Estate Planning

Suwanee Estate Planning Attorney Serving Gwinnett County and Surrounding North Georgia Communities

Bryson Law Firm provides clients throughout north Georgia with all levels of Wills and trusts to accomplish tax, asset protection, and property disposition goals. From basic plans to complex situations — such as families with children from prior relationships, with special needs beneficiaries, or looking to avoid estate tax — Bryson Law Firm's estate planning team is experienced in matching a client’s intentions with the appropriate customized plan. Our estate plan recommendation is provided only after understanding the intentions and family situation of the client. We don’t use a “cookie cutter” approach when developing a plan for our client’s individual or family needs. Every client has a unique family, asset mix, and goals that must be considered to facilitate the customized plan.

Based in Suwanee, we work with individuals and families in Gwinnett County and throughout metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

Our Georgia Estate Planning Services

All of the following are considered in our final recommendation for your customized estate plan:

• Probate avoidance
• Minimizing taxes
• Preserving assets
• Legacy gifts
• Incapacity planning

Although clients make the ultimate decision of how to proceed, we provide guidance and information so that each client makes an informed decision.

Bryson Law Firm also counsels clients on other family matters such as:

• Charitable giving
• Insurance evaluation
• Education funding
• Estate tax avoidance
• Beneficiary designation on qualified plans

Wills and Trusts

An estate plan may include a Will (Last Will and Testament), a trust, or both. Trusts are an estate planner’s “magic bullet.” We use a variety of trusts to customize asset management and estate plans for families, investors, and business owners. Trust names have evolved through the years, based on the purpose and intentions of the grantor; however, a trust is entirely customizable, and the provisions vary from client to client depending on their circumstances. The following are just a few examples of common trust names that are indicative of the trust’s purpose:

• Special Needs Trust (for disabled beneficiaries to preserve government benefits)
• Gun Trust (generally to hold regulated weapons)
• Grandchildren or Minor’s Trust (to preserve inheritance for education or until later in life)
• Insurance Trust (to hold insurance and minimize estate tax)
• Pet Trust (to provide for the care of pets following their owner’s death)
• Land Trust (to hold real estate)
• Medicaid or VA Trust (to facilitate future government benefits to pay for long-term care expenses)
• Marital Trust (to provide for lifetime benefit of spouse)
• Retirement Asset Trust (to hold IRA money and allow for continued tax deferral following the death of the account owner)
• Living Trust (created and funded during life to avoid probate at death)

Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, and Other Decisions for Peace of Mind

Many times Wills and trusts are only parts of an overall estate plan. Clients also have the opportunity to memorialize their decisions for health care and end of life directives through their plan. Also included in every estate plan should be the designation of an agent to handle the client’s financial and health care affairs following incapacity, including guardianship, durable financial power of attorney, health care proxy, living will, and conservatorship. Although it is not always easy to think through the decisions required to establish a complete estate plan, our clients are always very glad they did; they feel much relief knowing their wishes are clear and will be carried out in the event of their serious illness or death.

Speak with a Trusted Estate Planning Attorney

Contact Bryson Law Firm in Suwanee at (404) 909-8842 or info@brysonlawfirmpc.com for all your estate planning questions. Serving Gwinnett County and all of north Georgia for more than 25 years.

Estate Planning Questionnaire (pdf)