Yes. I’m probably biased being a planner so lets compare it to something else.
Even a newly minted adult who has just turned 18 needs an advanced directive for healthcare and financial power of attorney because they have a physical body that requires care and a checking account and financial obligations like utilities, rent, car expenses and work or school.
Here’s the truth. As much as we can search on Google or ChatGPT or Claude and compile pages of notes and articles and facts, there is still a benefit to having a person who can help you sort through all the information, noise and chatter.
We’ve all looked at WebMD and similar sites for confirmation about a medical condition. How many times does WebMD say that the issue could be something really bad and could end in death? Lots of times. We all know that. That’s why we still make appointments to go see a doctor who can look at us and hear us on our specific and unique combination of symptoms and circumstances.
The internet takes all the input and mushes it together into a bunch of averages and more likely than nots. You need a planner who can tell you what you need for YOU.
You aren’t average. You are unique. A good planner will tell you what your options are, answer your questions still rattling around in your head from your “research,” and make an appropriate recommendation. A good planner cares about you. If you haven’t found a good planner or aren’t sure about a recommendation you received, go see more than one.
It depends on what you need. Anywhere from about $900 to $15,000 or more. Some attorneys bill by the hour. We believe this makes sense when the scope of work is a bit undefined and difficult to pin down. We prefer flat fee investments because
Like other things, when purchasing legal services, you often get what you pay for. Going on the cheap may be the most expensive decision you’ll make because inexperienced lawyers often fail to notice the future problems in their forms and even forget common basics (like waiving the requirement for filing inventory or annual returns) that you can’t get if they are not included in your will. In other words, the next-door neighbor who’s a criminal attorney and agrees to help you with a “simple will” may put you in a worse position than you would have been in without a will at all.
If you are talking about estate taxes, then you need only to look at the Federal Rule. In 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15 million dollars per person. So, an individual would have to have an estate worth more than $15 million and a couple would have to have an estate worth more than $30 million. Georgia has no separate state inheritance tax.
If you are talking about gift tax, then, in 2026, you can give $15 million dollars away while you are living but you will need to file a gift tax return. If you wish to avoid reporting gifts to the IRS, you’ll need to limit each gift to $19,000 per person for an individual or $38,000 given by a couple to an individual.
If you are referring to capital gains taxes, then you needn’t worry because the IRS will give the person inheriting real property from another upon death a stepped-up basis. What is a stepped-up basis? A basis is the amount a person pays for real property plus the investments in improvements to the property. If you sell real property during your lifetime, capital gains tax is the tax paid on the profit from the sale or the difference between the basis and the sale price. If you sell a home for $300,000 and you paid $100,000 for it when you bought it, then the profit is $200,000. When an heir or a beneficiary receives real property after a loved one dies, the IRS allows the beneficiary to claim the value of the property at their loved one’s death as the new basis in the property. When the property is sold, the beneficiary will only pay the difference between the value at death and the sale price. If mom dies leaving her home (originally purchased for $100,000) to her daughter and the home was worth $200,000 at mom’s death and daughter sells the home for $250,000 five months after mom passes away, then daughter would pay capital gains on the $50,000 difference between the sale price and the value at death. The daughter would not pay capital gains on the difference between what mom originally paid for the home and the sale price. This is called a stepped-up basis and it’s a benefit you can keep when you use a will or a trust as your estate planning tool. In fact, if you wish to avoid probate, you’re better off choosing a trust over a joint tenancy deed or even a transfer-on-death deed.
