770-755-6700
North Georgia Attorney With 20+ Years Of Experience
Specializing in numerous areas including Elder Law, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, & Adoptions
PRACTICE
AREAS
ADOPTION
I have represented many of my estate planning clients over the years in completing private adoptions. One of the most special of adoptions that I have completed over the years was for an elderly couple that had initially been denied the right to adopt their foster baby. They had cared for the baby for two years since birth, and upon being denied approval by DFACS, we fought for their right to adopt and won. I have been fortunate to be able to help numerous families over the years in obtaining adoptions for step-parents, relatives/grandparents raising grandchildren, and private, third parties.
PROBATE & ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
I advise Executors with the probate of Estates and Administrators with the administration of Estates having no Will. I have successfully probated estates that range from $25K to over $50MM. I have a passion for helping families through a difficult and emotional process and carrying out the intent of the deceased loved one in a manner that will keep everyone free from court battles.
ELDER LAW
Estate Planning/Will & Trusts
I have advised hundreds of clients in planning for long-term care. The Medicaid rules for nursing home eligibility are complex and each individual client has a different set of needs and facts. One of my goals in counseling clients with elderly loved ones is to make sure clients understand the truth of what they have heard about Medicaid planning - many myths exist in this field of law and the face of government-supported care is ever changing.
I have worked with clients from all walks of life to not only draft a Last Will and Testament that meets their intent, but also to assess their entire estate portfolio to be sure that all life insurance, retirement accounts, and annuity beneficiaries are considered and properly handled. I have represented numerous clients with taxable estates, drafting credit shelter trusts, life insurance trusts, and irrevocable trusts for the purpose of gifting to minor children and grandchildren. I have also drafted thousands of simple Wills for clients to meet their individual needs regarding property or care for minor children. In working with the elderly, I take particular interest in the estate plan to be certain that all future, long-term care needs are covered, including supplemental needs trusts in the Wills. Some clients also prefer to avoid probate with Revocable (Living) Trusts due to the complexity of their estate, due to privacy issues within the family that should not be made public during probate, or due to other issues specific to their individual family needs.
GUARDIANSHIPS, CONSERVATORSHIPS, & SPECIAL NEEDS
POWERS OF ATTORNEYS & HEALTHCARE DIRECTIVES
I have obtained numerous non-contested guardianships for elderly adults and have obtained contested guardianships for elderly parents where the adult children disagreed on the proper caregiver. I have also obtained guardianships for adult, incapacitated children, including children affected with autism and other disabling conditions. I will work with your family to be certain that you not only have the authority you need under the guardianship and conservatorship laws to care for your special needs child or incapacitated adult, but I will also work with you to be certain you have the appropriate special needs trust set up to hold their assets should you, their caregiver, pass away firstl
A comprehensive estate plan will not only include planning for death, but also planning for incapacity during life. I will not only make certain my clients have the latest approved Georgia provisions for the Powers of Attorneys, but I will also include specific provisions that are unique to each family as you plan for such issues as long-term care.
OUR MISSION
When you are tackling a challenging legal matter that affects you and your loved ones, working with an experienced attorney can help ensure that your goals are accomplished without unnecessary expense. At Elizabeth M. Wheeler, Attorney at Law, LLC, I am committed to advising and representing clients throughout the State of Georgia . I have a strong client base on the north side of Atlanta, and our firm travels weekly or bi-weekly to various areas for face to face meetings or in-court representation. Since entering the practice of law 26 years ago, I’ve helped thousands of Georgia clients with their estate needs. On the first day of law school, the professor addressed our class with these words: “As an attorney, you will be able to use the knowledge that you have gained and will gain, to be a light in a very dark tunnel in which clients find themselves surrounded by complex, legal issues.” Over the years, it has been a true joy to help guide my clients through various legal issues that affect not only my clients, but their loved ones as well. I value the process of listening to my clients, analyzing their issues, and educating them on their options so that they can exercise their independence in making the most informed decision possible.
Elizabeth M. Wheeler
Elizabeth M. Wheeler has a passion for working with people of all ages to sort through the various issues that arise in planning for incapacity or death. Once these issues are resolved and clearly reduced to written documents that have legal force and effect, her clients can focus on living. She has a particular love for the field of elder law and has known that this would be a focus of her career since she was a sophomore at Georgia Tech. Ms. Wheeler has loved people of the eldest generation since she was a child. In her early years growing up in Alabama, one of her favorite things to do was pick her Grandmother Morgan’s strawberries and water her droves of flowers. As a teen and young adult, she loved taking trips with her Grandma Carter and having conversations with her about politics and books. Now, with four children of her own and her grandparents passed on, Ms. Wheeler loves to have conversations with her elderly clients. It is a joy to be able to remove the burden of paperwork necessary for planning for the future, and it is a delight to laugh with and learn from her clients as they recount their own stories.
After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1994 with a B.S. in International Affairs, Ms. Wheeler attended Mercer University School of Law, where she graduated Cum Laude. She began her legal career in 1997, in North Georgia as an associate with a mid-sized law firm formerly known as Minor, Bell & Neal, where she later became a partner. She and her family moved to Acworth, Georgia in 2008 for her husband’s Mechanical Engineering career. Ms. Wheeler has worked part-time as a solo practitioner for the last twelve years. For the last seven of those twelve years, Ms. Wheeler also home schooled her four children to better enable their family to move to Reno, Nevada for her husband’s job transfer, followed by a move to Bowling Green Kentucky. With each move, Ms. Wheeler continued to serve Georgia clients, at their request, on a limited basis. In October, 2019, Ms. Wheeler’s family returned to Georgia, settling in the North Georgia area. Ms. Wheeler maintains long-term estate planning clients all over the State of Georgia and has a physical office in Habersham County, near the Northeast Georgia cities of Demorest, Clarkesville, Baldwin, Toccoa, and Helen, where she accepts new clients in Habersham County, Banks County, Rabun County, White County, Stephens County, Hall County, and other North Georgia communities. She also spends a portion of her time representing juvenile clients as both child attorney and Guardian Ad Litem through Juvenile Court appointments, as well as elderly clients as their Guardian Ad Litem through Probate Court appointments.
CONTACT US
North Georgia Office
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