Estate Planning Attorneys In Douglasville, Georgia

Planning for the future and safeguarding your assets? We ensure that your legacy is preserved and your loved ones are well cared for. Our expert team provides tailored solutions for estate planning. This ensures your wishes are respected and your family’s future is secure. Take the first step towards peace of mind for you and your family. Fill out the form to speak with an Douglasville estate planning attorney.

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What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning organizes your assets for after your death. 

It allows you to be in control of how your estate gets distributed. 

If done correctly, it:

  • keeps the government’s hands out of your estate
  • minimizes that taxes your family loses money to
  • reduces the risk of your assets getting drained by lawsuits
  • reduces creditors’ abilities to have a claim on your estate

What Estate Planning Services Include

We just went over the core components of what estate planning is. 

But, what gets included in your estate plan? 

And what are your options on things that you can do?  

Everyone’s estate plan is unique. 

Let’s break down what you actually need for your estate planning. 

This will give you clarity on what each tool for estate planning does. 

  • Wills: You use a will to say who gets things like your house, car, money in savings, and personal stuff (like clothes, jewelry, or art). Wills are also where you can say who should take care of your kids if you can’t.
  • Trusts: Trusts are good for handling big things like your house, any money you have invested, or if you own part of a business. They’re also helpful if you want someone to manage money or property for people who might not be able to do it themselves, like young kids.
  • Beneficiary Designations: These are special instructions you can set up for things like your retirement accounts and life insurance. They let you pick who gets the money from these accounts when you’re not around.
  • Power of Attorney: This is picking someone who can take care of your money stuff, like your bank accounts and property, if you ever can’t do it yourself.
  • Healthcare Directives (Living Wills): These aren’t about money or stuff, but they’re really important. They let you say what kind of medical care you want if you can’t talk for yourself.
  • Business Succession Plans: If you own a business, this plan tells people what should happen to your business when you’re not there to run it.
  • Digital Asset Management Tools: These are for your online stuff, like email, social media, and any online files you have.
  • Gifts or Lifetime Transfers: Sometimes, you might want to give away money, stocks, or property while you’re still here. This can help with taxes later.

Each of these tools does something special for estate planning. 

Our attorneys will structure your estate plan uniquely for you. 

You don’t need to go figure all of this out. 

We will guide you through it, explain things, and answer questions.

Testimonials From Other People In Douglasville

Herbie Johnson

“The team at Hive is always proactive, they stay on top of things, and are very thorough. They took the time to explain all my options, asking questions on things I had not considered, helping to make the best decisions for me.”

Ethan Breyer

“I had a wonderful experience working with Shawn and Melissa! They were both extremely patient with me through the entire process. Even when I didn’t fully understand, they took the time to thoroughly explain all the details of my situation to ensure I got the best outcome possible. I will not be using anybody else from now on!”

Hannah Brodnax

“I was so impressed with their professionalism and clear and prompt communication that I decided to use their estate planning services as well.”

Benefits Of Getting An Estate Plan Made

You know you need an estate plan

We all know we need one. 

But it’s one of those things that we think “meh, that can wait.”

Putting it off until tomorrow (which never comes) hurts our families. 

We see the clients through probate when their parents didn’t have an estate plan. 

Things get messy. 

They lose tens or hundreds of thousands to taxes.

They have disputes among family members. 

They struggle getting access to all of the accounts. 

That’s why we set up estate plans. 

So that our family is taken care of. 

Here are the other benefits of setting up your estate plan:

  1. Control Over Your Property. You decide who gets your things like your house, car, and money.
  2. Protection for Your Family. You make sure your family is taken care of, especially if you have kids or dependents.
  3. Less Stress in Tough Times. You help your family avoid difficult decisions and confusion when you’re not there.
  4. Avoiding Family Disputes. You prevent arguments in the family over who gets what.
  5. Saving Money. You reduce taxes and legal fees for your family.
  6. Keeping Your Business Running. If you own a business, you ensure it keeps going the way you want.
  7. Preparing for Health Issues. You make plans for your care if you get sick and can’t make decisions.
  8. Charitable Giving. You can leave a legacy by giving to charities or causes you care about.
  9. Privacy Protection. You keep your family affairs private and out of public court processes.
  10. Peace of Mind. You feel better knowing everything is sorted out.

How The Process Works

Google Ads - Shawn & Luna

This is Shawn. You’ll be speaking with him throughout your whole process. Once you fill out the form, he will reach out to you to get started.

This is Melissa. She’s going to be your Douglasville estate planning lawyer. Shawn will schedule an appointment for you to talk to Melissa. She will ask a few simple questions. From there, she creates the estate plan, has you review it, then you sign, and it’s complete!

After you fill out the form on this page, what happens? 

That’s a great question!

Here’s an overview of what you can expect:

  1. Schedule Your Appointment. You’ll schedule a time that works best for you
  2. Understanding Your Situation. On our call, we learn about you – your family, what you own, and your wishes.
  3. Setting Goals. We discuss what you want to happen with your things and money after you’re gone.
  4. Reviewing Your Assets. We look at everything you own, like your house, savings, and any businesses. 
  5. Discussing Family Needs. We discuss what your family will need in the future, especially if you have kids or someone who depends on you.
  6. Making a Plan. We help create a plan that says who gets what and when. This can include wills, trusts, and other legal papers.
  7. Choosing the Right People. You pick who will be in charge of carrying out your plan, like an executor for your will.
  8. Looking at Taxes. We find ways to lower the taxes your family might have to pay on what they inherit.
  9. Preparing Documents. We write all the legal papers to make sure your plan works the way you want.
  10. Reviewing and Signing. You check everything to make sure it’s right, then sign the documents.
  11. Keeping Things Updated. As things in your life change, we help update your plan so it always fits your situation.

How You Should Prepare

Here is what you need to do to prepare for setting up your estate plan.

  1. Your Goals and Worries. Think about what you want from your estate plan. Maybe you want to make sure your kids are taken care of, or you want to be sure your stuff goes to certain people. Also, think about anything you’re worried about. Like, problems in your family or what will happen to your business.
  2. List of What You Own. Know the basic stuff you own. Like, your house, any money in the bank, things you’ve invested in, and any important personal things. You don’t need exact numbers, just a general idea.
  3. Family and Who Gets Stuff. Think about who you want to give your things to. This could be family, friends, or even charities. If you have young kids or someone who needs extra care, remember to think about them too.
  4. Papers You Already Have. If you already made a will or something like that, even if it’s old, tell the lawyer about it.
  5. Questions You Have. Write down any questions you want to ask. Like, how much it costs, how the lawyer talks to you, or special things about your stuff.
  6. Special Things About You. Be ready to talk about anything special. Like, if you own a business, have houses in different places, or have a mixed family.
  7. Who Will Help Manage Your Stuff. Think about who you trust to handle your things and make choices if you can’t, like who will be in charge of your will.
  8. How You Feel Talking to the Lawyer. Notice if you feel good talking to the lawyer. Do they listen? Do they make things easy to understand? Are they nice about your needs?

Talk To An Douglasville Estate Planning Lawyer

If you need an estate plan from a local, Douglasville estate lawyer, fill out the form below. 

At The Hive Law, we understand the importance of:

  • protecting your hard-earned assets 
  • ensuring your family’s future
  • not losing everything to creditors and lawsuits
  • properly (and legally) distributing assets 

We only accommodate a limited number of clients each month.

So don’t miss your opportunity to work with our estate planning lawyers in Decatur.

Benefits of our estate planning services:

  • Tailored solutions to fit your unique needs and goals
  • Expert guidance in navigating complex tax and legal matters
  • Preservation of your wealth for future generations
  • Streamlined asset distribution according to your wishes

Avoid the pitfalls of inadequate estate planning strategies, like:

  • Creditors seizing your assets
  • Lawsuits jeopardizing your family’s financial security
  • Family disputes over inheritance
  • Costly and time-consuming probate processes

Talk soon.

Get A FREE Estate Plan Consultation!
We run out of free consultations every month. Sign up to make sure you get your free consultation. (Free $550 value.)

Who We Are

We are a local, family-owned, Georgia conservatorship law firm. Melissa went to John Marshall Law School in downtown Atlanta. We moved to Alpharetta after law school in 2017. After that, we moved to Suwanee to follow Shawn’s engineering job. Then, we settled down in Buford after having our first child. Now, we have two little ones. We spend the weekends going to Gwinnett County parks with our friends and kids, going to Jaemor and the Suwanee farmer’s markets to support local farmers, and camping/hiking at Lake Lanier with the kids. Thanks for joining and supporting our local family business!

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Douglasville Hours Of Operations

  • Monday: 8AM – 5PM
  • Tuesday: 8AM – 5PM
  • Wednesday: 8AM – 5PM
  • Thursday: 8AM – 5PM
  • Friday: 8AM – 5PM
  • Saturday: Closed
  • Sunday: Closed

Here Are The Major Cities We Serve In Georgia

We can serve you if you live in Douglasville, Georgia (30122, 30133, 30134, 30135, or 30154) in Douglas County

But, we also serve these other major cities in Georgia. 

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