Frequently Asked Questions

An estate plan is a plan that comprehensively covers a lot of contingencies beyond just who gets what. Who gets what is definitely an important question, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. Estate planning covers also incapacity and disability. Who is making sure that your bills are paid and your assets are being managed if you can't do that? Who is making medical decisions for you, and who can talk to your doctors just to find out how you're doing? 

So, an estate plan covers that piece. It also covers guardianship. If you're parents of a minor child, you want to make sure that you've got the short-term emergency situation covered, who can be with your children overnight or for a short period if you need help, and then also who would raise them. That's long-term guardianship. 

An estate plan covers that piece, and of course, as I mentioned, an estate plan covers who gets what. You might use a Will to say that and or you might use a Trust. Continue checking out our FAQs on what is a Will and what is a Trust to learn more about those. But, the important thing to note is that an estate plan is a comprehensive plan. It covers a lot of pieces, from incapacity and disability to passing away to what happens long after that. If you've got a child who needs assets, someone else in charge of assets for them until they're mature. What does that look like and how does that happen? 

And also, the legacy component of estate planning really cannot be underestimated. Your family is going to remember you by the videos you leave behind, by letters you write, not by the bland legal documents. We need those and they need to be excellently drafted, which we do, but they're really going to care about a video or a letter or audio or photographs, that kind of thing. And so, the legacy component is just as important, in our opinion, as the legal documents. So, an estate plan covers all of those aspects.

Now a Will is a document where you say who gets what and who is in charge of making that happen. Someone named in a Will to receive your assets is called an heir or beneficiary, and the person put in charge of making that happen is called a personal representative or an executor.

It's important to note though that Wills do not apply to assets where you have a surviving joint owner of that asset or to assets where you have a living beneficiary designated. For example, on retirement accounts and life insurance, if you have a spouse named and then your children, then that asset will be payable directly to the living beneficiary who's named separate from what a Will says. If you have a Will, and a Will is really critical for your estate plan, you need to make sure that it's in sync with everything owned jointly and also everything where you have a beneficiary named to make sure it all is working together according to your wishes. 

For any property passing under a Will, it's important to note that that the Will has to be filed with a probate court and reviewed and approved before anyone named in the Will can act on your behalf, gather your assets, pay any creditors who might be owed money, and then ultimately distribute the assets to your heirs. 

A Will is a document that does have to go through probate, which is actually a common myth that we run across. People think that a Will is a magical document that covers every estate planning scenario, and it doesn't. It's critical and you need it, but you need to make sure that you understand it goes through probate before it is effective, and that is a Will. 

 I often get asked by potential clients in their early 20s who are starting their families, wondering at what age they should start worrying about creating an estate plan and I let them know right now. 

The common misconception is that you do not need an estate plan until you’re close to retirement or you need assets to worry about that. You do not need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank and you do not need to have a house that you own outright because there is so much that goes into an estate plan beyond just needing to worry about having a high net worth. 

I'm really on this mission to empower parents that have young children to create estate plans now, you shouldn't wait. We do not know what life holds, and the last thing you want to do is either leave a spouse or leave your children to try to pick up the pieces after your passing. And really the last thing you want is for your children to start fighting over your assets because you did not clearly lay out what you wanted to have happen. 

 I'm going to give you  three tips, they're going to represent first, second, and third base, and in terms of what you need to do to make sure that you have everything in place when you create your estate plan 

1. You want to make sure that you've got an asset sheet. With the assets sheet, you're going to sit down and look over all your bank accounts, retirement accounts and all the different assets you own. You're going to put them in a column and you're going to mark down who is the beneficiary of those, who currently owns them, and give me details that might be helpful to someone in the event of your incapacity or death in terms of account numbers or how to access those accounts. It's an important step to take because right now in Georgia, there's currently a billion dollars in the state's unclaimed property account. That's a lot of assets that people work really hard to gain that could have gone to their family but because their family did not know that those assets existed at their passing the state ended up getting ownership of those. 

2. If you have minor children at home, you want to make sure that you have a kids protection plan included in your estate plan. So sometimes we see that clients maybe have a will in place and they have named a guardian but they figured that that was enough to make sure their kids were legally protected and it was not. In the event of an emergency, the police show up at your house and maybe you have a minor who is babysitting your children, the police can take those children into protective services until they can sift through who is the rightful legal guardian of your children. So by having a Kids protection plan in place you actually have documents that outline who the short-term guardians of your children are, and the long-term guardians are. And making sure those guardians also have copies of those with instructions from you so that if something happens they can easily get your children and your children aren't taken into protective services and again they are kept in the care of someone who you know loves them and is going to keep them safe. 

3. You want to make sure that you're not just considering your tangible assets, you also want to make sure that you're taking into account intangible assets as well. So let's say for example you're leaving behind a million dollars for each of your children, if you're children receive that money and do not have any sort of guidance from you in terms of values that were important or what you would really like for them to do with that money it might not play out the way you would like. What tends to happen is people don't think about making sure they're leaving behind videos or leaving behind letters for their loved ones with their wishes explained. And again we give the example of a child, let's say they hit age 18 they get a million dollars given to them. I guarantee you they are not going to spend that money the way you would have intended or would have wanted them to do so.  

Many face the challenge of encouraging friends, family, or colleagues to create an estate plan. To inspire action, consider three key points:

1. Highlight the consequences of not having an estate plan, emphasizing the potential complications and delays in the probate process, which could take 12 to 18 months.
2. Share a personal story, such as my father's experience without a solid estate plan, causing prolonged estate settlement issues and complications with an outdated LegalZoom will.
3. Stress the broader importance beyond assets, including the need for a kids' protection plan, preserving intangible assets, and planning for potential incapacity.

The most important thing is that you share those three different tips and really explain to that person why it is important for them to handle this now and it can be handled easily 

At the Wellborn Law Firm, our approach to estate planning is personalized, understanding that each family's needs are unique. We don't prescribe generic solutions like merely suggesting a will, trust, or healthcare directives. Instead, we emphasize the importance of having a family attorney who comprehensively grasps your family dynamics and concerns.

It's crucial to have a family attorney who is aware of your assets, understands your family dynamics, and can handle issues in their office rather than resorting to lengthy and costly court processes.

Given the diversity of family needs, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. To determine the most suitable plan, we conduct Life & Legacy Planning Sessions. During these sessions, we gain clarity on your assets, evaluate your existing plans, understand your legacy goals, and address concerns like minor children at home. We then present various options based on a flat fee structure, aiming to make the process comfortable and transparent for you.

 As a mother with a young son, I understand the importance of selecting the right guardian for your children in case something happens to you. It goes beyond financial considerations. Choose someone with a similar parenting philosophy, disciplinary style, and values. Discuss important aspects like religious beliefs, educational choices, and extracurricular activities with the potential guardian ahead of time to ensure they align with your wishes. Long-term guardianship involves more than just financial resources; it's about finding someone who can raise your children in a manner closely aligned with your ideals.