Probate Attorney in Alpharetta, GA

For many routine probate filings, GA Law Group can appear on your behalf at Fulton County Probate Court without requiring your personal appearance. Initial petitions, routine status hearings, and many administrative filings can be handled by your attorney. Your presence is necessary in some situations, such as a hearing where the court requires the personal representative or a contested proceeding. Given that Fulton County Probate Court is at 136 Pryor St SW in Atlanta (a significant commute from Alpharetta), we make every effort to minimize unnecessary trips to the courthouse.

Cryptocurrency, online investment accounts, and other digital assets are an increasingly large part of many estates. Georgia's Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act governs an executor's right to access them. The key practical issues are: (1) the executor needs access credentials or recovery keys, because assets on platforms with no recovery process can be lost permanently; (2) cryptocurrency held on exchanges may require estate-specific documentation to transfer; and (3) digital assets must be inventoried and valued as of the date of death for the estate inventory. Including digital asset provisions in estate planning documents significantly simplifies this process.

When an Alpharetta business owner dies, the business interest is an asset of the estate subject to Fulton County Probate Court administration. The process depends heavily on the entity type and the operating agreement or shareholder agreement. If the company has a buy-sell agreement triggered at death, that agreement's valuation and purchase mechanism governs. If there is no buy-sell agreement, the estate must determine fair market value through appraisal, and the interest is either distributed to beneficiaries or sold. If the business continues operations during probate, the personal representative may need court approval to continue operating. Early legal advice is critical to avoid operational disruption to the business while the estate proceeds.