Estate Planning
Financial Power of Attorney in Georgia
Without this document, a court decides who controls your finances if you become unable to. That process takes months and costs thousands of dollars.
What a Financial Power of Attorney Does — and What Happens Without One in Georgia
If you become incapacitated in Georgia without a financial power of attorney, your family must go to court to get permission to manage your bills, accounts, and property. A durable financial power of attorney gives a trusted person legal authority to act on your behalf immediately. Without it, even routine financial decisions can stall while a judge decides who is in charge.
Here Is What Happens to Your Finances When You Cannot Manage Them Yourself
A financial power of attorney is one of the most practical documents in estate planning. Without it, no one has automatic legal authority to handle your money, pay your bills, or manage your property if you become incapacitated. Your spouse cannot do it. Your adult children cannot do it. Not without a court order.
What “Durable” Means and Why It Matters
Georgia recognizes a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA). The word “durable” means it stays in effect even after you lose mental capacity. A standard power of attorney automatically terminates when you become incapacitated, which is exactly when you need it most. Only a durable power of attorney gives your agent authority when a health crisis happens.
What Your Family Has to Do Without One
Without a financial power of attorney, your family must file a petition in Georgia probate court to be named your conservator. The court schedules a hearing, reviews the evidence, and appoints someone to manage your estate. The process takes 6 months or more. Legal fees often exceed $5,000. During that time, bills go unpaid, accounts go unmanaged, and property cannot be sold or refinanced. The court, not you, chooses who controls your finances.
What Your Agent Can Do
Georgia’s DPOA Act gives your agent authority across 16 categories of financial power. Your agent can manage bank accounts, pay bills, file tax returns, handle real estate transactions, manage investments, operate a business, and interact with government agencies on your behalf. You can grant all 16 categories or limit authority to specific areas. You define the scope when you sign.
Who Should Be Your Agent
Your agent should be someone you trust completely. They will have broad access to your financial life. Most people choose a spouse first, then an adult child or sibling as a successor agent. The successor agent steps in only if the primary agent cannot serve. Naming a successor costs nothing extra and closes a significant gap in your plan.
What a Financial Power of Attorney Does Not Cover
- It does not cover healthcare decisions. A separate Advance Healthcare Directive handles that.
- It does not distribute assets after death. Your will or trust controls asset distribution.
- It does not protect assets from Medicaid spend-down. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust handles that.
- It cannot be created after incapacity begins. You must have legal capacity when you sign.
Who This Is For
Every adult in Georgia should have a durable financial power of attorney. The risk is not only age-related. A car accident, a stroke, or a surgical complication can leave any adult temporarily unable to manage their finances. If you have a bank account, own property, or pay bills, you need this document. The cost of creating it is a fraction of the cost of not having it.
What The Hive Law Prepares, How the Process Works, and What You Receive
The Hive Law prepares your financial power of attorney as part of a complete incapacity plan. Three documents work together to cover every gap. Each one gives your family legal authority to act without going to court.
The Document
We prepare a Georgia Durable Power of Attorney that complies with the 2017 Georgia DPOA Act. The document grants your chosen agent authority across the financial categories you select. We walk through every option with you during your Family Protection Audit before anything is drafted. Nothing is signed until you understand exactly what it says and what it does.
The Process
Everything is handled over the phone. You do not need to visit our office. We schedule your Family Protection Audit, draft your documents, deliver them for review, schedule a signing call, and store your executed originals in a secure client portal. Most families complete the full process in one to two weeks.
The Guarantee
Your financial power of attorney must give your agent the legal authority they need on day one. If a bank, brokerage, or government agency refuses to honor the document due to a drafting error on our part, we fix it at no charge. We stand behind every document we prepare.
The Documents
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Advance Healthcare Directive
- HIPAA Authorization
The Implementation
- Document Walk-Through Call
- Signing Instructions
- Executed Originals Package
The Included Services
- Successor Agent Orientation
- Digital Copy in Secure Client Portal
- Post-Signing Checklist
This document is included in The Complete Family Trust Package. If you are also setting up a revocable living trust, ask about bundling your incapacity documents with your trust for a single flat fee.
Most clients tell us the Family Protection Audit is the most useful conversation they have had about their finances in years.
Without a Financial Power of Attorney
- A court must appoint a conservator before anyone can legally manage your finances
- The process takes 6 months or more and costs $5,000 or more in legal fees
- Your family cannot pay bills, access accounts, or manage property during proceedings
- The judge chooses who controls your money. It may not be who you would have chosen.
- Conservatorship requires annual court reports and ongoing legal oversight for years
With a Financial Power of Attorney
- Your chosen agent can act immediately when they need to. No court visit required.
- Banks, brokers, and government agencies are required to honor a Georgia DPOA
- Your agent can pay bills, manage investments, and handle real estate on your behalf
- You choose your agent and define exactly how much authority they have
- The document costs a fraction of what conservatorship does and takes weeks, not months
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.
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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
Only if the document explicitly grants that authority. Georgia’s DPOA Act does not allow self-dealing by default. An agent who misuses their authority can be held personally liable for breach of fiduciary duty. We explain fiduciary obligations to every client and recommend naming a successor agent as an added safeguard.
A power of attorney must be signed while you have legal capacity. That means you understand what the document is and what authority it grants. An early-stage dementia diagnosis does not automatically eliminate capacity. The legal standard is decision-making capacity, not a diagnosis. If capacity is in question, we can coordinate with your physician to document it. The time to act is while capacity is clear.
Banks in Georgia are required to accept a valid Durable Power of Attorney under the 2017 Georgia DPOA Act, with limited exceptions. A bank may request documentation to verify the agent’s identity or the document’s validity. We prepare documents that comply fully with Georgia law and can assist if a financial institution raises concerns.
Yes. You can revoke a durable power of attorney at any time while you have legal capacity. Revocation should be done in writing and delivered to your agent and any institution that has a copy on file. If your situation changes, a new document can be prepared at that time.
A financial power of attorney covers financial and legal matters only. It does not give your agent authority over medical decisions. A healthcare power of attorney, which is part of your Advance Healthcare Directive, covers medical decisions. Both documents are needed for a complete incapacity plan. The Hive Law prepares both as part of the same package.
No. A power of attorney only applies while you are alive. It has no effect after death. Your will or revocable living trust governs what happens to your assets after you pass. A power of attorney and a trust serve different purposes and are both part of a complete estate plan.
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