Georgia Estate Planning Attorneys
Coleman Legal Group, LLC
Phone: 470-947-2471
Estate Planning
From a simple will to a complex high asset trust, Coleman Legal Group, LLC provides our clients with competent estate planning and succession services, ensuring our clients’ wishes, protection of assets, succession of business, and ensuring the preservation of property and assets for the family. Our firm provides a range of quality legal services that help our attorneys protect the assets of the clients. The hallmark to our estate planning practice is our work in the creation of simple wills, power of attorneys, Advanced Healthcare Directives, Trust formation, and business planning and succession. No matter how large or complicated your estate is, Coleman Legal Group works their way on protecting your legacy as well as securing your family’s future.
What is Estate Planning and Why Is It Important?
A common question you may face is: Do you need an Estate Plan? Estate planning involves managing the transfer of assets after death, along with various personal matters, and may include tax planning. In simple terms, it is making a plan in advance, naming the people or organizations you want to receive the things you own after you die, and ensuring steps are initiated to make the process seamless. A few of the documents that will likely be prepared for your estate plan may include: a simple will, power of attorney, advanced healthcare directive, and a trust. These documents not only help lay out your wishes in clear terms but also hold legal authority to appoint trusted parties to act on your behalf in the event you are unable. Additionally, possessing a well-considered estate plan can help protect minor children and ensure that charitable intentions are fulfilled. Even if you feel that it is too early to have a plan, preparing legal documents that express your financial and healthcare wishes is important for anyone, regardless of your net worth or age. Formally expressing your intentions can help eliminate unnecessary tension between family members, as well as the need for court involvement in decision-making.
When Should You Review Your Estate Plan?
You must review your estate plan from time to time—ideally every 3 to 5 years—but also whenever significant life events have taken place that could impact your life. Major events such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a loved one are a signal to go over and revise the plan you have ready for the future.
Along with that, changes in your financial situation may also play a role: inheriting assets, becoming an entrepreneur, or retiring. You also need to watch out for changes in tax laws and estate planning laws as they can affect how your assets will be passed on or taxed.
Even if your own situation has not changed very much, developments in the law or new planning strategies may provide means of protecting your assets more effectively or minimizing tax liabilities for your beneficiaries. Regular reviews by an estate planning attorney or a financial planner can help keep your plan current, comprehensive, and in line with your long-term objectives.
Changes in Family Life:
- Have you gotten divorced, separated or remarried?
- Are you planning to get married?
- Have you adopted or had more children?
- Have any of your designated beneficiaries died?
Changes in Finances:
- Have you acquired new real estate or outside the state of Georgia?
- Have you received a recent inheritance?
- Have you obtained significant assets?
Changes in Circumstances:
- Have you named new beneficiaries?
- Have you named minor children or grandchildren as beneficiaries?
- Do you have a child with special needs?
- Has anyone you named as Executor, Trustee, Guardian or Agent become disabled, died, or is no longer a good choice?
Changes in the Law:
- Have you moved? Changes in state could mean changes in the law.
- Are your estate planning documents more than five years old?
- Are your estate planning documents outdated?
- Have your state’s laws changed in a way that affects your documents?
Key Points to Consider
Promoting Understanding and Clarity
Having your adult children read your will before you sign it is a good way to ensure transparency and avoid misunderstandings in the future. Having done so provides an opportunity that your kids won’t have after you are gone. Doing it during your lifetime would also be beneficial, as they have a chance to process it with you. It allows them to ask questions, express concerns, and gain a clear understanding of your intentions directly from you, something that can help prevent confusion, resentment, or legal disputes down the line. You wouldn’t want your child to be left wondering “Why?” after you’re gone, so it’s important to help them understand both your decisions and the responsibilities they may need to take on when the time comes.
Discussing your will with your family and friends promotes honesty and helps ensure that all of them are aware of what you desire. When honesty is a factor in your decisions and plans about your will, it helps minimize confusion and misunderstandings with friends and family. If someone is appointed as an executor or trustee or attorney, talking to them beforehand allows them to comprehend their role and prepare for what lies ahead and ask questions. These discussions bring clarity to the table and reduce the risk of future surprises.
Enable Better Planning For Loved Ones
Ensure that your children understand their responsibility and incorporate their suggestions when feasible. Make it a two-way conversation to minimize difficulties in the future. Your children may have preferences you are not aware of or did not come up with. If you can add their opinions while remaining true to your own values, everyone can end up happier.
Having open discussions can also help families plan effectively for their financial futures. Many individuals keep these matters private, but being transparent can be meaningful in conversation. For example, you might find out that a family member is struggling financially and could benefit from your help. On the contrary, if your children know they’ll have assistance from your money, they can adjust their own financial planning accordingly.
Avoid Delays and Disputes
Once acquiring an estate, make sure to review and update regularly. It is an important reminder that you are not necessarily done when you make your estate plan as you need to keep it updated as life changes. For example, a significant life event in your family, such as a divorce or passing of a loved one, can require updates in your beneficiaries, guardian appointments, or property distributions. Similarly, tax laws and regulations may change over the years, and an updated plan in effect works to minimize unwanted tax consequences on your estate and beneficiaries.
Disputes on estates can be costly and draining emotionally and with your use of time. When heirs are confused about their share of the estate or the reasons behind the decision made, it can lead to contested wills and legal battles against their own family members. Open communication can now prevent the estate settlement process late, minimizing the risk of delays and strained relationships.
Honor Specific Wishes
One of the most meaningful and important reasons to review your will with family is to understand their likes and wants. For instance, who values a family heirloom, like jewelry or timepieces, the most. Would one child want a family home while others would rather inherit cash? Knowing all these details can help ensure your decisions can help reflect what your loved ones really want, reducing fights over preferences. Similarly, knowing whether one child is more financially stable than the others can help you decide how you distribute monetary resources, leveling out the inheritances based on need and not splitting everything equally. These conversations also enable you to clarify your desires, especially in cases where personal items hold emotional significance that might not be immediately apparent to everyone.
Educate and Empower the Next Generation
Teaching the details of your estate can also be a great opportunity for children to learn about finances. Handing down knowledge, no matter if it’s lessons from your own journey on finances or insights into your investments, it can help motivate the next generation to make even better financial decisions. In some cases, this can even be a chance for family members to offer you advice, ensuring your assets are spread in a way that benefits everyone.
Written by: Isha Dubey, Edited by Coleman Legal Group, LLC
Call 470-947-2471 to speak with an attorney. Weekend and Evening Appointments and Consultations Available.
Probate, Wills, Estate Planning and Administration – Georgia Areas We Serve
Our Georgia Estate Planning attorneys handle cases in the following cities and communities: Atlanta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Duluth, Johns Creek, Milton, Cumming, Suwanee, Marietta, Woodstock, Sandy Springs, Kennesaw, Gainesville, Midtown Atlanta, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Kennesaw, Duluth, Buckhead, Dunwoody, Vinings, Smyrna, Buford, Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Decatur, Grant Park, East Atlanta, and the Virginia Highlands.
Our Georgia Estate Planning attorneys frequently handle cases for clients residing in the following counties: Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth, Cobb, DeKalb, Henry, Cherokee, Douglas, Carroll, Coweta, Paulding, Bartow, Hall, Barrow, Walton, Newton, Rockdale, Henry, Spalding, Fayette, and Clayton.
Call 470-947-2471 to speak with an attorney. Weekend and Evening Appointments and Consultations Available.
Georgia Areas We Serve
Our Georgia lawyers and attorneys handle cases in the following cities and communities: Atlanta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Duluth, Johns Creek, Milton, Cumming, Marietta, Woodstock, Kennesaw, Gainesville, Midtown Atlanta, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Kennesaw, Duluth, Buckhead, Dunwoody, Vinings, Smyrna, Buford, Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Decatur, Grant Park, East Atlanta and the Virginia Highlands.
Our Georgia lawyers and attorneys frequently handle cases for clients residing in the following counties: Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth, Cobb, DeKalb, Henry, Cherokee, Douglas, Carroll, Coweta, Paulding, Bartow, Hall, Barrow, Walton, Newton, Rockdale, Henry, Spalding, Fayette and Clayton.
Our main office is located in Alpharetta Georgia at: 11539 Park Woods Circle, Suite 304, Alpharetta, GA 30005. We also have offices conveniently located at:
| Alpharetta Georgia Park Woods Commons 11539 Park Woods Circle Suite 304 Alpharetta, GA 30005 Phone: 470-947-2471 | Map |
Atlanta Georgia |
| Dunwoody, Sandy Springs GA 400, Atlanta Georgia 1200 Abernathy Rd Building 600 Atlanta, GA 30328 Phone: 470-947-2471 | Map |
Cumming Georgia |
| Johns Creek, Duluth GA 11555 Medlock Bridge Road Suite 100 Johns Creek, GA 30097 Phone: 470-947-2471 | Map |
Duluth Georgia |
| Kennesaw Georgia TownPark Center 125 TownPark Drive Suite 300 Kennesaw, GA 30144 Phone: 470-947-2471 | Map |
Lawrenceville |
Copyright © 2025 | Coleman Legal Group, LLC | All Rights Reserved. Coleman Legal Group, LLC • 11539 Park Woods Circle, Suite 304 • Alpharetta, Georgia 30005 • 470-947-2471 DISCLAIMER: The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
Privacy Policy | Site Map | Disclaimer | Additional Websites
Updated: 2025-10-12
