Estate Planning
Estate Planning and Business Law
Secure your family’s future with comprehensive Estate Planning. We provide tailored solutions to protect your assets and ensure your wishes are honored. Start planning today for peace of mind tomorrow!
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There are many legal strategies involved in estate planning, including wills, revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, and health care documents. New clients often say that they do not have an estate plan. Most people are surprised to learn that they actually do have a plan. In the absence of legal planning otherwise, their estate will be distributed after death according to Tennessee, Florida, or South Carolina’s laws of intestacy. Of course, this may not be the plan they would have chosen. A properly drafted estate plan will replace the terms of the State’s estate plan with your own. Start the process and create your estate plan alongside an estate planning lawyer.
Your Last Will and Testament
Your last will and testament is just one part of an estate plan. Without a will, state laws determine how assets are distributed. Here are key points about wills:
- A will has no legal effect until after death, so it doesn’t help manage affairs if incapacitated.
- A will doesn’t avoid probate; it’s required for probate.
- A will is essential for nominating guardians for minor children to prevent potential disputes.
Trusts
Estate planning trusts come in various forms, from simple to complex, serving legal, personal, investment, or tax purposes. A trust involves a trust-maker, a trustee, and a beneficiary—often the same person or a couple. For example, in a revocable living trust, one may create a trust, manage it, and benefit from it. Trusts can help avoid probate, offer tax advantages, protect property from creditors, and ensure continued management if the trust-maker becomes incapacitated. Contact our estate planning lawyers to see if a trust is right for you.
Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document giving another person (the attorney-in-fact) the legal right (powers) to do certain things for you. What those powers are depends on the terms of the document. A power of attorney may be very broad or very limited and specific. All powers of attorney terminate upon the death of the maker, and may terminate when the maker (principal) becomes incapacitated (unable to make or communicate decisions). When the intent is to designate a back-up decision-maker in the event of incapacity, then a durable power of attorney should be used.
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