Originally sent to our newsletter subscribers in October 2026.
September was a month about the things families assume are settled and usually are not. Where the house really goes. What a trust actually protects. How long probate takes when nobody planned for it.
If you missed any of last month’s articles, here they are.
In Case You Missed It: September Articles
Georgia Medicaid Estate Recovery: Can the State Take the Family Home?
After a parent on Medicaid dies, the state can file a claim against the estate. What it can reach, what it cannot, and why Year’s Support matters so much in Georgia.
Charitable Giving in a Georgia Estate Plan
You can support a cause you love and still take care of your children. How charitable giving actually fits into a plan, and the traps to avoid.
Revocable vs Irrevocable Trusts in Georgia
The single most common misunderstanding we see. A revocable trust avoids probate. It does not protect assets from nursing home costs. Here is the difference.
Probate in Georgia: What It Costs and How Long It Takes
Straight numbers on the process families most want to avoid, and which assets skip it entirely.
What to take from all of this
If there is one thread running through all four, it is that avoiding probate and protecting assets are two different jobs. Families routinely do the first and assume they have done the second. The question worth asking is not whether an asset goes through probate. It is whether you will still own it at the end.
Coming up in October
- The Child Who Moved In: Transferring the Home Without a Medicaid Penalty. One of the few transfers Medicaid actually allows inside the five year lookback. The conditions are strict, and families usually lose it on proof rather than merit.
- Assisted Living, Nursing Home, or Memory Care: Who Pays for Each. The levels of care explained plainly, with Georgia costs, and the one fact that decides everything: Medicare does not pay for assisted living.
- Medicare Open Enrollment Ends December 7. Worth the afternoon to review. Also worth knowing that no plan on that menu pays for long-term custodial care.
- Admitted, or Just Under Observation?. Three nights in a hospital is not the same as three inpatient days. The one question to ask every day, and what to do if you find out too late.
- You Signed a Trust. Did Anyone Actually Put Anything In It?. An unfunded trust does nothing and still goes through probate. How to check your own in an afternoon.
If you want to talk
You do not have to figure out which of these applies to you on your own. If something here hit close to home, schedule a complimentary 15 minute Strategy Session with one of my non-attorney team members. They will listen, ask a few questions, and help you understand whether this is something we can help with.
Schedule your 15-minute Strategy Session
Or call us at 404-549-5001.
Warmly,
Shannon M. Pawley, J.D., LL.M.
The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm
Decatur, Georgia
elderlawgeorgia.com | 404-549-5001
