The Hive Law
How Georgia Probate Works: Timeline, Costs, and What Your Family Should Expect
When someone dies in Georgia, probate takes about 13 months. It costs the average family $14,700 in court and attorney fees. The Hive Law helps Georgia families avoid it before it happens.
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When Georgia Probate Is Required and What It Costs Your Family
Georgia probate ties up your estate in court for months while your family waits, pays fees, and works through a public legal process they didn't ask for. A probate attorney guides families through administration, inventory, and distribution after a death. If you want to avoid putting your family through this, The Hive Law can build a trust that bypasses Georgia probate entirely.
What Is Probate in Georgia?
Probate is the legal process a Georgia court uses to validate your will, pay your debts, and distribute your assets after you die. It is managed by the probate court in the county where you lived. Every Georgia county has its own probate court with its own docket, timelines, and fees.
The process requires an executor to file your will, notify creditors, publish a public notice, wait for claims, and eventually distribute what is left. That takes about 13 months in Georgia for a standard estate. Estates with rental homes, a business, a blended family, or land in another state take longer. They take about 25 months on average. Your family cannot sell your home until it is put into their own names at the end of probate.
What Does Probate Cost in Georgia?
The average Georgia probate costs $14,700 in court and attorney fees. Complex estates cost $29,700 on average. These fees are paid from the estate before your family receives anything.
Court filing fees, executor fees, attorney fees, and accounting fees add up quickly. In some cases the fees exceed the value of the assets in the estate. Your family pays those fees from the estate, not from their own pockets, but that still reduces what they receive.
Why a Will Does Not Avoid Probate
Many Georgia families believe a will keeps their estate out of court. It does not. A will is a set of instructions for the probate court. The court reads your will, validates it, and then supervises the distribution. A will directs probate. It does not avoid it.
When your will goes through probate it becomes a public record. Anyone can search the courthouse files and see what you owned, who you left it to, and how much. Creditors, predatory vendors, and estranged relatives can all see this information.
How a Revocable Trust Avoids Probate
A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them to your family after you die without going through probate court. When you die, your successor trustee distributes assets directly to your beneficiaries according to the trust terms. There is no court filing. There is no waiting period. There is no public record.
The Hive Law guarantees that every asset placed into your trust avoids probate. If any asset goes through probate because of an error on our part, we handle it at no charge.
What Happens If You Own Property in Multiple States
If you die owning real estate in another state and you only have a will, your family does not open one probate. They open one in Georgia and one in each state where you own property. Each probate requires its own attorney, its own court filings, and its own timeline. Nothing distributes until every probate closes.
One properly funded revocable trust eliminates all of them. Your successor trustee handles every state from a single document.
See our Georgia probate cost breakdown and flat-fee representation →
Avoid Probate Before It Happens
Protect Your Assets While You Are Alive
Find Out Where You Stand
What Happens During Probate
Planning For Your Specific Situation
If you own rental properties or a business, your situation has layers a standard estate plan does not address.
The Difference a Trust Makes
Going Through Probate
With a Funded Trust
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.
The Design Meeting With Shawn and Melissa
In a 60-minute meeting, Shawn and Melissa review your assets, your family, and your goals together and confirm your price. This meeting is credited toward your plan if you move forward.
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.
121+ 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 patient and responsive, answering our many rounds of questions regarding trusts and estate planning. Shawn consistently responded the same day we sent our questions, even while his family was on vacation, which we greatly appreciated. Shawn was also always available to discuss matters by phone whenever we needed additional clarification on the options we were considering. Both are very knowledgeable in estate planning, and we would confidently recommend Hive Law to friends and family.
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 and developing a trust to protect her assets. I sat in on her meeting with Melissa, and Melissa did a great job of simplifying complex legalese into easily understood concepts. Shawn was very quick to get us our documents and all steps in the process were clear and easy. They make a great team and we are thankful for their help!
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 an excellent experience. They were one of three firms we contacted, but she made the strongest impression during our initial call. They asked great questions to understand our situation and clearly explained what we needed to put in place. We initially had some reservations about their fully virtual approach, but those concerns were quickly put to rest. After the first two calls, it was clear how easy they are to work with and how well connected we felt. Communication has been clear, organized, and reassuring throughout the process. Shawn and Melissa are professional, approachable, and thorough. We feel confident we're in good hands and highly recommend The Hive Law for 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!!
The Hive Law helped us set up a revocable trust. Their webinar is great for answering any questions you may have, to clarify and avoid probate. Get in touch with them right away, you won't be disappointed.
Melissa was great! She gave me an honest review of my future plans that I already have in place. Turns out, I already had my ducks in a row!!! She was a pleasure to talk with!!
For several years now I have been thinking about having a will drawn up, but continued to procrastinate until an older sibling had a medical situation occur which none of the family was prepared for. This was the determining factor for me to get it done. We never know when an emergency medical situation could arise and I didn't want my other siblings to be scrambling around trying to figure things out in the event I couldn't make any decisions for myself, or God forbid I pass away. My attorney (Melissa), was very funny and made the whole experience quite entertaining. She listened to what I wanted and explained the type of plan I needed. Thanks Melissa & Shawn for making the process an enjoyable experience.
The Hive Law Firm did an excellent job helping my mother-in-law with her estate plan. The process felt overwhelming at first, but their team walked us through every step with compassion and professionalism. They listened to our concerns, explained things in simple terms, and made sure our mother's wishes were honored. We're very grateful for their guidance.
The Hive Law firm did an outstanding job helping my family members with their estate planning. They made the process clear, smooth and stress free. Truly professional and caring team, highly recommend!
The whole process of creating a family trust felt simple, clear, and stress-free. We really appreciated how patient, helpful, and easy to communicate with the team was throughout everything. Shawn and Melissa gave us great guidance and helped us feel confident every step of the way. We're grateful for their support and would definitely recommend them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Probate is the court process Georgia uses to validate a will, pay debts, and distribute assets after someone dies. It is managed by the probate court in the county where the person lived. A standard estate takes about 13 months. It needs court filings and notices to creditors. The family cannot sell the person’s house until it is put into their own names at the end of probate.
The average Georgia probate costs $14,700 in court and attorney fees. Complex estates cost $29,700 on average. That includes estates with rental homes, a business, or land in another state. These fees are paid from the estate before your family receives anything.
A will does not avoid probate. A will is a set of instructions for the probate court, not a way around it. When you die with a will, the court reads it, validates it, and supervises the distribution. A will directs probate. It does not avoid it. It also becomes a public record that anyone can search.
A revocable living trust holds your assets and transfers them to your family after you die without going through court. Your successor trustee distributes assets directly according to the trust terms. There is no court filing, no waiting period, and no public record. The Hive Law guarantees every asset placed into your trust avoids probate.
If you die owning real estate in another state without a trust, your family must open a separate probate in each state where you own property. Each one requires its own attorney and its own timeline. Nothing distributes until every probate closes. One funded revocable trust eliminates all of them.
The right time to plan is before a health event forces the decision. Once you are incapacitated or in a hospital, your options narrow significantly. The Hive Law can typically complete a full estate plan in 2 to 3 weeks from the initial audit to document signing.
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.