We initially had some reservations about their fully virtual approach, but those concerns were quickly put to rest. After the first two calls, it was clear how easy they are to work with and how well connected we felt. Communication has been clear, organized, and reassuring throughout the process. Shawn and Melissa are professional, approachable, and thorough. We feel confident we're in good hands and highly recommend The Hive Law for estate planning.
The Hive Law Firm, and specifically Melissa, has been wonderful to work with during our estate planning process. She is knowledgeable, patient, and thorough. She answered all of our questions and made the process easy to understand. I highly recommend The Hive Law!
Shawn and Melissa were amazing to work with! My partner and I recently bought a house and wanted to get important things like wills, healthcare directives, etc. set up. They were incredible at answering all our questions and working with us to make sure we felt confident in all of the legal aspects. Having tried to do this online before with one of the DIY tools, it was just an amazing experience to get to talk through what we wanted with a knowledgeable human and have them take care of the details.
Hive Law was awesome to work with! Melissa and Shawn explained everything, kept things stress-free, and were always quick to respond to my questions. They made the whole process simple and smooth from start to finish. Highly recommend if you want a team that's knowledgeable but also easy to work with.
I lost my father in February of this year without any estate planning in place. The process of dealing with the probate court has been overwhelming and expensive. After this experience, I contacted The Hive Law to set up a trust so my children never have to go through what I've been through. Melissa and Shawn were compassionate, knowledgeable, and made the entire process simple. I highly recommend The Hive Law!
I used to know the bare minimum about probate and trust. I first encountered Shawn Breyer on Facebook. He was offering a webinar that I watched. That gave me a better understanding of probate versus trust. I was impressed enough to have him and his wife represent me. I had my initial one on one interview with Melissa Breyer, it went smoothly and she made everything clear. We are now proceeding with getting a revocable trust in place.
The Hive Law has been amazing throughout the process of setting up our trust. Every detail is considered and no stone is left unturned. They have been easy and enjoyable to work with. I would absolutely recommend them! Don't let your estate be turned over to Probate!!
The Hive Law helped us set up a revocable trust. Their webinar is great for answering any questions you may have, to clarify and avoid probate. Get in touch with them right away, you won't be disappointed.
Melissa was great! She gave me an honest review of my future plans that I already have in place. Turns out, I already had my ducks in a row!!! She was a pleasure to talk with!!
For several years now I have been thinking about having a will drawn up, but continued to procrastinate until an older sibling had a medical situation occur which none of the family was prepared for. This was the determining factor for me to get it done. We never know when an emergency medical situation could arise and I didn't want my other siblings to be scrambling around trying to figure things out in the event I couldn't make any decisions for myself, or God forbid I pass away. My attorney (Melissa), was very funny and made the whole experience quite entertaining. She listened to what I wanted and explained the type of plan I needed. Thanks Melissa & Shawn for making the process an enjoyable experience.
The Hive Law Firm did an excellent job helping my mother-in-law with her estate plan. The process felt overwhelming at first, but their team walked us through every step with compassion and professionalism. They listened to our concerns, explained things in simple terms, and made sure our mother's wishes were honored. We're very grateful for their guidance.
The Hive Law firm did an outstanding job helping my family members with their estate planning. They made the process clear, smooth and stress free. Truly professional and caring team, highly recommend!
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Complete Family Trust Package is a flat $3,500. That includes all six legal documents, every implementation session, and all four services your family will need after you sign. There is no hourly billing and no surprise invoices. If your plan requires additional services, like out-of-state property transfers or an LLC, those are priced at flat rates. Melissa gives you an exact quote at your Design Meeting before you commit to anything.
A will does not avoid probate in Georgia. It goes through probate court, which takes 9 to 18 months and costs an average of $15,000. Your estate also becomes a public record during that process. A trust bypasses probate entirely. Your assets pass directly to the people you choose without a judge involved, without a public record, and without the time and cost of a court proceeding. If your will is more than a few years old, your beneficiary designations and account titles may not match it, which creates additional problems. Learn more about how probate works in Georgia.
No. Everything at The Hive Law is handled over the phone. There are no office visits at any stage of the process. Your documents are stored in a secure client portal. Nothing is sent by email. You can complete your entire estate plan from your home anywhere in Georgia.
Most families go from their first call to a signed estate plan in 2 to 3 weeks. That covers the free call, the Design Meeting, plan design, the document walk-through, and the signing session. Melissa works with a limited number of families at a time so every plan gets the attention it needs.
The first call is free, about 15 minutes, with Shawn. He asks about your family and assets and tells you honestly whether this fits your situation. If it does, your next step is a Design Meeting with Melissa. That call is 60 minutes and is credited toward your plan. That is where you get your exact quote.
If you own rental properties or a business held in an LLC, your entity structure and your estate plan need to be legally connected. Most families who have both have never had an attorney connect them. That gap means your family could face probate, court involvement, or loss of liability protection when you die. The Hive Law handles both trust-based estate planning and LLC formation so your full financial picture is covered in one plan.
The Hive Law serves Georgia families statewide. We work with families in Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, Forsyth, Cherokee, DeKalb, Fayette, Hall, Oconee, Columbia, Chatham, Bryan, Coweta, and every other county across Georgia. Because everything is handled over the phone, your location within Georgia does not affect the process at any stage.
Medicaid planning is the legal process of structuring your assets so you qualify for Georgia Medicaid to pay for nursing home care — while protecting as much of your savings as possible for your family. Georgia nursing homes average $7,000 to $9,000 per month. Without a plan, your family spends down those assets before Medicaid pays anything. Georgia Medicaid also reviews asset transfers made in the five years before you apply. If you are over 55 and own a home, savings, or investment accounts, you likely need a long-term care plan in place now.
Georgia probate typically costs 3 to 8 percent of your estate and takes 9 to 18 months. On a $500,000 estate, that is $15,000 to $40,000 in court costs and attorney fees — before your family receives a dollar. Your estate also becomes a public court record during the process. A properly funded revocable living trust avoids Georgia probate entirely. Your assets pass directly to your beneficiaries without a judge, without a timeline, and without court costs.
What the Complete Family Trust Package Costs
The Documents
- Revocable Living Trust
- Pour-Over Will
- Quitclaim Deed
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Advance Healthcare Directive
- HIPAA Authorization
The Implementation
- Document Walk-Through Call
- Trust Funding Session
- Funding Checkup
The Included Services
- Successor Trustee Orientation
- Professional Coordination Call
- Surviving Spouse Transition Call
- Post-Signing Checklist
Find Out Where You Stand
You’ve been meaning to do this for a while now. That’s normal. Most families wait until something happens, then wish they hadn’t.
A 15-minute call tells you exactly what you have, what’s missing, and what your family needs next. No paperwork, no obligation, just a straight answer.
- No sales pitch. Just a straight answer about where you stand.
- No confusing terms. We explain everything in plain English.
- A real next step. You’ll know exactly what to do when we hang up.