Atlanta Estate Planning Attorneys for Unmarried Couples

Thrift McLemore’s Atlanta estate planning attorneys help unmarried couples across Georgia create customized plans that protect their rights, their homes, and their futures together.

You and your partner built a life together, but Georgia law doesn’t recognize your relationship. If one of you gets sick, becomes incapacitated, or passes away, the legal system won’t protect you.

Couples may assume that after years of living together, they automatically have the right to make medical decisions in an emergency, inherit assets, or stay in their home if one of them passes away. Georgia law says otherwise.

The Atlanta estate planning team at Thrift McLemore has the expertise to ensure your wishes are honored.

Wills and Trusts for Unmarried Couples in Georgia

Without an estate plan, Georgia law decides who gets your hard-earned assets, from your home to your furniture. The only way to ensure your partner receives what you want them to is to put the right legal protections in place.

A properly structured estate plan allows you to:

• Ensure your partner can stay in your home for as long as you choose, and decide how the proceeds are distributed if the property is later sold
• Prevent costly disputes over your money, property, and other assets
• Control how and when your assets are passed on to the people you choose
• Maintain privacy
• Avoid unnecessary court involvement

Some couples need a last will and testament to accomplish their goals, while others benefit from a revocable living trust. The right estate plan for you depends on your situation, assets, and objectives. Our estate planning attorneys will help determine the plan that best suits your needs.

Protecting Your Home in Georgia

If you own Georgia real estate with your partner, how you hold title ultimately determines what happens to it if one of you passes away:

• Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship: transfers ownership to the surviving partner automatically.
• Tenancy in Common: transfers ownership according to the deceased partner’s estate plan or state law if they don’t have an estate plan.
• Revocable Living Trust Ownership: can allow the surviving partner to remain in the home and direct how proceeds are ultimately distributed when the property is sold.
• Limited Liability Company Ownership: often suitable for rental and investment property because it provides asset protection and defines ownership percentages.

Many couples assume that they are protected if both names are on the deed. In Georgia, that’s not always the case. Without the right structure, your partner may end up co-owning the home with your family members or without a place to live.

Planning for Incapacity

Financial institutions and hospitals follow Georgia law, not relationships. The only way to guarantee your partner can act on your behalf when you want them to is to put legal protections in place before you need them.

Advance Healthcare Directive

If you can’t communicate with your health care provider, your partner will have no right to make medical decisions or even receive updates about your condition without proper legal authority.

The Advance Directive for Health Care combines two crucial protections:

Healthcare Power of Attorney: Allows you to name a partner as your healthcare agent. Without it, hospitals may exclude your partner from visiting you or making medical decisions, deferring instead to family members (even estranged ones).

Living Will: Specifies your treatment preferences for certain end-of-life situations if you can’t communicate with your healthcare provider.

Durable Power of Attorney

If you become incapacitated, Georgia law does not allow your partner to manage your finances unless you have a financial power of attorney.

A Georgia durable power of attorney allows a person of your choosing (called an “agent”) to step in when needed while letting you decide what they can and cannot do.

This can include, but is not limited to:

• Paying bills from your accounts so nothing falls behind
• Ensuring your taxes get filed on time
• Managing investments and handling financial decisions
• Dealing with insurance claims or unexpected expenses
• Running your business in your absence
• Applying for government benefits like Social Security or Medicare
• Resolving banking issues, such as disputing charges or transferring funds
• Handling a lawsuit on your behalf, including working with your attorney, approving settlements, and meeting court deadlines

You decide which powers your agent will have, and if your circumstances change, you can revoke those powers at any time. Without a power of attorney, your partner may have to go to court to access accounts or pay basic bills.