Dixie, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

There are master pooled trusts, some national, some regional, some state.  The ARC (of Georgia, of Texas, etc.) is generally highly recommended.  See whether it or other master pooled trusts in your state would be appropriate.

It is difficult to say what is high, or low, or the right price.  Attorneys have an ethical duty not to charge too much to their clients.  However, what is too much cannot be defined until after a case concludes.  It sounds like your attorney is proposing to work on a contingency fee.  In that case, a 1/3 fee is not necessarily high.  On the other hand, if you pay for the services up front and pay an hourly fee, then $8,000 seems high to establish an estate.  However, there is a lot that goes into creating and administering and estate, and I cannot tell what the complexities might be in this matter, what other assets might exist, what bills must be paid, etc.  Therefore, your best way to determine what a fair price is will be to interview two or three lawyers who specialize in probate work and see which lawyer you like and which lawyer charges you what you perceive to be a fair price.

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your brother. As for your question: no one can advise you on what kind of estate planning documents you should have in place in this kind of forum. You need to contact an estate planning attorney and get a consultation in order to get personal advice on that kind of thing. That said, I'll try to answer your question in general terms so you have more information. 1. A Living Will is a health care document, not a document that addresses what happens with your assets. In Georgia, the Living Will has actually been eliminated as a separate document- the topic that it covers, which is actually only the kinds of medical treatment and life support that you do (or do not) want provided if you are determined to be in certain medical situations where your prognosis is dire, is now covered by an Advance Directive for Health Care, which also appoints an agent who can make a much broader array of health care decisions for you. That said, you should have an Advance Directive, yes- everyone should. 2. A Will (as opposed to a Living Will) is a document that says, basically, "Now that I am dead, here's how you should distribute my probate estate assets and who's in charge of doing that." In order for the Will to become legally effective after your death, it has to be admitted to probate. In Georgia, probate is actually a relatively inexpensive and quick process, IF (a) the Will is well-written; contains a self-proving affidavit; waives bond, inventory, and reports; and grants the executor sufficient powers; and (b) none of the heirs are underage, missing and unfindable, or in disagreement with the validity of the Will. The part that most people find difficult and time-consuming is actually not probate: it's the process of administering the estate- determining what debts need to be paid, collecting assets, filing needed tax returns, and winding up and distributing the estate's assets. 3. Having a trust does not avoid administration- you still have to administer a trust. And, to make the administration process somewhat shorter using a trust, you have to move your assets into it while you are alive, meaning more work for you. You may be okay with that, you may not be. You could also have other special issues that may make it more worthwhile to do so. 4. In most cases, an irrevocable trust is not necessary. A Revocable trust is what is generally used if a person wants to include a trust as part of an estate plan for some reason. Irrevocable trusts are done for tax planning reasons, mostly, and sometimes Medicaid planning. Please get a consult with an experienced estate planning attorney who focuses on estate planning. Best wishes to you.