Atlanta Probate Lawyer Blog
As Atlanta, Georgia, business attorneys who also practice complex trust and estate planning and will, trust and estate litigation, we recognize there are numerous lawyers and companies who want to help you plan and protect your estate assets. These same lawyers and companies also want to help you set up your business succession planning and assist you with your estate planning. However, as business assets become increasingly intangible and more difficult to define, the estates of persons owning and having an interest in these businesses become more complex, difficult to plan, probate and administer. If these estates are not planned properly, it is quite possible these estates could end up in litigation.
As businesses, assets, and information have become increasingly digital, intangible, and available solely on-line, it is important to choose Atlanta business lawyers who understand your “intangible” business assets, how to protect them, and how to formulate effective trust and estate planning for these assets. Moreover, you not only need trust and estate attorneys, you need these same attorneys to be Georgia business attorneys well-versed in complex business matters as they relate to intellectual and technological property, copyright and trademark issues, and other potentially intangible property.
For example, any number of lawyers might be able to draft a basic will, and this may be fine for someone with fairly limited and straightforward “traditional” assets. If everyone knows you have accounts at a local bank and brokerage house and you keep your account documents on file and in physical form, it may be easy to ascertain what is in your estate.
On the other hand, consider the following:
• What if you have accounts at one of the “on-line only” banks?
• What if all your account statements are e-delivered?
• What if you have a second business selling goods on e-bay, or if you have a business or assets in a “virtual world,” such as Second Life?
• Who has your login information and passwords to these accounts?
• How will anyone determine what assets you have, or where? How will these assets be valued and by whom?
• Even if you do not have these things now, can you guarantee that you will not have them before your beneficiaries or heirs need to administer your estate?
Thus, it is increasingly important to consider not just your tangible assets, but also your digital, intellectual, technological, and other such assets, when planning your estate. This is why you must choose attorneys who understand the complexity of these assets and can advise you on how to protect yourself and your business as well as your beneficiaries and heirs.
The Libby Law Firm has been at the forefront of the union of technology as it relates to trusts, estates, business planning, and representation of individuals and businesses with non-traditional assets. Our Atlanta Attorneys also specialize in business, trust, and estate litigation as it relates to “intangible” and “non-traditional” assets.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your business and estate affairs. Please feel free to call our Firm at (404) 467-8611 , to discuss your options. You can also send us a message through our confidential Web Site “Contact Us Form“. Our Firm is conveniently located in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Georgia, near the intersection of Piedmont and Roswell Roads. Our Firm provides experienced legal representation through exceptional Atlanta wills, trusts and estate lawyers and our business planning and business litigation attorneys. The Libby Law Firm assist clients throughout the Metro Atlanta area, Georgia, and the United States. Some of these areas include the following cities, communities, counties, and US States: