Estate Planning
Trust Package Review
A trust package review checks your existing trust, pour-over will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive for errors and gaps. Georgia law changes and life changes can make an old plan fail exactly when your family needs it most. Melissa Breyer reviews what you already have and tells you what needs to be fixed.
Find Out Where You Stand
An Old Trust Package Can Fail Right When Your Family Needs It
Estate plans drafted years ago, or by another attorney, often have outdated beneficiary designations, unfunded trusts, or documents that no longer match Georgia law. A trust package review finds those problems before your family finds them during a crisis.
Why an Old Trust Package Stops Working
If you are not sure your trust package still works, you are not the only one. Most people sign their documents once and never open the folder again. That is normal, and it does not mean you did anything wrong. It also does not mean whoever wrote your documents made a mistake. A trust package that was solid the day you signed it can quietly stop matching your life.
The trust, the pour-over will, the power of attorney, and the healthcare directive get filed away and forgotten. Years pass. Life changes. The documents do not.
A trust package can go stale in several ways. The trust was never funded, meaning bank accounts, real estate, and other property were never retitled into the trust’s name. A funding gap like this defeats the entire purpose of having a trust.
Beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts may still name an ex-spouse or someone who has since passed away. These designations control outside of the trust, so an outdated form can override what the trust document actually says.
Georgia law has also changed since many trust packages were signed. A document that was valid and complete years ago may leave gaps a Georgia court will not fill in automatically today.
What Happens When Your Family Finds the Gap
An unfunded or outdated trust does not fail quietly. It fails at the exact moment your family needs it to work, when you are incapacitated or after you die. Your family finds out at the worst possible time, while they are already worried about you or grieving.
Assets left outside the trust do not skip Georgia probate. They go through it, the same as if you had no plan at all.
These are the same costs a trust is supposed to prevent. An outdated or unfunded trust package can quietly bring them right back.
What a Trust Package Review Includes
Melissa Breyer reads every document in your trust package: the trust itself, the pour-over will, the financial power of attorney, and the healthcare directive. She checks whether the trust was actually funded, whether the beneficiary designations match your current wishes, and whether the documents still meet Georgia’s legal requirements.
After the document review, you get a phone call with Melissa to confirm your goals have not changed. Marriages, divorces, new children, new grandchildren, and new property all change what your plan should say.
If Melissa finds errors or gaps, she amends and updates the documents and sends them back to you for review before anything is finalized. The entire trust package review is a flat fee of $1,050, with no hourly billing and no surprise invoice.
When a Review Is Not Enough
Some old trust packages have problems a review cannot fix. If the trust was drafted for a different state, if the structure no longer fits your family, or if the plan needs to be rebuilt from scratch, Melissa will tell you directly instead of patching a document that should be replaced. In that case, she will walk you through a new revocable living trust and what it costs.
How to Get Started
Your first call is free, about 15 minutes, and happens by phone with Shawn. If you move forward, your next step is the Design Meeting with Melissa, which is credited toward your plan.
A trust package review is one part of keeping your Georgia estate plan current.
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 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 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 trust package review is a document by document check of your existing estate plan. Melissa Breyer reads your trust, pour-over will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive to find outdated information, unfunded accounts, and gaps in Georgia law compliance.
A trust package review at The Hive Law is a flat fee of $1,050. The fee covers the full document review, a phone call with Melissa Breyer, and any amendments the review turns up.
You likely need a review if your trust is more than a few years old, if you have married, divorced, had children, or moved since it was signed, or if you are not sure whether your accounts and property were ever retitled into the trust’s name.
Yes. Most trust package reviews at The Hive Law involve documents originally drafted by another attorney or through a DIY estate planning service. Melissa Breyer reviews the documents as they exist today, regardless of who wrote them.
Timelines vary based on how many documents there are and what the review finds. Most reviews start with a document read-through, move to a phone call with Melissa Breyer, and finish with any amendments sent back to you for approval.
Some trust packages have problems a review cannot fix, such as a trust drafted for a different state or a structure that no longer fits your family. If that happens, Melissa Breyer will tell you directly and walk you through what a new revocable living trust costs.
Most families who read this page also read: Revocable Living Trust Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia
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.
Where We Serve
Georgia Counties We Serve
We help families across Georgia protect their assets and avoid probate. Select your county to learn more about estate planning where you live.