​​​​​​Duluth, GA Probate Attorney - Call (770) 766-5811

Probate & Estate Administration in Gwinnett County

It can be extremely difficult to navigate through the probate process after a loved one passes on. The probate practice at The Smith Willis Firm is committed to guiding individuals and families through challenging and often complex probate processes while providing sound legal advice. We provide comprehensive probate estate services from the filing of the will through the closing of the estate.

By working with a knowledgeable Duluth, GA probate attorney, you can reduce the possibility of being held personally liable because you made a mistake during the probate process. If you have been named as an executor/personal representative in a Will or a relative has died without a Will and you are interested in serving as the personal representative of the estate, The Smith Willis Firm is here to help.

Avoiding Probate

Regardless of anyone wanting to contest it or not, the majority of wills need to be handled in a probate court. The process is to review the entire will, identify any potential errors, understanding the value of specific assets, and lastly validate it. Even though this process is quite helpful, it generally takes much longer than most people hope for. Depending on the number of inheritors and the size of the estate, probate can take weeks to finalize, meaning inheritors cannot claim anything until it has all been settled.

How to Avoid Probate in Georgia

In order to avoid probate in Georgia you can:

• Set up a Joint Ownership
• Create a Living Trust
• Payable-on-Death (POD) Designations for Bank Accounts
• Transfer-on-Death Deeds for Real Estate
• Transfer-on-Death (TOD) Registration for Securities
• Transfer-on-Death Registration for Vehicles
• Donate or Gift Assets

You have choices if you would like to skip probate to avoid court-related costs or to benefit your loved ones. There are many considerations that you can go over with an experienced lawyer to avoid probate, such as:

• Joint Ownership: You can set up your business or portions of your estate as joint ownership with a partner or relative. Full ownership will go to them at the time of your passing.

• Living Trusts: This allows you to assign a trustee full ownership upon your passing, who can distribute the property to appropriate parties.

• Specific Beneficiaries: Rather than being collected in your probate estate, retirement funds and bank accounts can be transferred to a chosen beneficiary.

• Gifts & Donations: Before your passing, you might be able to donate or gift assets of value to others to avoid probate.

Experienced Duluth Probate Lawyer Serving Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Norcross, Decatur, and Buford

With 15 years of legal experience and a strong commitment to helping clients protect what matters most, Shevonn Willis is proud to provide quality probate counsel in Duluth and the surrounding communities in Georgia. This includes offering legal advice in layman’s terms that can simplify even the most complex probate proceedings. It also includes applying her breadth of experience to address standard probate processes or complex high-net-worth cases.

Shevonn is a Duluth probate lawyer who takes the time to build personal relationships with clients so she can truly understand their needs, both immediate and long-term.