Five Estate Planning Takeaways for Holiday Hangouts

Five Estate Planning Takeaways for Holiday Hangouts

by Whitney Knox Lee, Esq.

November 2, 2025

It is officially the holiday season, and my family is gearing up to host extended family from out of town for a week. I’m scheduling appointments for carpet cleaning, refreshing and replacing linens, and my husband is giving the new turkey fryer a spin in preparation for the big day. As you may imagine, I’m preparing in other ways, too.

If you’ve been along for the ride with me through other holidays, then you know I encourage folks to use holiday gatherings as an opportunity to check in with loved ones. Deepen your relationships with close friends and family by checking in on their health, needs, and any ways that we can be of service to them. This year, I am taking my own advice! Not only am I taking steps to ensure that my husband and I have reviewed our plans and make any necessary changes, but I will also take some time to speak to my loved ones about their plans.

Most of my family lives out of state. While I can’t provide specific legal advice to relatives living in different states, I can offer insider tips about tools that can help them meet their goals. So I figured, why not share them with you?! In this blog, I’ll explain five major tips that my guests will take home this holiday season.

1. Probate Isn’t Automatic — It’s Optional (If You Plan Right)

Many families assume every estate has to go through probate court. Not true. With the right setup — think living trusts, proper beneficiary designations, and joint ownership done correctly — your loved ones can skip court completely. But skipping probate is all about strategy. Less stress, more peace.

Be warned though, skipping probate without having the proper arrangements in place will backfire. Instead of setting up your great-grandchildren to be rolling in dough, they’ll be rolling into court to untangle the multi-generational mess you left them. Thanks Pops!

2. Your “Money Plan” Dies Without Updated Beneficiaries

People forget to update life insurance and retirement accounts all the time. That ex from 2015? Still listed. Those accounts pass outside your will to whoever is listed, whether you like them or not. So, make sure the names on those forms match your actual intentions today, not ten years ago.

3. Guardianship Isn’t Automatic — Even for Family and Godparents

For both guardianship of an adult and guardian of minor children, no person is guaranteed to be appointed. If you have young kids and something happens to you, the court doesn’t automatically hand them to your sister just because she’s “next best,” or the best-friend dubbed “God Father” all those years ago.

And even for you, if you ever need a guardian appointed that close family member who you would want to be your guardian will not automatically be appointed.

Without naming guardians in your estate plan, it’s a costly and time-consuming waiting game for the random stranger (AKA the judge) to decide who cares for the children, or you. It’s not a fun game to get caught in.

4. NOT EVERYONE NEEDS A TRUST

The truth is that some of the benefits of a trust that social media hypes up don’t apply to every family circumstance.

For instance, tax savings. A revocable living trust does not save your estate money on death taxes owed unless your estate is valued at more than $13.99 MILLION. Why? Because people with less than that amount don’t pay the federal government death taxes, and Georgia does not charge death tax.

Here are some good reasons to get a trust:

1. To allow your family to skip probate after you pass away.
2. To have control over when your beneficiaries can receive their inheritance. 
3. To protect your beneficiaries inheritance from themselves or their creditors. 
4. To speed up and simplify the logistics of passing your assets to the next person after death.

If none of these reasons speak to you, you would probably do just fine with a will.

5. Estate Planning Is About Life, Not Just Death

The most powerful estate planning document you can have is also one of the least expensive — the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care (sometimes called a Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney). This document speaks for you if you can’t speak for yourself, guiding your loved ones and doctors on how you want to be cared for.

It’s not just about preparing for the end — it’s about protecting the quality of your life down the road. A free template is available online, and while I always recommend professional guidance, some folks can complete this form confidently on their own. Either way, don’t skip it.

Ready to update your plan—or finally create one? Schedule a Legacy Planning Meeting with us today. We’ll walk you through the process step by step, in plain language, and make sure your plan actually works for the people you love most.