Practice Areas...

Estate Planning Attorney/ Wills and Trusts Attorney

Estate Planning is the process of planning for the future of your loved ones. A basic estate planning package includes a Last Will and Testament, a Durable Power of Attorney for financial matters, a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, and a Living Will or Advance Care Plan, and a Durable Power of Attorney for Care of a Minor Child.  It is important to have an estate planning lawyer prepare these documents for you. The goal is to have a personalized plan that will work for your family and will give you peace of mind.

Before you meet with your estate planning lawyer, you will need to compile a list of your assets and liabilities. This includes bank accounts, investments, your home, retirement accounts, and life insurance. Your estate planning lawyer will need to know the names of your closest family members and whether there is a need to protect beneficiaries from the effects of disabilities or unhealthy dependencies.

Your estate planning lawyer will help you determine how you want your property distributed to your family. An estate plan should address your family’s particular needs and goals. There are many issues to consider in the estate planning process. A good estate plan will transfer your property to your loved ones after your death in a way that minimizes taxes and provides protection for your assets and your family members.

A young couple with young children may need estate planning not only to provide for the disposition of their property but more importantly, to name a guardian to care for their young children if something happens to both parents. Minor children cannot inherit directly. Parents can create a trust under the Will to hold assets for a child and see that those assets are spent for the child’s care until he or she reaches adulthood. Putting a trust in place for this purpose makes it unnecessary for a Court to supervise the handling of the child’s assets.

A middle-aged couple who have accumulated assets may have different priorities for their estate planning. If they have accumulated enough to have a taxable estate, they may need trusts that will give them the benefit of minimizing estate and inheritance taxes. They may want to make gifts to their grandchildren or provide for the property they will leave to their children to be held in trust to provide for the maximum protection for the children.

An older couple or individual may need to plan for possible disability. This can be done by means of an intervivos revocable trust (also known as a Living Trust), a trust created under a Will, powers of attorney for health care and financial matters, or a conservatorship. Proper planning can greatly ease the process of transferring control of a disabled person’s assets to a responsible person who will manage the assets for the benefit of the disabled person.

There are many ways to plan an estate. Most involve the use of Wills, trusts, beneficiary designations and asset titling. Whether you use a Last Will and Testament or a trust for your estate planning, you can avoid paying unnecessary estate tax and inheritance tax. The most important part of your plan is getting your property to your loved ones, either outright or in trust. A trust can be a useful mechanism to avoid unnecessary estate taxes and to preserve assets for the future.

Your estate planning lawyer may recommend a Revocable Trust, sometimes called a Living Trust, or a Last Will and Testament as the best way to meet your family’s needs. In some situations, a Minor’s Trust or an Irrevocable Insurance Trust is indicated. In some situations a Special Needs Trust is required.

Probate Attorney/ Estate Administration Attorney

A probate lawyer can help guide you through the probate process after the death of a loved one. Probate Court is the court that oversees the distribution of a deceased person’s estate. Probate Court also oversees guardianships and conservatorships for minors and disabled persons.

To start the probate process your lawyer will need to have the deceased person’s Last Will and Testament. This must be the original document that the deceased person signed, not a photocopy. The probate lawyer will prepare a petition to probate the Will and other documents required to open an estate in Probate Court.

Once appointed by the Probate Court, the executor of the estate has the job of carrying out the terms of the Will and distributing the deceased person’s property as required by the Will and by Tennessee law.
This job usually includes the following:

• Identifying and valuing all of the property that the deceased person owned,
• Identifying and notifying all heirs, beneficiaries under the Will, and creditors of the estate,
• Managing and protecting the estate assets during the estate administration period,
• Filing an inventory and accounting with the Probate Court unless these requirements are waived,
• Paying the deceased person’s debts and the costs of administering the estate,
• Filing any required gift, income, estate and inheritance tax returns,
• Distributing the property to the beneficiaries as the deceased person directed in his or her Will.

It is important to keep the estate beneficiaries informed about the executor’s activities and progress in the estate administration to prevent misunderstandings. The administration of an estate can take a year or more to complete, depending on the size of the estate and the types of assets that the deceased person owned.

While the process can be confusing and time-consuming, an experienced probate lawyer can ease the way and guide you through the process.

Elder Law Attorney/ Conservatorship Attorney

An Elder Law attorney serves the needs of senior clients. This may involve preparing Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, or helping to plan for disability, or accessing government benefits available to the elderly.

An elder law attorney can help set up a conservatorship to protect the assets of an adult who is losing mental capacity. Elderly people can be subject to abuse and exploitation and a conservatorship is a way to protect the elderly person and the assets they have accumulated.

In a conservatorship, the Probate Court appoints a responsible person, usually a relative or family member, to have legal responsibility for the assets and the care of someone who no longer has the capacity to manage for himself. A court-appointed conservator must file annual accountings with the court.

Before a conservator is appointed, a physician must examine the individual who is at risk. The physician completes a report about the individual’s mental capacity and ability to care for himself. The Probate Court will appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate the situation and report to the court as to whether or not a conservatorship is necessary and whether the petitioner is the appropriate person to serve as conservator.

Once appointed the conservator must file a property management plan with the court. The conservator must be bonded, and the conservator must file an annual accounting showing how he or she has used the ward’s assets for his or her care and needs.

A conservatorship is one way of protecting the assets of an elderly person who has lost mental capacity. If a durable power of attorney is executed while the person has mental capacity to do so, a family member or friend may be able to provide financial management without the necessity of court supervision. Similarly, the creation of a revocable trust while the person has mental capacity, is another form of planning for disability. An elderlaw attorney will review these options and help determine the method that best fits your circumstances.