If you spend five minutes speaking with Rivermoore resident Lauren Bryant, you will discover that she loves her profession.   Loves it!  Lauren is an attorney specializing in probate and estate law, or as her husband and commercial real estate attorney, Eugene, likes to say, “the type of law that actually helps people.”  She has a passion for using her legal skills and experience to help Georgians navigate the issues that arise in probate court, at often the most harrowing times in their lives.   After 15 years in the field working for other firms, she started her own practice, The Law Office of Lauren A. Bryant  LLC, in October 2021, focusing exclusively on probate law (decedent’s estates, guardianship, and conservatorship for incapacitated adults, minor guardianships and compromise claims, etc.) and estate planning. Lauren has never been happier!

 

As with so many of us, the pandemic caused, or perhaps forced, Lauren to re-evaluate her professional situation.  She was thrust into the position of having to take a very hands-on role in the “homeschooling” of her children, Elise, Charlotte, and Ethan, who were all elementary school-aged at the start of the pandemic.  Her law firm at the time did not offer the flexibility she needed in this environment, leaving her feeling guilty both as a professional and as a mother! As most parents who work can attest, the pandemic left Lauren feeling like she was unable to meet the demands of motherhood and the needs of her clients at the same time, with the attention each deserved; she felt like she was failing on all fronts.  So, when her former employer was unable to make a way for her to happily prosper in both roles, she made her own way!

 

Owning her own practice has given Lauren permission to be the mom she wants to be while still working as an advocate and attorney without guilt. She still works hard, but in a way that serves her clients and her family in the best possible way.  “I feel like I found the ‘cheat code’ to the Universe,” Lauren says, beaming with joy.  

 

The Law Office of Lauren A. Bryant specializes exclusively in probate and estate law. Many people confuse “probate” with “probation”! Lauren explains probate law is basically the laws dealing with death and incapacity (“incapacity” in adults who are deemed as such and minor children, who are legally incompetent until age 18). Lauren loves helping her clients navigate some of the most important, and often very emotional, parts of their lives, and she strives to ensure her clients are well-informed, counseled, and protected in these areas of the law.  

 

In the estate law part of her practice, Lauren helps her clients plan for both the unfortunate and the inevitable, helping make sure their assets are protected and directed properly for the benefit of their loved ones in the event of their death or incapacitation.  Discussion of wills, health care directives, and powers of attorney are not conversations that any of us welcome having, especially Rivermoore residents who are often under age 50 and have minor children.  However, like almost everything in life, decisions about the most important issues are best made calmly and not in the middle of a calamity. In Lauren’s opinion, the only thing worse than having this conversation is not having it.  

 

Probate law typically deals with what happens after a tragedy. Common probate court issues include ensuring the validity of a will, the proper administration of an estate, and the fair and equitable distribution of a person’s assets.  The probate court also deals with urgent issues like guardianship of adults who are injured and unable to make decisions for themselves, guardianship of children who have suddenly become orphaned or had their caregivers incapacitated, and even approving personal injury settlements for children! Lauren makes sure her clients are treated with respect and dignity and works diligently to ensure they understand whatever process they need.  

 

Everyone living in our state will have dealings with the probate court at some point in their lives.  Everyone.  Lauren advises her clients to do as much as possible to plan when they are of “sound mind” so loved ones aren’t forced to make important decisions under duress or cause family members with differing views unnecessary turmoil.

 

A significant portion of her time is spent advocating in court for the most vulnerable among us. For many years, Lauren has served as a regular guardian ad litem in several local counties.  A guardian ad litem is appointed by a court to advocate for someone who cannot do so for themselves in a legal proceeding, usually a minor child or an incapacitated adult. Lauren serves as a court-appointed guardian ad litem in Gwinnett, Dekalb, Cobb, Rockdale, and White and was recently admitted to the federal bar and appointed to hear similar types of cases for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District in Georgia! Lauren takes great pride in acting in the very best interest of the client, pushing back fiercely when the other side tries to take advantage of an already dire situation.

 

Lauren’s fierce advocacy in these situations and the resulting reputation she built for resolving these situations so well on behalf of her appointed clients drew the attention of the local legal community.   She was offered the opportunity to be an associate probate judge for not one but two counties in Georgia.  She accepted the position in Fulton County, becoming one of five judges who hear probate cases in the county. Lauren is primarily appointed to serve as a judge on guardianship and conservatorship cases.

 

It has been very rewarding for Lauren to use her legal talent to help people, often children, going through the hardest moments of their lives.  “The family has been annihilated,” she says, “and people don’t often realize how much support a good probate lawyer can provide.” She is humbled and honored to help mitigate the damage and put the pieces back together.

Lauren’s first pieces of advice are simple.  Get a will.  Get a power of attorney.  Get a health care directive.  No matter how young and healthy you are, please make the right decisions now so distraught loved ones don’t have to. In Georgia, you can make a Will as young as age 14! And if you have children with special needs, it is even more important to plan for your eventual demise appropriately because your children might lose their much-needed benefits if they inherit from your estate! Probate law has a reputation for being “just forms” until it’s not.  Lauren charges a flat fee for 90% of the work she does in this area, rather than charging the dreaded hourly rate, so her clients can rest easy knowing their families are protected and at a fair set price.  

 

If you have an issue with which Lauren can help, you can reach her office at (470) 252-7536 or by email at lauren@laurenabryantlaw.com.  If we’re lucky, perhaps Lauren will share more detailed tips with us in Stroll Rivermoore Park on a regular basis.