Personal Representative Compensation

When drafting estate plans and when working with clients to probate estates, I am frequently asked “what compensation are Administrators and Executors entitled to?” Georgia code includes provisions for Personal Representative compensation, also referred to as...

Loved One’s Death: Action List

Dealing with the death of someone we love is a stressful without the additional worry of addressing financial and legal matters. To make the process easier, here is a checklist of financial and legal matters you should deal with after a loved one’s death. This...

Is Probate Required?

We regularly receive calls from persons asking if they need to probate a loved one’s estate. Unfortunately, the answer to the question is probate required depends on a number of factors including the specific laws of the state in which the deceased lived and owned...

Social Security Survivor’s Benefits

We work with our clients after the death of their loved ones and get many questions regarding social security and whether any of the survivors are entitled to continuing benefits. When loved ones pass away, there are lots of considerations, including what happens to...

Estate Planning for an Empty Nester

Congratulations! You are an empty nester and it’s time to update your estate plan. At this point in your life, you no longer have minor children or don’t have children, you may have acquired significant assets, and you may be considering retirement. When reviewing...

Heirs at Law under Georgia Law

A common statement in many Last Will and Testaments is that the estate will be “distributed to my heirs at law.” Georgia statutes define who the heirs at law are in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA), Section 53-2-1, as follows: The spouse is the heir if...