Estate Planning With Compassion

Estate planning sounds expensive and like something only needed by the very rich. Actually, an estate plan is a set of documents that everyone needs – a will and/or revocable trust, financial power of attorney, health care power of attorney and advance care plan.

An up-to-date estate plan allows you to establish your legacy, giving to loved ones and charities when you pass away. Of equal importance are financial and health care powers of attorney, which are legally necessary to enable you to appoint persons you choose to serve as your financial and health care agents if, at any time, you are unable to act for yourself due to incapacitation.

Our attorneys listen to you and help tailor an estate plan that is right for your needs, protecting your choices and ultimately your loved ones. Do you want an estate plan centered on a last will and testament or a revocable trust? What personal options do you have in creating a comprehensive and individualized estate plan? Do you have a blended family? Do you have an estranged or disgruntled family member? These questions are much too important to be left to impersonal on-line services or even law offices that do not focus on estate planning clients.

Our attorneys have over 40 years of experience in helping East Tennesseans with estate planning. We will provide the help and support you need to navigate delicate issues that can come up when creating a comprehensive estate plan. Let the attorneys at Plemmons Law Group, PLLC, help you achieve your estate planning goals.

Peace Of Mind For Your Probate And Trust Administration Needs

When you find yourself administering a probate or trust estate for a loved one, you will certainly have questions and perhaps concerns. Administering an estate is a complicated set of laws, procedures and responsibilities. There is so much more to do than simply distributing assets. If you mishandle the estate, you may be held liable.

Losing a loved one is an incredibly stressful time. Stress is multiplied if you are appointed to administer the trust or probate estate. Our entire staff at the Plemmons Law Group, PLLC, will guide you, addressing your questions and concerns with kindness, compassion and the knowledge that comes with decades of experience. You will have peace of mind knowing Plemmons Law Group, PLLC, is on your side.

Comprehensive Support

The attorneys at Plemmons Law Group, PLLC, will provide the support you need in creating all aspects of your own estate plan and assisting you when a loved one dies.

Here are a few tips and definitions of common estate planning terms.

• Wills: A will is a legal document that establishes your final wishes regarding who will receive your assets and appoints a person to act as the executor for your estate. Your right to make a will gives you the opportunity to create your legacy for your loved ones and charities.
• Trusts: Trusts are a more flexible alternative to a will. The primary function of a revocable trust, also referred to as a living trust or grantor trust, is to help you distribute your assets outside of probate. A trust administration is private, ensuring your loved ones will receive assets without the delay and stress of the probate process.
• Financial powers of attorney: A financial power of attorney allows you to designate an agent, a person of your choosing, to pay your bills and manage your financial matters when you are unable to do so.
• Health care power of attorney: A health care power of attorney allows you to designate an agent, a person of your choosing, to make medical decisions for you when you are unable to do so.
• Advance Care Plan: An advance care plan is a document established by the Tennessee Department of Health to enable you to make decisions regarding your end-of-life health care and allows you to appoint a health care agent to implement your decisions if you cannot speak for yourself.
• What happens without a power of attorney: If you have not made out a health care or financial power of attorney, your family or others concerned about you will have to file for a conservatorship in court. This process is costly, both emotionally and financially, and can easily be avoided by having a comprehensive estate plan in place.
• Probate: Probate is the legal process by which your will is accepted as a legal document and your executor is authorized to act on behalf of your estate. The probate process takes time. There are many rules and restrictions regarding the payment of creditors and the ultimate distribution of assets.
• Funding a trust with real estate: Transferring your Tennessee property into your trust ensures your estate plan functions as intended. Without properly deeding real estate to your trust, your family faces probate proceedings regardless of your trust document. We prepare the necessary deeds for Tennessee real estate to complete this critical step and help your loved ones avoid probate court.

Whether we are preparing your estate plan or guiding your loved one’s estate through probate, our legal team at Plemmons Law Group, PLLC, can offer the assistance you need. If you need a title company to assist as a facilitator with the sale, purchase or refinance of East Tennessee property, contact our team at Tellico Title Services, Inc., who can assist with your real estate transactions.

Never Too Early To Start

Life is unpredictable. While an estate plan may be easy to put off for another time, the risk is too great to leave your estate plan to chance. It is never too early to prepare for the future. Finding support from a skilled lawyer gives you and your loved ones peace of mind today. Let the attorneys at Plemmons Law Group, PLLC, help you with your estate plan. Our estate planning documents help you be prepared for today, tomorrow and for decades to come. To get started, call our office at 865-424-4379 or contact us online.