How Much Does Estate Planning Cost for a Family With Minor Children in Georgia

What Estate Planning Actually Costs for a Georgia Family With Kids

A complete estate plan for a Georgia family with young kids costs $3,500 at The Hive Law. It is a flat fee, not an hourly bill. That one price covers your trust, your will, your power of attorney, your healthcare directive, your HIPAA form, and one Georgia property moved into the trust.

Most other Georgia firms charge by the hour. Some just give you a range instead of a real number. That makes it hard to know what you will actually pay until the bill shows up. A flat fee means you know the full price up front. It does not change if your first meeting runs long.

If you only want a will, and not a trust, that costs less. A single parent’s will-only plan is $1,800. A married couple’s will-only plan is $2,200. Later on this page, we explain when a will alone is enough, and when your family needs the trust too.

Why This Matters More Than the Price Tag

If you found this page, you probably already know estate planning matters. You may not know what really happens to your kids if you have no plan. A Georgia court, not you, picks who raises them. A judge who has never met your family makes that call, based on whatever paperwork exists.

That is not a scare tactic. It is just how Georgia law works when there is no plan. Our article on what happens to your minor children if you die without a will in Georgia walks through the full process. The short version is simple. The cost of a plan is small next to the cost of leaving that choice to a stranger.

You are not behind for not having this done yet. Most parents put it off. Not because they do not care, but because nobody ever laid out what it actually costs or what it actually includes. That is what the rest of this page does. See our full guide to estate planning for Georgia families for every family situation this covers.

Georgia Law Requires a Will (Not Just a Trust) to Name a Guardian for Your Kids

Here is a fact most parents do not know. In Georgia, only a will can legally name a guardian for your minor children. A trust cannot do this. It does not matter how well the trust is written. This comes straight from Georgia law: “Every parent, by will, may nominate a testamentary guardian for the parent’s minor child” (O.C.G.A. § 29-2-4).

This is why every trust package at The Hive Law includes a will, not just a trust. The trust protects your money and property, and keeps your family out of probate court. The will is the document that names who raises your kids. You need both. The flat fee already includes both, so this is not an extra cost you have to plan for later.

Here is how it works in practice. You name a guardian in your will. If you die while your kids are still minors, that will goes to probate court. As long as the person you named agrees to serve, and nobody objects, the court approves them without a hearing. If someone does object, a judge decides based on strong, clear evidence. Naming your choice in writing, in a valid will, is what gives your choice real weight instead of leaving it to a judge’s best guess.

What’s Actually Included in the Flat-Fee Package

The base package is called the Foundation tier. It is $3,500 and covers you and your spouse. It includes:

• A revocable living trust that holds your money and property, and keeps your family out of probate court
• A pour-over will that names a guardian for your kids and catches anything you left out of the trust
• A financial power of attorney so someone you pick can manage your money if you cannot
• An advance healthcare directive so your medical wishes get followed, and someone you trust can decide for you if you cannot
• A HIPAA form so your family can get your medical information when they need it
• One Georgia property moved into the trust, with proof the move was done the right way

You also get a walk-through of every document. You get a session to fund your trust. And the person you name to run things later gets a short training call. None of this gets added on later as an extra cost. It is all part of the flat fee from day one.

Will-Only vs. Trust: What Georgia Parents Actually Need

Not every family needs a trust right away. Here is a simple way to think about it.

A will-only plan makes sense if naming a guardian is your main goal, and you do not yet own a home or have much saved up. It covers the guardian nomination and your basic wishes. But your estate still goes through probate court when you die. Probate in Georgia takes months and costs real money. We cover both below.

A trust makes sense once you own a home, have young kids, or want your family to skip probate entirely. A funded trust passes your money and property straight to your family. No judge, no filing, no waiting period. For most parents with a house and kids, this matters more than the price gap between the two options.

You do not have to pick the priciest option out of fear. Start with what actually fits your life right now. You can always add the trust later if things change.

Why a Trust Also Controls the Money, Not Just Who Raises Your Kids

A will can name a guardian. But your kids’ money is a separate problem. Without a trust, here is what actually happens to their inheritance.

If your kids inherit more than $25,000, Georgia law requires a court-appointed conservator to manage the money, not just a guardian to raise them. This comes from Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 29-3-1. The guardian who raises your kids and the conservator who controls the money can be the same person. But even then, that person now answers to a court. Big expenses often need a judge’s approval first.

When your child turns 18, the conservatorship ends automatically, and the conservator has to hand over everything that is left, all at once. This is required by Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 29-3-64. It does not matter if your child is ready to manage a large sum of money. The law does not ask. An 18-year-old who inherits $200,000 gets a check for $200,000, with no guardrails and no one checking in afterward.

A trust lets you set the rules yourself, instead of leaving that decision to state law. You pick the age your child actually gets the money. That could be 25, 30, or spread across a few ages instead of all at once. You can also let the trustee pay for things like college, a first car, or medical care along the way, without handing over the full amount early. The trustee follows the instructions you write, not a court’s default rule.

This is the real difference between a will-only plan and a trust for most parents. A will can tell Georgia who raises your kids. Only a trust lets you control how, and when, they actually get the money.

What Makes the Price Go Up or Down for Your Family

The flat fee is not one size fits all. A few things change your real price. See the full trust package tier breakdown for how each tier compares:

• Extra Georgia property. Each extra property you move into your trust is $550.
• Out-of-state property. Each extra state where you own property is $1,100.
• Protecting more family members. Maybe you want a power of attorney, healthcare directive, HIPAA form, and a will for up to three named family members, not just you and your spouse. That is the Family tier, $5,500. Each named family member gets their own will, so each of them can also legally name a guardian for their own kids if that applies.
• Business ownership. If you own an LLC or another business, moving it into your trust and cleaning up the paperwork puts you at the Portfolio tier, $8,500.
• A full plan for your whole extended family. The Legacy tier, $15,000, covers a complete trust package for up to three named family members. Not just supporting documents, a full plan for each of them.

Most young families have one home and no business. They land right at the base Foundation price. The other options only apply if they actually fit your life.

What About Single Parents or Unmarried Parents?

Everything on this page works the same if you are a single parent. It also works the same if you are not married to your child’s other parent. Georgia law lets any parent name a guardian by will, married or not. The Foundation tier price stays the same either way.

One thing to do early: talk with your co-parent, if there is one, about who you are naming. Courts are far less likely to question your choice when both parents agree on it ahead of time.

What About Blended Families?

If you have stepkids, kids from a prior marriage, or a mix of both, the guardian question gets more layered. You may want different guardians for different kids, or you may want to spell out who gets what more carefully so there is no confusion later. None of this changes the base price. It changes how the documents get written, not what they cost.

Read more in our guide to estate planning for blended families in Georgia. It covers stepkids and second marriages in more depth.

How Long Does the Whole Process Take?

Most families finish their full plan in a few weeks, not months. You meet once to go over your family and your goals. You get an exact price on that call. Once you say yes, your documents get drafted, you review them, you sign them, and your trust gets funded. Georgia probate, by comparison, takes 13 months on average once it starts. Building your plan now takes a fraction of that time.

What It Costs Your Family If You Wait

Doing nothing is not free. It just moves the cost from you, on your own terms, to your family, on a court’s timeline.

Without a trust, a simple Georgia estate goes through probate court for about 13 months on average. That costs about $14,700 in attorney and court fees. For a business owner, or a more complex estate, that average climbs to about 25 months and $29,700. Those figures cover the estate itself. If a court also has to appoint a guardian for your kids, that adds its own fees, its own costs, and its own time. It stacks on top of whatever your family is already going through.

A flat-fee plan built now is a known cost. You pay it once, on your own schedule. Probate, and a guardian fight in court, are unknown costs. Your family pays them, on a court’s schedule, while they are grieving.

“I Don’t Have Much Money.” Why This Isn’t About How Much You Own

A lot of parents put this off because they think estate planning is only for people with a lot of money. That is not what this is about for a family with young kids. The single most important thing this plan does has nothing to do with your bank account. It legally names who raises your kids if you cannot.

That matters just as much for a family renting an apartment as it does for a family that owns three homes. Naming a guardian in your will costs the same either way. If money really is your only worry, a will-only plan still gets that piece done. It is $1,800 for a single parent, or $2,200 for a couple.

You do not need your finances figured out to protect your kids. The plan can grow with you later, as your life changes.

How Pricing Works at The Hive Law

Every tier includes the will that lets you legally name a guardian for your kids. The tiers only change how much else is covered. That core protection is in all four.

What to Do Next

You do not have to know your exact tier before reaching out. Most parents are not sure which one fits until they talk it through with someone.

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.

Melissa will go over your family’s real situation on that call. You will get an exact price before you commit to anything.