In setting up your Will or Revocable Living Trust (RLT), one of the things you will need to decide is how to distribute your assets among your children. You have two choices: leave your assets directly to your children, or put your assets in trust for your children. We call these trusts for your children Read More
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What a Will CanNOT Do. Part III.
A Will cannot name the beneficiaries of your IRA. Or your 401(k). Or your SEP or Simple retirement plan. THIS POST IS VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ. If you only remember one thing from reading our blog, I hope it is this post. Because it can save thousands in income taxes. This post applies only to Read More
What a Will CanNOT Do. Part II.
A will cannot change the fact that property you own jointly with your spouse will go to your spouse when you die. That’s the law in Tennessee. It’s called a “tenancy by the entirety”. There’s no “my half” and “your half”…it’s going to pass 100% to the surviving spouse. And this little fact is what Read More
What a Will CanNOT Do. Part I.
A Will cannot change the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. This is one of those simple rules that a lot of people overlook…or they just assume that when they get that fancy “witnessed and notarized” Will in their hands that all is well. Not so fast. When you buy a life insurance policy, you Read More
“IS LEGALZOOM GOOD?” or…“How to guarantee that you will be in court for years.”
I am a huge fan of the DIY movement. I have a Pinterest account with boards on all kinds of things. It’s like electronic hoarding. But when it comes to important things, like root canals, rewiring my office, or protecting my life savings, I leave it to the experts. I am a big proponent of Read More
I have a Prenup—What about the nursing home?
In our practice, we see many folks who have found love for the second (or third) time. Because they were really burned in a divorce, or more often because they simply want to protect their children, a prenuptial agreement (“prenup”) is discussed. A properly prepared prenup (with full disclosure by both parties of all assets, Read More
The Stepmother from Hell
I am a stepmother. My stepdaughter, who I refer to as my daughter, is Brittany. She is the greatest stepdaughter you could ever ask for. She has a heart of gold and pure love. She has given us two precious grandchildren. I think our relationship is not the norm. And that makes me happy. The Read More
Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits
In our practice, we have observed that more and more of our clients are coming to us with a substantial portion of their “wealth” having been accumulated in their retirement plans, including 401(k)s, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs, to name a few. As I am sure many of you who are reading this Read More
Proper Execution of a Will
We are often hired to review Wills drafted by other attorneys (or by clients themselves) to ensure that the Wills are valid. In many cases these are situations where the client has disinherited a child or left his or her estate in unequal percentages to his or her children. Unfortunately, there are times when we have Read More
Welcome to our blog!
Hi, all! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Ashley Waters, a new attorney working with Joy Buck Gothard. If you’re visiting this website/blog, I’m sure you know Joy. I’ve been working for Joy for about two years, but I only recently passed the bar exam and was sworn in to practice Read More