Essential Estate Planning
For most of our clients in Memphis estate planning can be confusing - so much so, that it’s easy to become overwhelmed and put it off. But planning your estate today is essential to making sure your children and family members are protected in the event of sudden, unexpected death or incapacity.
At the Ferrell Law Firm, we form lifelong relationships with our clients. We charge flat fees (currently, we offer three levels of planning) so you don’t receive any surprise bills in the mail, and have an open door policy when it comes to asking questions. We want you to understand your plan, and more importantly, feel comfortable with the planning you’re doing for your family.
Click here to review our Three Levels of Planning
To foster those lifelong relationships, we offer a plan review every 3 years at no extra charge to you. Let’s face it, your assets are bound to change during that time, and so is the law. So it’s best for us to stay on top of any changes, and quickly incorporate them into your planning.
WHERE SHOULD I START: A WILL OR LIVING TRUST?
Most people equate estate planning with having a will, and that may be the best place to start for some people. Wills are the traditional way to leave your assets to your children and other family members, but can create unintended issues, including probate.
Probate, a court-supervised process that makes sure your estate doesn’t owe money to creditors, is designed to transfer your remaining assets to your beneficiaries in an orderly way. But probate can be very lengthy and also means that the value of your estate is public information, along with the names of your beneficiaries, creditors and natural heirs.
Settling your estate through probate will require an executor, and if you haven’t appointed one, the court will do so for you. Your assets will need to be accounted for, and any claims made by creditors may hold up the process as well. Finally, tax returns need to be filed before the beneficiaries can receive your estate’s assets. From start to finish, this process can take a year and often even longer.
Not all estates have to go through probate. In Tennessee, estates of less than $25,000 may take advantage of simplified estate administration procedures. But that’s $25,000 of assets unreduced by any debt. For that reason, almost no one who owns a home in the Mid-South or Memphis Area would qualify for the simplified estate administration procedure.
If someone has more than $25,000 in assets, the only fail-safe way to avoid probate is through a fully-funded revocable living trust. Some people use other strategies to try to avoid probate, such as holding title in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, but there are serious drawbacks to such techniques.
Placing your assets in a revocable living trust can help avoid probate after your death. Revocable living trusts, also called simply “living trusts,” act as a substitute for a will, and give instructions about how you wish your assets to be managed during your life and after your death.
Living trusts require that you transfer your assets into a trust during your lifetime, typically with you serving as trustee. Done properly, your assets can be distributed to your beneficiaries without court involvement. You retain the right to amend or revoke the trust and appoint or remove trustees of your choosing. The trustee must, if specified, consult with you before buying or selling assets. And the trust does not need to file a separate income tax return until after your death.
An extremely important benefit of a living trust is that it is a private document. Neither its terms, nor any record of its assets, are made part of the public record after your death. This protects your heirs from unscrupulous people who might prey upon them and makes it more difficult for anyone to contest your estate at your death.
But because estate-planning law is complicated and always changing, it’s best to work with a qualified memphis estate planning lawyer to put your plan in place. Living trusts require that assets be titled properly before your plan will work to its highest advantage.
Click here to review our Three Levels of Planning
To schedule a no charge consultation to discuss your estate planning options, please contact us.
