Elder law attorneys in Alabama work the legal issues facing aging adults and their families: Medicaid planning for long-term care, drafting and updating durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, special needs trusts, and asset protection. Many also handle probate and estate planning; elder law is the subset focused on care planning and benefits eligibility. The Alabama healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney forms cover the two instruments.
Federal law, as Alabama applies it, sets a 5-year lookback period for Medicaid long-term care eligibility. An uncompensated transfer in the five years before the application (a gift, a transfer to a family member, a transfer to a trust that does not qualify) can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid does not pay for nursing home care. It is why Medicaid planning starts years before the care is needed, and why elder law exists as its own practice area.
Estate planning attorneys in Alabama average $278Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Alabama: Wills and Estates rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $834Estimate: 3 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,668Estimate: 6 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a simple individual will and $3,840Estimate: 10 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,760Estimate: 15 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the Alabama will cost calculator sets the two side by side.
In Alabama, estates with personal property of $47,000Ala. Code § 43-2-696.02Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less qualify for the Summary DistributionAla. Code § 43-2-696.02Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysAla. Code § 43-2-696.02Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death, a court procedure short of full probate. That route is a form rather than a court case, and most families handle it without an attorney. Above the line, formal probate generally benefits from counsel for the procedural work, even when nothing is contested. The Alabama probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.
In Alabama, the situations where counsel is typically worth the cost are: a blended family with children from a prior relationship; a business, rental property or significant investment assets; a dependent with special needs, who needs a special-needs trust to keep benefits; substantial property in more than one state. Where none of these apply, an online or self-help document is often enough.
Free Alabama forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Alabama requires 2Ala. Code § 22-8A-4(h)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredAla. Code § 22-8A-4(h)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
Alabama treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultAla. Code § 26-1A-101 et seq. (esp. §§ 26-1A-104, -105, -106, -107, -109, -113, -119, -201, -217, -301); § 26-1-1 (age of majority); § 35-4-28 (recording); §§ 19-1A-9, -10 (digital assets)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementAla. Code § 26-1A-101 et seq. (esp. §§ 26-1A-104, -105, -106, -107, -109, -113, -119, -201, -217, -301); § 26-1-1 (age of majority); § 35-4-28 (recording); §§ 19-1A-9, -10 (digital assets)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
In Alabama, a will is signed before 2Ala. Code § 43-8-131Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyAla. Code § 43-8-131Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Alabama: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Alabama runs $3,840Estimate: 10 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,760Estimate: 15 hours at $384, Clio's Alabama Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $834Estimate: 3 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,668Estimate: 6 hours at $278, Clio's Alabama Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
In Alabama, four years at a public university cost about $88,816NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 11% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. The Ala. Code Title 40, Ch. 15 estate tax (§ 40-15-2) is a federal-credit "pickup" tax — still codified, but levied "only ... to the extent of absorbing" the federal state death tax credit, so it has computed to $0 since Congress eliminated that credit. Alabama has no separate inheritance tax and no gift tax, and the Alabama Department of Revenue confirms estates with a date of death after Dec. 31, 2004 are not required to file.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Alabama costs an estimated $23,489Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 12 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 1.6%Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.5%Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $47,000Ala. Code § 43-2-696.02Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
Probate in Alabama takes 6 months to 12 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.6%Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.5%Ala. Code § 43-2-682 (court fixes reasonable attorney fees at settlement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
Alabama automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceAla. Code § 30-4-17Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
17 elder law firms in Alabama, by county and firm type.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
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17 firms
FirmPhenix City, AL
Phenix City firm serving Russell and Lee Counties since 1979, now in its third generation of Benton attorneys. Handles probate and the administration of estates, guardianships and conservatorships, and estate planning with wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advance directives.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipGuardianship
FirmMontgomery, AL
Montgomery firm founded in 1947 whose attorneys regularly appear before the Montgomery County Probate Court, with offices in Opelika and Tuscaloosa. Advises executors, trustees and beneficiaries in estate and trust administration, handles contested will, trust and estate matters, guardianships and conservatorships, and gift and estate tax matters before the IRS.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 6 more
FirmTuscaloosa, AL
Tuscaloosa firm founded by Joel F. Dorroh in 1996 as an estate planning and probate practice, serving clients throughout West Alabama. Its attorneys probate wills, administer estates where there is no will, handle will contests and property transfers through probate, give post-death tax planning for potentially taxable estates, and establish guardianships and conservatorships.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 4 more
FirmBirmingham, AL
Downtown Birmingham firm in the Renasant Bank Building, a short walk from the Jefferson County Courthouse, practicing mainly in Jefferson and Shelby counties with estates open in 47 Alabama counties. Lindsey Eastwood handles probate and estate administration and litigates will contests, undue influence claims, beneficiary designation disputes and fiduciary breaches by executors and trustees.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 5 more
FirmDecatur, AL
Decatur firm a short walk from the Morgan County Courthouse, serving Morgan, Limestone, Lawrence and Madison counties. Its attorneys advise personal representatives and trustees on probating wills, administering estates and trusts and estate tax, and handle will contests and creditor claims. One attorney is County Guardian and Conservator for Morgan County.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 6 more
FirmFlorence, AL
Florence elder law firm on East Tennessee Street. It handles wills, trusts and estates, estate administrations, guardianship and conservatorship petitions, Medicare and Medicaid advocacy, and trusts for disabled family members. Managing partner Troy A. Skipworth has practiced elder law since 2006.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 2 more
FirmScottsboro, AL
Husband-and-wife firm with offices in Scottsboro and Birmingham, working in the Jackson, Jefferson and Shelby County probate courts. Guides personal representatives through probate and successor trustees through trust administration, alongside estate planning, special needs trusts, guardianships and conservatorships.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 6 more
FirmMobile, AL
Mobile firm in One St. Louis Centre, practicing since 1897 and serving Mobile and Baldwin counties. Its probate attorneys help executors identify and appraise estate assets, file court documents, pay debts and estate taxes, sell property and distribute assets to beneficiaries, and represent families when a will is contested. Its trust and estate attorneys hold advanced taxation degrees.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
FirmMobile, AL
Mobile firm founded by Banks C. Ladd in 1995, serving Mobile and Baldwin counties with a second office in Biloxi, Mississippi. Represents personal representatives in probate in both counties and prepares wills, trusts, special needs plans and long-term care plans. Trust design meetings can be held by Zoom.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawSpecial Needs PlanningMedicaid Planning
Solo PracticeOrange Beach, AL
Orange Beach estate planning and probate firm with Foley, Spanish Fort and Fairhope offices in Baldwin County. Helps executors and personal representatives probate a will, administer intestate estates, use summary distribution for a small estate, open an estate bank account, pay debts and taxes, and handle ancillary probate. Also handles trust administration, guardianship and Medicaid planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
Solo PracticeDothan, AL
Dothan solo practice half a block from the Houston County Courthouse, serving the Wiregrass counties of southeast Alabama. Probates wills, administers decedents' estates and trusts, and establishes guardianships and conservatorships, with trial experience in will contests, alongside wills, living trusts and estate and gift tax planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
FirmAnniston, AL
Father-son firm on Leighton Avenue in Anniston, with a second office in Birmingham, serving Calhoun County, Gadsden and Northeast Alabama. Guides families after a death through probate and estate administration, from the petition to open the estate and the inventory to creditor claims and distribution to heirs, alongside wills, trusts and Medicaid planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawMedicaid Planning
Solo PracticeMontgomery, AL
Montgomery practice founded in 2016 by Nika Gholston, offering estate planning in Alabama and Georgia. Handles estate and trust administration, wills and trusts, long-term care and Medicaid eligibility planning, and guardianship matters, with virtual or in-person meetings.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 3 more
FirmScottsboro, AL
Scottsboro firm in the Rossen Building on the Jackson County Courthouse Square, serving Jackson, Madison, DeKalb, and Marshall counties. Guides executors through probate in the Alabama Probate Court, from filing the will to valuing assets, paying debts, and locating beneficiaries, and represents beneficiaries and executors in will contests and estate disputes.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 5 more
FirmWetumpka, AL
Wetumpka elder law and estate planning firm serving Autauga, Elmore and Montgomery Counties in the River Region. Handles the probate of estates, trust administration, emergency guardianships and conservatorships, Medicaid planning and VA Aid and Attendance claims, with over 30 years of combined attorney experience.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more
FirmFort Payne, AL
Fort Payne father-son firm serving DeKalb County and nearby communities from Scottsboro to Gadsden and Anniston. Handles estate administration and probate, conservatorships, guardianships, wills and trusts; Patrick H. Tate has served as general administrator for DeKalb County since 1977.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipGuardianship
FirmAshland, AL
Ashland firm opened by Gregory Varner in 2000, now with a second office in Birmingham, representing personal representatives and beneficiaries in Alabama probate statewide. Handles probate administration, intestate succession, will contests, breach of fiduciary duty claims, ancillary probate and surviving-spouse rights; Varner lists over 200 probate and estate administrations.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 2 more