A Last Will and Testament is very important for people who want to have some control over their acquired assets, and provides a flexible means for disposing of your estate in the way you direct. There are very few requirements that restrict your freedom to dispose of your assets, however, there are strict formalities that must be followed to generate a proper will.

These formalities, if done correctly, reduce the likelihood that the will is subject to challenge and ease the burden on the personal representative and the witnesses to the signing. While the tax laws are continually under review, in Tennessee the current limit is one million dollars before a tax burden will accrue against the estate.  If your estate is predicted to accumulate over that amount, we recommend that most of our clients associate a dedicated tax professional to assist us with our drafting.

Living trusts are gaining in popularity and are vastly misunderstood.  Like any legal instrument, a living trust has strong benefits in the right situation, but also carries a significant downside in the wrong situation.  Most people understand that a living trust will eliminate the need to probate the estate, and while true, it requires continual upkeep and translation of all assets into the corpus of the trust to avoid the probate process. In Tennessee, the probate process is relatively quick, inexpensive, and effective, so it may not be worth the trouble of avoiding it.

We also provide Living Wills (also known as Advance Directives in some states) and Health Care Powers of Attorney.  These documents will instruct your doctors on how to handle your health care in the event that you are unable to make decisions for yourself.  Had these documents been used for Terri Schiavo, we would never have known her name.  

Finally, if you are interested in planning emotionally for your death, we associate with some of the best educators and counselors in the country who have expertise in approaching death with dignity and no regrets.  We realize that our society rarely plans well for transitioning to death, so a law office might be the nearest professional with whom you decide to discuss the possibility of your death.  Coming to grips with what we have learned in this life, and the capacity to convey that knowledge to others when we have left, is a service in which we take pride.  We have placed brief excerpts of some discussions relating to these issues on the website blog in the Last Lecture section.

You may also be interested in:  Elder Law, Personal Representation, Last Lecture Blog