Sandy Springs Wills and Trusts Lawyer

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Sandy Springs residents have a lot to protect. Whether you own a home near the Chattahoochee River, run a business off Roswell Road, or have raised a family in the Perimeter Center area, your assets and your wishes deserve a solid legal foundation. A well-drafted will or trust is how you build that foundation. At Slowik Estate Planning, located in Atlanta, Georgia, we work with individuals and families throughout Sandy Springs and the greater metro area to create clear, legally sound estate plans that hold up when it matters most.

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What a Will Actually Does Under Georgia Law

A will is a written legal document that tells the state, your family, and the courts exactly what you want to happen to your property when you die. Without one, Georgia’s intestacy laws under O.C.G.A. Title 53 take over, and the state decides who gets what. That outcome may not match your wishes at all.

Under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20, a valid Georgia will must be in writing and signed by you, the testator. The will must also be attested and subscribed in the presence of the testator by two or more competent witnesses. Those witnesses must sign while you can see them. Georgia courts apply what is called the “line-of-vision test,” which means a will may be improperly admitted to probate if the witnesses signed at a location where the testator could not see them without changing position from where the testator had signed. That is a detail many people miss when trying to handle this on their own.

Georgia also allows you to make your will self-proved. A will or codicil may be made self-proved by the affidavits of the testator and the attesting witnesses made before a notary public. When a will is self-proved, it may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witness. This saves your family significant time and stress during an already difficult period.

Under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10, every individual 14 years of age or older may make a will, unless laboring under some legal disability arising either from a want of capacity or a want of perfect liberty of action. Testamentary capacity requires that you understand what you own, who your natural heirs are, and what your document does. If those elements are in question, a will can be challenged.

Working with an Atlanta estate planning lawyer at Slowik Estate Planning means your will is drafted correctly from the start, properly executed, and structured to reflect your actual intentions, not a generic template.

How Trusts Work and Why Sandy Springs Families Use Them

A trust is a legal arrangement where one person (the settlor) transfers assets to a trustee to hold and manage for the benefit of named beneficiaries. Trusts are not just for the ultra-wealthy. Families across Sandy Springs, from those living near Morgan Falls Overlook Park to professionals working in the Perimeter area, use trusts to avoid probate, protect assets, and control how wealth passes to the next generation.

Georgia trust law is governed by the Revised Georgia Trust Code of 2010, found in O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 12. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-261, a trustee of an express trust has broad powers without needing court approval, including the power to sell, exchange, invest, and manage trust property. That flexibility makes trusts a powerful planning tool.

One important point under Georgia law: all Georgia trusts are irrevocable unless the settlor expressly reserves a power of revocation. That means if you create a trust and do not include specific language reserving your right to change or cancel it, the trust becomes irrevocable by default. This is one reason why working with a knowledgeable attorney matters so much.

A revocable living trust lets you keep control of your assets during your lifetime. You can change it, fund it with new assets, and revoke it entirely if your circumstances change. When you pass away, the trust avoids probate entirely, which means your beneficiaries receive their inheritance faster and with more privacy. For families with minor children, blended family situations, or real estate in multiple states, a trust often provides protections that a will simply cannot.

If you want to work with a dedicated trust attorney who understands how Georgia’s trust code applies to your specific situation, Slowik Estate Planning is ready to help.

The Difference Between Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts in Georgia

Choosing between a revocable and irrevocable trust is one of the most important decisions in any estate plan. Both serve real purposes, but they work very differently under Georgia law.

A revocable trust gives you flexibility. You remain in control during your lifetime. You can add assets, remove assets, change beneficiaries, and even dissolve the trust entirely. During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor’s creditors. That means a revocable trust does not protect your assets from lawsuits or creditors while you are alive. Its primary benefits are probate avoidance and ease of administration after death.

An irrevocable trust works differently. Once created, you generally give up direct control over the assets transferred into it. In exchange, those assets may be shielded from creditors and, in some cases, excluded from your taxable estate. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-242, within 60 days after the creation of an irrevocable trust or the date on which a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust’s existence and the trustee’s name and mailing address.

Georgia law does allow modification of an irrevocable trust under certain circumstances. During the settlor’s lifetime, a court may approve a petition to modify or terminate an irrevocable trust, even if the modification is inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust, if the settlor and all qualified beneficiaries consent and the trustee has received notice. This provides some flexibility, but it requires court involvement and unanimous consent, which is not always easy to obtain.

Irrevocable trusts are commonly used in estate tax planning, Medicaid planning, and asset protection strategies. If reducing your taxable estate is a priority, speaking with an estate tax planning lawyer at Slowik Estate Planning can help you understand which type of trust fits your goals.

What Happens Without a Will or Trust in Sandy Springs

Dying without a will in Georgia is called dying “intestate.” When that happens, the Fulton County Probate Court, located on Pryor Street in downtown Atlanta, steps in to oversee the distribution of your estate. The court follows Georgia’s intestacy statutes under O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 2, which divide your assets according to a fixed formula, not your personal wishes.

Think about what that means in practice. If you are married with children, your spouse does not automatically receive everything. Georgia’s intestacy laws split assets between your surviving spouse and your children, which can create serious financial hardship for a spouse who needs access to the full estate. If you are unmarried but in a long-term relationship, your partner receives nothing under intestacy laws, regardless of how long you were together.

Probate in Georgia is also a public process. Anyone can look up the inventory of your estate and see what you owned and who received it. For Sandy Springs families who value their privacy, a properly funded revocable living trust keeps all of that information out of the public record.

There is also the question of guardianship for minor children. Your will is the only legal document where you can name a guardian for your kids. Without it, a court decides who raises them. That is a decision no parent should leave to a judge who has never met your family.

The probate process can also be slow. Georgia’s probate code under O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 5 sets out the procedures for probating a will, and even a straightforward estate can take months to resolve. A trust-based plan, properly funded, bypasses that process entirely.

Why Working With Slowik Estate Planning Makes a Difference

Estate planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. A young couple in Sandy Springs with two kids and a mortgage has different needs than a retired executive living near Abernathy Road with a complex investment portfolio. The documents that protect one family may leave another family exposed.

At Slowik Estate Planning, we take the time to understand your full picture before recommending any documents. That means understanding your family structure, your assets, your concerns about incapacity, and your goals for the people you love. We draft wills that meet every requirement under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20, and we structure trusts that align with the Revised Georgia Trust Code of 2010 so they hold up in court and serve your beneficiaries the way you intended.

We also help clients think beyond the will and trust themselves. A complete estate plan includes a durable power of attorney, a healthcare directive, and, where appropriate, documents that address business succession, digital assets, and multi-generational wealth transfer. Families with significant assets often benefit from layered planning strategies that combine multiple tools working together.

Trustee powers under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-261 are broad, but a poorly drafted trust instrument can still create conflict, confusion, or unintended tax consequences. We make sure the language in your documents is clear, specific, and consistent with your intentions.

Sandy Springs families trust Slowik Estate Planning because we treat every client’s plan with the same care we would want for our own family. Our office serves clients throughout Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding communities. If you are ready to put a real plan in place, contact Slowik Estate Planning today to schedule a consultation. Your family deserves the protection that only a properly drafted estate plan can provide.

FAQs About Sandy Springs Wills and Trusts

Does Georgia require a will to be notarized?

Georgia does not require notarization for a will to be valid. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20, a will is valid if it is in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two competent witnesses who sign in the testator’s presence. However, adding a notarized self-proving affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24 allows the will to be admitted to probate without requiring witness testimony, which can save your family significant time and effort.

Can I change my trust after it is created in Georgia?

It depends on the type of trust. A revocable living trust can be changed, amended, or revoked at any time during your lifetime, as long as you have mental capacity. An irrevocable trust is much harder to change. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-61, modifying an irrevocable trust generally requires either court approval with the consent of all qualified beneficiaries, or, during the settlor’s lifetime, the consent of both the settlor and all qualified beneficiaries. Neither path is simple, which is why it is important to draft your trust carefully from the beginning.

What is the minimum age to make a will in Georgia?

Under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10, any individual who is 14 years of age or older may make a will, provided they have the mental capacity to do so. That means the person must understand the nature and extent of their property, know who their natural heirs are, and have a clear intention about how they want their assets distributed. Age alone does not determine capacity, and courts can void a will if there is evidence of undue influence or lack of mental clarity at the time of signing.

Does a trust avoid probate in Georgia?

Yes, a properly funded revocable living trust avoids probate in Georgia. Assets held in the trust at the time of your death pass directly to your beneficiaries according to the trust’s terms, without going through the Fulton County Probate Court or any other probate proceeding. The key word here is “funded.” A trust that has not been properly funded, meaning assets have not been transferred into it, does not avoid probate. Working with an attorney to fund your trust correctly is just as important as drafting it.

What is the difference between a will and a pour-over will in Georgia?

A standard will directs your assets to named individuals or organizations at death. A pour-over will works alongside a revocable living trust. Under O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-60 through 53-4-65, a pour-over will directs any assets that were not transferred into your trust during your lifetime to “pour over” into the trust at death, so they are ultimately distributed under the trust’s terms. Pour-over wills still go through probate for those assets, but they ensure that everything ends up in the same place and is governed by a single set of instructions. They are a common and useful part of a trust-based estate plan.

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