Estate Planning & Trusts practice with attorneys in the Montgomery and Birmingham offices. Represents personal representatives, trustees and beneficiaries in probate and trust administrations, will contests and suits over the construction of wills and trusts, and estate and gift tax audits before the IRS.
Vestavia Hills is in Jefferson County.
More Guardianship Firms in Jefferson County
Firm whose Dothan practice serves Houston County and the Wiregrass, with its office of record in Birmingham. Handles estate administration, probate of wills and intestate estates, guardianships, conservatorships and claims against trustees who mismanage trust funds, along with wills, trusts and powers of attorney.
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.
Birmingham firm founded in 2007 that practices probate and estate planning statewide from offices in Birmingham, Chelsea, Huntsville and Montgomery. It opens, administers and closes estates with or without a will, including small estates by summary distribution, and administers trusts after a death. Probate phone consultations are free; in-person consultations are $100.
Birmingham estate and probate practice founded by Kristin R. Waters, serving clients throughout Alabama. Guides executors and personal representatives through estate administration, represents trustees, and handles will contests, trustee removal and surcharge actions, beneficiary disputes and estate creditor claims. Offers phone and video consultations.
Probate in Jefferson County
Probate Court Record
Jefferson County Probate Court
Jefferson County
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How to file probate in Jefferson County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Jefferson County? →Settling an estate in Jefferson County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Alabama
Free Alabama forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Alabama.
Last Will and Testament
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.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
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.
Financial Power of Attorney
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.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Alabama
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Alabama: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Alabama.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
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.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
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.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Alabama, a surviving spouse takes the first $50,000 plus half of the restAla. Code § 43-8-41Verified Oct 21, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representationAla. Code § 43-8-45Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
