What Does an Atlanta Estate Planning Attorney Do?
An Atlanta estate planning attorney creates legally binding documents — trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives — that transfer your assets to the right people without court involvement. For Atlanta residents, this means avoiding Fulton County Probate Court, protecting a home that may have tripled in value, and making sure your family knows exactly what to do when something happens.
Why Atlanta Residents Need an Estate Plan
Atlanta’s intown neighborhoods have seen extraordinary property appreciation. Homeowners in Buckhead, Virginia-Highland, Inman Park, Grant Park, and Midtown who paid $150,000 in the 1990s may now have estates worth $600,000 or more. Without a trust, that property enters Fulton County Probate Court when they die.
Fulton County handles one of the highest volumes of estate cases in Georgia. Probate routinely takes 12 to 18 months. Court fees, attorney fees, and administrative costs typically consume 3% to 8% of the estate’s gross value. A revocable living trust bypasses probate entirely — your family receives your assets without a court hearing, without delay, and without those costs.
Atlanta also has a high concentration of blended families, same-sex couples, unmarried partners, and non-biological parents. Georgia law does not recognize informal family relationships. Without a trust or will that names your intended beneficiaries, the people who matter most to you may receive nothing under the state’s default distribution rules.
What Georgia Law Does If You Die Without a Plan
If you die without a will in Georgia, the state’s intestacy statute decides who gets your assets. Georgia distributes your estate to your closest living relatives — not necessarily the people you would have chosen, and not in the proportions you intended.
Common consequences for Atlanta families without an estate plan:
- A blended-family home is tied up in probate for over a year while your spouse and children from a prior relationship dispute ownership in court
- Your unmarried partner receives nothing — Georgia gives them no legal standing without a will
- Minor children’s assets are managed by the court until they turn 18, then distributed in full with no restriction
- Business interests pass to heirs who cannot run them, often destroying the business
- Your Fulton County home must go through a public court process before it can be transferred to anyone
Estate Planning Services for Atlanta, Georgia Families
The Hive Law provides the following services to Atlanta-area clients. All services are flat-fee — you know the cost before we begin.
- Revocable Living Trust — Keeps your Atlanta home and financial accounts out of Fulton County Probate Court. Works for single people, married couples, and blended families.
- Last Will & Testament — Names guardians for minor children, directs your executor, and establishes your wishes. Required even when you have a trust.
- Financial Power of Attorney — Designates a trusted person to manage your finances if you become incapacitated.
- Healthcare Directive — Documents your medical treatment preferences and names a healthcare agent to make decisions for you.
- Medicaid Planning — Protects your assets if you or your spouse need long-term care. Critical for Atlanta homeowners with significant equity.
- Business Succession Planning — For Atlanta business owners: ensures your company transfers to the right people without court involvement or operational disruption.
Why Atlanta Families Choose The Hive Law
The Hive Law is an Atlanta-area estate planning law firm led by Melissa Breyer, a Georgia-licensed attorney who focuses exclusively on estate planning, elder law, and probate. We work with Atlanta clients every day — homeowners in Buckhead, families in Virginia-Highland, small business owners throughout metro Atlanta, and retirees protecting what they spent a lifetime building.
Flat-Fee Pricing — No Surprises
Every service has a flat fee, quoted before we start. Most Atlanta clients pay between $1,500 and $3,500 for a complete estate plan. You will never receive an unexpected bill. To put this in context: the average cost of going through Fulton County Probate Court without a trust is $15,000 or more — and it takes 12 to 18 months.
The Family Protection Audit
We start every engagement with a 60-minute Family Protection Audit with Melissa. You leave with a clear picture of what you have, what would happen to it today without a plan, and exactly what a proper plan looks like for your family. If we are the right fit, we give you a flat-fee quote that day. The Audit is a working session — not a sales call.
A Husband-and-Wife Team
Shawn and Melissa Breyer founded The Hive Law together. Melissa is the attorney. Shawn handles client experience and operations. You work with both of them — not with a junior associate you haven’t met. We serve clients throughout Atlanta including Buckhead, Midtown, Inman Park, Sandy Springs, Decatur, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Marietta.
How 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 every plan at The Hive Law and handles every client consultation herself. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.
107+ 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 helpful and professional in guiding us through the process of creating a Revocable Living Trust. Melissa and Shawn were thorough, answered all our questions, and made a potentially confusing process easy to understand.
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 after my father passed away. They were very thorough in explaining every step of the process. They made a difficult time much easier to navigate. I highly recommend The Hive Law for anyone needing estate planning services.
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 a great experience. They are very knowledgeable and took the time to explain all of our options. They made the process of setting up a trust simple and stress-free. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing 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!!
Frequently Asked Questions
A will takes effect when you die and must go through Fulton County Probate Court — a process that takes 12 to 18 months and costs thousands in fees. A revocable living trust takes effect immediately, transfers assets without court involvement, and remains private. For Atlanta homeowners and families with significant assets, a trust almost always makes more sense than a will alone. Most complete estate plans include both.
A typical probate case in Fulton County takes 12 to 18 months from filing to final distribution. During that time, your family cannot access or transfer assets held in the estate — including your home. Court fees and attorney fees typically consume 3% to 8% of the estate’s gross value. A revocable living trust bypasses probate entirely, so your family avoids the wait, the cost, and the court process.
At The Hive Law, a complete revocable living trust package for most Atlanta families costs between $1,500 and $3,500. This includes the trust document, pour-over will, financial power of attorney, and healthcare directive. We quote a flat fee before we start — you will never receive an unexpected bill. This is typically far less than the cost of going through Fulton County Probate Court for a comparable estate.
Yes. A home worth $600,000 has very different implications than one worth $150,000. At higher values, properly funding your trust — transferring the home into the trust while you are alive — becomes critical. If the home is not in your trust when you die, it goes through Fulton County Probate Court regardless of what your trust documents say. We handle the deed transfer as part of every trust engagement.
Blended families face the highest risk of estate disputes in Georgia. Without a trust, your assets are distributed according to state law — which may divide them between your current spouse and your children in ways no one intended. A properly drafted revocable living trust lets you specify exactly what each person receives and when. We build blended-family trust plans for Atlanta clients regularly.
Online wills are valid in Georgia if properly signed and witnessed. The risk is not the document — it is what the document does not do. Online wills do not fund your trust, transfer your deed, coordinate beneficiary designations, or account for Georgia-specific rules like year’s support or Fulton County probate requirements. A document that is technically valid but improperly executed can still put your family through a full probate proceeding.
Without a business succession plan, your business interest becomes part of your probate estate. Your family cannot access or operate the business during the probate process. If you have partners, your share may pass to heirs who have no interest in or ability to run the company — creating conflict that destroys the business. A properly structured trust, operating agreement, and buy-sell agreement prevent all of this.
Schedule a Family Protection Audit with Melissa Breyer. It is a 60-minute working session — not a sales call. You will review what you have, what would happen to it without a plan, and what a complete plan looks like for your family. At the end of the Audit, we give you a flat-fee quote. Most Atlanta families leave ready to move forward. Use the button on this page to schedule yours.
Stop carrying this around.
A conversation with Shawn. You'll walk away knowing what your family needs and what it costs. That's it.
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