Franklin Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning is essential for any individual or family, and the sooner it’s done, the better. One never knows what life may bring, so planning for the expected as well as the unexpected can help ensure that you and your family are protected regardless of what occurs. If you don’t decide on important matters in advance, the laws of Tennessee will decide for you. Get help from our dependable estate planning and probate attorneys in Franklin, TN, to guide you throughout the process.
Trusted Estate Planning and Probate Services in Franklin, Tennessee
At Fort, Holloway & Saylor, we make estate planning and probate less complicated. Our team can help you create a tailored plan for you and your family’s future. Discover the key estate planning documents you need to know beforehand:
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney (POA) is crucial in estate planning, as it allows someone else to speak for you when you are unable to do so yourself. This authorization grants your trusted representative the ability to execute decisions for your convenience or in case of incapacity.
Wills and Trusts
Protect your legacy by distributing your estate to your heirs after you are gone. Preparing wills and trusts can address many financial and legal affairs and prevent disputes over your property in the future.
- Wills: These documents can be used to make specific gifts and leave a lasting legacy. They can also be used to appoint an executor for your estate and name a guardian for your minor children. Creating a valid and enforceable will requires careful drafting and execution according to the Tennessee statute of wills and a thorough understanding of property and estate law to ensure that your wishes will be fulfilled.
- Trusts: Get the advantage of transferring title to property out of your name during your lifetime so that any property you leave in a trust does not have to go through probate. Trusts are also private documents that keep prying eyes from knowing the size and contents of your estate or how you distributed them. With revocable living trusts, you can make these transfers effective during your lifetime while still retaining control over and benefiting from the assets. Irrevocable trusts can be used for certain specific purposes, including providing for people with special needs or avoiding estate taxes.
In addition to wills and trusts, many other creative ways exist to distribute your estate while avoiding or minimizing probate. These include funding life insurance policies and prepaid burial plots, creating joint tenancies in property, opening payable-on-death bank accounts, designating beneficiaries to retirement and pension plans and making gifts to intended beneficiaries during your lifetime. Find assistance from our Franklin estate planning attorney to prepare a clear, detailed will. We can also assist in amending your will.
Advance Directives
What happens if, heaven forbid, you get in a car accident and become physically or mentally incapacitated or simply lose capacity due to illness or the common effects of aging? Who makes important decisions regarding your healthcare if you are unable to make or communicate those decisions for yourself? You would hope to count on your loved ones, but they could be unavailable, unable or disagree with each other about what to do.
These fears can be put aside if you take the time to create advance directives while you are healthy and competent to do so. Advance directives for health care let you put your preferences for treatment in writing and make sure your wishes are well accounted for.
Advance directives often cover various decisions, including:
- Living will: Outlining your wishes for medical treatments, resuscitation, end-of-life or life-sustaining measures
- Healthcare power of attorney: Designating a trusted individual to make medical decisions on your behalf
- Healthcare surrogate: Choosing someone who will make decisions for you about your healthcare if you are unable to make them yourself
- Mental health treatment: Making advanced decisions about mental health medication or treatment
The advance care plan simplifies your healthcare decision-making, compiling all standardized requests like a living will, medical power of attorney and appointment of healthcare agent into one single form. Advance directives must be signed, witnessed and drawn up according to specific procedures to be valid. If you lack advanced directives, Tennessee law provides a method for certain family members or doctors to make decisions for you.
Estate Administration Services
Fort, Holloway & Saylor can assist with estate administration services in addition to estate planning:
Conservatorships and Guardianships
In instances where individuals cannot make decisions themselves, Tennessee courts appoint a responsible adult to look after them. Conservatorship is the legal authority over adults with limited capacity, while guardianship is designated for minor children. Our Franklin attorneys can discuss the process of establishing conservatorship or guardianship for your loved ones.
Probate Guidance
Our Franklin estate planning and probate attorneys are here to assist executors, trustees, heirs and beneficiaries through the complex process of probate and trust and estate administration. We provide technical assistance to help probate conclude smoothly and successfully with minimum time and expense to the estate.
If disputes arise over the terms of a will or the conduct of the trustee or other fiduciaries, our experienced lawyers are ready to help with will contests and other probate litigation as needed. During estate planning, we can also assist in avoiding probate, whether it’s creating a small estate or establishing a trust.
Why Trust Us for Your Estate Planning Needs?
Fort, Holloway & Saylor has decades of experience helping clients in Franklin who need professional estate planning. Choose us for a wide range of advantages, such as:
- Client-focused care: Our Franklin estate planning lawyers take the time to understand your needs, recommend solutions for your best interest and develop a creative strategy to accomplish your estate planning goals.
- Strategic representation: We understand how important it is to align property decisions with your long-term goals while meeting legal requirements. Our team provides insights on market trends, optimizes property portfolios and protects your interests at all times.
- Secure documentation: Let us handle the paperwork so you don’t have to. We prepare all relevant estate planning documents, from the power of attorney to will and trust agreements and healthcare directives.
Start Your Estate Planning Needs Today
Ready to plan your estate for the future? Get help from a reliable estate planning attorney in Franklin, TN. Fort, Holloway & Saylor ensures that your wishes for your property and assets are well accounted for. Call us at 931-901-2300 to schedule a confidential consultation with our team. You can also complete our form online to contact us.
