Q: Does Georgia require a witness in addition to a Notary for a Living Trust?
A: Trusts should be witnessed and notarized, not necessarily to be effective, but to insure the trust's ability to transact business moving forward. If the trust is going to transfer land, then it needs to be notarized. The presence of a witness further ratifies the validity of the trust. A living trust is a document you should have expert help in drafting and executing. They are complex and expensive. The reason for that is that they can change your life and estate plans in ways that might be unforeseeable to a person not trained in creating and executing such documents. Mush as you would not want to fill your own cavity, you should not attempt to create your own estate planning documents, and especially living trusts that may have serious tax consequences.
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