Vinings, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

The answer depends in part upon who died first, your husband or the ex-wife? Another important factor is what does the divorce decree state? What is the property worth? What is the total value of your deceased husband's estate? Did he have a Will? Do you have a prenuptial agreement? Are any of the children minors at the date of his death? The question you ask is not a simple question. You should seek legal counsel and bring with you a copy of the divorce decree and information about the assets and the value of such assets in your husband's estate, without that it is difficult to determine your rights.

You may or may not need a trust or a family limited partnership. However, you do need an estate plan if you don't already have one in place. Even if you do have one in place, if it has been more than 3 years or so, it would be a good idea to sit down with your estate planning attorney and give it a review.   This question is not one which is suited for an answer on this forum, because in order for me or any other attorney to tell you what you should have in place to protect your family and transfer your assets effeciently, the attorney MUST be able to sit down with you, review your assets in detail, review your family situation, explain the issues you are facing and your options for dealing with them, and make personal recommendations. So, I cannot tell you whether you need a trust, FLP, or any other planning structure. I can tell you that if you have rental properties or a working farm (you mentioned the farm, but you don't state what type of activities you conduct on the farm and whether it's really a business or just a personal use farm), you may well benefit from having at least one or two limited liability companies (which may or may not be structured as typical "family" LLCs), to help protect you against potential liability that might arise with regard to those properties. As for a trust, there are two basic types: irrevocable and revocable. Irrevocable trusts come in many flavors, but are primarily tax planning techniques. If done correctly, the irrevocable trust is generally designed to eventually move the assets it holds out of your estate for estate tax purposes; some types are also designed to have charitable deduction benefits. They generally also involve the loss of at least some degree of control by you over the assets transferred to the trust. Revocable trusts are usually a probate-avoidance technique, but can also be helpful in the event of a long-term incapacity. If you have real estate that is located in a different state from your principal residence, or if you plan to distribute your estate in a manner that may make a would-be heir unhappy, avoiding probate may be a good idea. Otherwise, whether you really need to avoid probate depends on your principal state of residence (GA is generally NOT a state where a normal probate is all that difficult or expensive). Please find a good estate planning attorney in the state where you have your principal residence and get a consultation. It will be worth the time spent.

In most states,a durable power of attorney ceases upon the death of the grantor. In this case, the concerned party should initiate action in the local probate court to open an administration on the estate of the deceased and request to be appointed administrator if someone else has not already done so. If an estate has already been opened, the concerned party should notify the probate court of his concern in writing.