Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC
Should I Update My Old Will by Using a Codicil or Executing a New Will? Well-written, estate-planning documents are drafted to be flexible and usually do not require frequent change. However, when major life events or transitions occur, estate-planning documents may need updating. In Tennessee, the most common way to update an outdated will is…
Why Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) are Dead for Most Tennesseans An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) is a trust that when properly drafted and funded removes life insurance proceeds from a decedent’s estate. This means none of the life insurance proceeds are subject to Tennessee inheritance taxes or federal estate taxes. Wow. What a…
Avoiding Will Contests in Tennessee Lawyers often say tongue-in-cheek that the first thing they teach you in law school is “anyone can sue anyone for anything.” While there may be some truth to this statement, there are certain techniques a careful estate-planning attorney can employ to reduce the possibility of a will or trust contest.…
Five Reasons To Appoint a Professional Trustee One part of devising an effective estate plan is deciding who is best to serve as trustee. Some people are confident in family members or other personal acquaintances and prefer they serve if able. Others prefer having a professional/corporate trustee serve. Here are five reasons to name a…
I Have a Living Will in Tennessee So I Don’t Need a Will, Right? Wrong… There is a common misconception with the public that a living will in Tennessee serves the same purpose as a will in Tennessee. As you will see below this couldn’t be further from the truth… Wills The most common and…
How Long Should I Keep My Children’s Inheritance in Trust? An important decision for couples with young children is determining if both parents are gone how long their children’s inheritance will be maintained in trust. Each child is different and parents – who presumably know their children better than anyone – usually come into the…
Three Ways Assets are Transferred at Death An integral part of the estate planning process is reviewing how assets are titled and beneficiary designations. It doesn’t matter how well written your will or trust is if these estate planning documents do not coordinate with the titling of your asset holdings. In Tennessee and most other…
Tennessee Community Property Trusts A Tennessee community property trust is a special type of trust that allows spouses to convert individually or jointly-owned property to community property. We recently posted a series on the basic forms of joint property ownership in Tennessee. In this series we briefly touched on some of the potential benefits of…
Joint Ownership of Property in Tennessee: Tenancy by the Entirety (Part 3 of 3) Tenancy by the entirety (TE) is the third and final form of joint property ownership in Tennessee. TE ownership may only be between spouses. Like joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS) property, at the death of the first spouse TE…
Joint Ownership of Property in Tennessee: JTWROS (Part 2 of 3) Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS) is the second form of joint property ownership in Tennessee. The primary distinction of JTWROS is automatic rights of survivorship at death. Like tenancy in common property, each joint owner of JTWROS property owns an undivided interest…