Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC

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Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC Take advantage of the opportunity to make your wishes and goals known, establish a plan, and provide peace of mind for yourself and those you care about.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, formerly Hill & Watchko, is a boutique law firm specializing in estate planning, probate, estate and trust administration, fiduciary litigation, elder law, special needs planning, and small business law. Whether you are planning ahead of life's issues or addressing the aftermath, Hill & Watchko is a boutique law firm offering our clients thoughtful, creative solutions to some of life's most sensitive and complex subjects: estate planning, probate, estate and trust administration, wealth transfer strategies, charitable planning, special needs planning elder law, guardianships, conservatorships, long term care planning, Medicaid planning, disability planning, Veterans benefits, premarital and postnuptial agreements, business formation and business succession planning, and creating and advising tax exempt entities.

10/12/2026

Georgia's transfer on death deed is only two years old, and the legislature already went back in and rewrote a good bit of it.

If you recorded a TOD deed after 2024, or if someone talked you into one as a probate shortcut, the rules you were told about have changed. The nine month clock on your beneficiary's acceptance is gone. The capacity standard is different. Even the witness requirement for revoking one is different.

The short version: a TOD deed is a real tool, and for the right family it is the right tool. It is also not a plan. It does not name anyone to act for you if you become incapacitated, it does not touch your bank or investment accounts, and it does not protect a beneficiary who needs protecting.

I walked through what actually changed in the video below. If you have a TOD deed on file, this one is worth four minutes.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/12/2026

Two neighbors on the same street. Similar homes, families, and savings. One signs a will. The other signs a revocable living trust. Both walk out feeling covered.

Here's where their paths split.

If either one has a stroke, the will does nothing, because it doesn't take effect until death. Without a financial power of attorney, that family may have to ask the probate court to appoint a conservator. The trust's successor trustee simply steps in and keeps paying the bills, no court involved.

When they pass away, the will goes to probate. Probate in Georgia is often manageable, but it's a court process that usually takes months, and the will becomes public. Own a lake house in another state? That can mean a second probate there. The successor trustee transfers everything privately, lake house included.

The catch: a trust only controls what's actually in it. That's why every trust comes with a pour-over will as a safety net, and why the will is still where you name guardians for minor children.

If your estate is simple and everything is here in Georgia, a will may be enough. If privacy matters, if you own property in another state, or if you want a plan that works during incapacity, a trust usually fits better. Most of our clients end up with both.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/11/2026

A lawsuit doesn't have to succeed to do damage. Even a case you eventually win can cost years and a small fortune.

Asset protection works like a moat around a castle. It doesn't stop anyone from looking at your castle. It makes attacking it far less appealing. When there's little to collect, many lawyers won't take the case, and the ones who do are more willing to settle on reasonable terms.

Insurance, including an umbrella policy, is your first line of defense. But insurance has limits and exclusions. The legal structure protects you when a claim goes beyond the policy.

In Georgia, that structure comes in layers:
• Retirement accounts carry strong protection under Georgia and federal law
• Georgia's homestead exemption protects only a modest amount of home equity
• A rental property or business interest is often better held in its own LLC
• Georgia has no law protecting a trust you create for yourself from your own creditors, so trusts for a spouse or children often play a bigger role

Timing is everything. Asset protection only works when it's in place before a claim exists. Move assets after a lawsuit is filed, or once you see one coming, and a court can undo the transfer.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/11/2026

Too many families have their first real conversation about a parent's wishes in a hospital waiting room. By then, everyone is guessing.

The better place is a kitchen table, while your parents are healthy and can tell you exactly what they want.

How to start: don't open with nursing homes or powers of attorney. That can feel like you're taking away their independence. Say you'd like to talk about their future, share the topics ahead of time, and pick a private setting and a time that works for everyone, including your brothers and sisters. The goal isn't to take control. It's to learn what they want.

What to cover:
• Money: who should manage it if they can't
• Medical care: who should make decisions, and how they feel about life-prolonging treatment
• Housing: care at home or a move, and how it would be paid for
• Their estate plan: does one exist, and where are the documents?

If nothing is in place, this is the moment to create it. Without powers of attorney and an advance directive for health care, a Georgia family may need the probate court to appoint a guardian or conservator. And if your parents meet with an attorney, that attorney represents them and will meet with them privately.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/10/2026

Picture parents who give each of their twenty-something twins $100,000. One quits a steady job to day-trade. The other buys a luxury car. A generous gift becomes a setback.

Warren Buffett put it this way: leave your children enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing.

One tool built for exactly this is an incentive trust. Instead of handing over a lump sum, the money stays in a trust, and the trustee releases it as your child reaches milestones you choose:
• Finishing college or a trade program
• Buying a first home
• Launching a business with a real plan
• Matching what they earn, so the trust rewards work instead of replacing it

But rigid rules can backfire. A strict earnings match can penalize a child who becomes a teacher, stays home to raise children, or cares for an aging parent. A well-drafted incentive trust counts that work too, and gives an independent trustee room to adjust for illness, injury, or a hard season of life.

You can also start while you're living. Modest gifts over several years show you how a child handles money, and paying tuition or medical bills directly to the school or provider doesn't count as a taxable gift.

The goal isn't control for its own sake. It's helping your children build a life, not just spend an inheritance.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/10/2026

"How much will I get?"

When parents finally sit down with their adult children to talk about inheritance, that's usually the first question. And the most common reason parents put the conversation off is that there are too many unknowns.

Here's the good news: you don't need every answer, and you don't need to share a number.

What your children actually need to know:
• That you have a will or trust, and where the documents are
• Who you've named to be in charge
• A sense of what you own, including accounts that pass outside your will
• Any plans to help with a wedding, a home, or a grandchild's education

If your family talks about money comfortably, a group conversation can work well. But if one child will receive more or less than the others, have that talk one on one so they can ask questions privately. And don't overlook the sentimental things. A ring, a watch, or a box of family photos can cause more conflict than the investment accounts.

Think of it as a series of conversations, not one speech. For anything hard to say out loud, a letter kept with your documents can explain your reasoning in your own words.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/02/2026

Most estate plans are written for one event: death. But for most families, the harder chapter comes first.

A majority of Americans over 60 are living with at least one chronic illness, and nearly 7 million Americans 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's. Your plan should be built for that reality.

In this short video, I cover three things:

Your revocable trust is also your plan for incapacity. If you can't manage your affairs, your successor trustee steps in without a court case, and the trust can build in oversight, like an independent care manager who reports to your trustee and healthcare agent.

The people you name matter. Under Georgia law, your financial agent generally can't make gifts or change your beneficiary designations unless your power of attorney specifically allows it. Your healthcare agent should know your values and be ready to honor them.

Plan while you're healthy, and revisit your plan as your health changes. A plan should protect the years you live, not just the day you die.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

10/02/2026

You babyproofed the house. Have you babyproofed your legal plan?

Once a baby arrives, someone depends on you completely, and three documents matter more than ever:

1. A will naming a guardian. Without one, a judge who has never met your family decides who raises your child. Name a first choice and at least one backup.

2. Life insurance. Your child now depends on your income, and term life insurance is inexpensive at this stage of life.

3. Your own healthcare and financial powers of attorney. If something happens to you, someone needs legal authority to act right away, not after a court process.

One caution: don't name your child directly as a beneficiary on life insurance or accounts. A minor can't receive the money outright, so it can end up tied up in court until age 18 and then handed over all at once. A simple trust provision fixes that.

It takes about the same effort as installing a baby gate, and it protects a lot more.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video. Every family's situation is different; an initial consultation will give you a clear picture of where you stand.

09/12/2026

For most families, a child turning 18 means a little more independence. For a family whose child has a significant disability, it can mean losing the legal authority to help them at all, overnight.

If your child needs support making medical or financial decisions, guardianship and conservatorship have to be in place before that birthday, not figured out after. And it's not all-or-nothing. Georgia allows limited guardianship, covering only the areas your child actually needs help with, while preserving their independence everywhere else.

If your child is approaching 18, this is worth a real conversation now.

Georgia Legacy Law Group, LLC
770-475-8041 | estatelawga.com | Alpharetta, Georgia

This video is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is considered attorney advertising under Georgia law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by watching this video.

09/07/2026

One of the most important decisions in an estate plan has nothing to do with who receives your property.

It’s who will make medical decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself.

Too often, people choose a health care agent based on family hierarchy: the oldest child, the child who lives closest, or simply the person who “should” be named. But this isn’t an honorary position. It’s a responsibility.

Your decision-maker may be asked to understand complicated medical information, make difficult calls quickly, communicate with doctors, stand firm when other family members disagree, and—perhaps hardest of all—carry out your wishes even when those wishes are emotionally painful.

In this video, I talk about what I think people should really consider when choosing the person who will serve as their medical decision-maker under an Advance Directive for Health Care.

The best choice may not be the person who loves you the most. It’s the person who can listen carefully, decide thoughtfully, withstand pressure, and speak for you when you cannot speak for yourself.

Don’t choose the title. Choose the person who can do the job.

— Georgia Legacy Law Group
Planning for life. Planning wisely.

Address

11300 Atlantis Place, Ste A
Alpharetta, GA
30004

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm

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+17704758041

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