Blog

March 3, 2022

The phrase is from movies produced more than 50 years ago. The doctor gives the bad news to his patient, “There is nothing we can do for you. It’s time for you to put your affairs in order.” I was reminded of it when I started working recently on two different probate files. In both instances the male decedent knew he had a terminal diagnosis but failed to put his “affairs in order.”

Dec. 1, 2021

Only one-third of the people in this country who need a last will and testament have one. This article is written for those people. Once you have a will, the next task is to store it properly.

May 4, 2021

The ability to control the disposition of bodily remains after a person’s death (including cremation and burial) is something that should not be a bone of contention between family members. Once upon a time, Georgia law provided that the “next of kin” had the power to decide what would be done.

April 13, 2021

For some people making a charitable bequest in a will is a big mistake and it’s not because the charity is not deserving. It’s because the will may not be the best source of that charitable gift if there are retirement accounts that are going to the children of the testator (the person making the will).

Jan. 19, 2021

The answers to that question in this post assume that the estate is in Georgia. In any other state similar or dramatically different procedures will be used depended on how much that state’s probate code differs from Georgia’s.

Nov. 3, 2020

How you handle the beneficiary designations on your life insurance and retirement accounts can be just as important as naming the beneficiaries of your probate estate in your last will and testament.

April 20, 2020

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal about including your digital assets in your estate planning got me thinking about how electronic files and communications are becoming integral to our everyday lives.

March 18, 2020

My law practice has been concentrated on estate planning since about 1992. I have had plenty of time to see clients five to ten years after the completion of their wills and other estate plan documents.

Jan. 15, 2020

A good estate plan only starts with well-drafted documents.

Jan. 9, 2020

A retirement account can be the key to long-term financial security. It also can be a person's largest financial asset, if not in the present at least in the future.