• What does “estate planning” mean? Isn’t that just for rich people?
• What is the difference between a will and a trust?
• At what age should I start planning for my death or other occurrences that may leave me incapacitated?
• What is “probate administration?”

This workshop is useful for all Tennessee residents as remote (virtual) will-signing is being allowed throughout the state due to the current health emergency our entire nation is battling.

Charles will be conducting the webinar virtually and attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions. Two time slots are available for the webinars. Please follow the links below to register for the time that best fits your schedule. We look forward to hosting you on October 20! Feel free to share this information with family, friends, or any other contact that can benefit from planning for the future.

11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesday, October 20, 2020

6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, October 20, 2020

To take advantage of ClientCredit, simply click on the “Make a Payment” menu option on our website and select the “Make a Payment” button. You will find the “Pay Later” option on our payment page. Once this option is selected, enter your first and last name, and then click on “Begin Process.” A new window will open an online application for financing through Affirm. Applicants will be prompted to enter a few pieces of information and then get a real-time decision.

To learn more about ClientCredit, you can read the FAQs here.

Note: this new payment option is in addition to the options we already offer, and you can use whichever payment method you prefer.

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A sudden health crisis could cause a leader to step away from a management role. Or the success of the business could encourage a partner to retire early. With the right business succession plan, your company can continue to function without missing a beat.

What is Business Succession Planning?

Business succession planning involves creating a contingency or business continuity plan that identifies key employees or advisors to keep the business going when one or more leaders are no longer willing or able to continue in their roles.

With a well-prepared succession plan, the business can not only survive the loss of an owner but the owner’s family or other partners will be prepared to continue growing the enterprise or harvest its value.

As part of the plan, business owners often use key employee insurance. Key employee disability and life policies pay the business when the owner or key leader is disabled or passes away. The insurance funds are used to fill the gap created by the owner’s absence, whether to hire a capable business manager to run the business or to buy out a deceased owner’s interest in the business.

Other components of a business succession plan often specify how interests will be valued and transferred if one partner or family member wants to buy out the interests of others. We create business succession plans that fit the unique needs of the business and its owners.

The point is to protect the business as an asset. Unfortunately, too many overlook the vital role a business owner plays in ensuring that a business survives. The owner typically functions in a business the way our hearts function in our bodies. Generally speaking, those that protect their hearts live longer than those that don’t.

Why You Need to Make Business Succession Planning a Priority

With business owners bogged down with the day-to-day work required to succeed with core operations, they generally give little or no consideration to an “exit strategy” for leadership. This failure to plan can result in a missed opportunity for transferring the business at maximum value with minimum transfer tax costs.

Family businesses–which typically hold most of a family’s wealth and legacy–encounter this issue quite often. Sometimes owners avoid planning because they want to retain control of their business for life, or they want to avoid family conflict that might occur if family members do not receive what they feel entitled to. All of this can be taken into account when we create a business succession plan tailored to your goals.

Learn More About How Business Succession Planning Could Secure the Future of Your Business

In the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier, we help business owners and their families protect the value of their business assets in numerous ways. Without a plan for business succession, however, many other protection efforts can be useless. Talk to us today to find out how we can coordinate plans to protect your business now and in the future.

Now is a great time to consider ways in which to celebrate and protect your family’s legacy well into the future. As we are all being forced to shift and modify many of our traditions, estate planning can be used as a tool to protect your family assets, or care for yourself or your loved ones in the event of unexpected circumstances.

Individuals and families in Tennessee can create legally binding documents such as wills and trusts to ensure that their assets are distributed according to their final wishes. What better way to preserve your family’s legacy than to plan gifts ahead of time, assign beneficiaries, provide to charity, and ultimately prevent future disputes over your assets. Comprehensive estate plans can provide the peace of mind that comes from knowing the things you have worked for a lifetime to achieve can be protected and passed down in a manner that is private, avoids probate administration, potentially reduces your tax burden and ensures your wishes are respected.

The Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier understands that family traditions and values are important, and we believe they are worth securing for the future. Our firm has more than a decade of experience with walking families and individuals in Tennessee through every step of the estate planning process. We would be honored to do the same for you. Please contact our office today to see how we can help you or your family get started with a will, trust, power of attorney or other estate planning documents.

CREATE A NEW ESTATE PLAN IN THE NEW YEAR

A new year is a great time to take positive steps that will enhance your life, including putting an estate plan in place. There are many reasons why having an estate plan is beneficial. Having a comprehensive estate plan designed with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney can provide substantial peace of mind, both for you and for the loved ones you will eventually leave behind. In addition, you can put plans in place for your own care if you become unable to care for yourself. By having a well-thought-out estate plan, you can avoid:

• (1) Decisions inconsistent with your wishes about who will receive your property and money after you pass away or who will make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself. If you do not have a will or trust that names the people you want to receive your money and possessions, they will be given to the people determined by state law—which may not be the individuals you would have chosen. In addition, you can name a person you trust to act on your behalf if you become too ill to make decisions for yourself using medical and financial powers of attorney. Without these tools, someone you do not have confidence in could be appointed by the court.
• (2) Confusion and disputes over who will care for your children or other dependents. You can name a guardian you trust to provide care for children or dependents in your will. Otherwise, this decision will be up to a court—who may appoint someone you would not have chosen to care for your children. In addition, if you choose to create a trust—instead of giving the caretaker the money outright to be used for your children’s benefit, you can include provisions that ensure that funds are only distributed for the children’s care. In the absence of a trust, there is no guarantee the named caregiver will use the money in the way you would have wanted. In addition, if the caregiver has any debts, giving them your money could make it vulnerable to claims by their creditors. If you create a trust, you can ensure that your money will be used only in the way you have chosen and will be protected against creditors’ claims.
• (3) Costly, time-consuming, and public probate proceedings. If you do not have an estate plan or only have a will, your money and property will have to go through a court-supervised process to transfer ownership to your heirs. Even for smaller estates, this process could lead to thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees and court costs. In addition, probate often requires court approval for every step in the process, which can take months or years to complete, especially if any disputes arise. Like all court proceedings, probate hearings and documents are accessible to the public, so anyone can look at your will or find out details regarding a family dispute. This can be avoided if you have a revocable living trust.With a revocable living trust, you transfer your assets to the trust before your death, making the trust their legal owner instead of you, rendering the court proceedings unnecessary. In addition, if you name yourself as the trustee, you can retain complete control over the money and property during your lifetime. Not to mention, as the current beneficiary of the trust, you also retain complete enjoyment of the money and property.
• (4) Depletion of your estate by creditors. If protecting your money and property from future creditors’ claims is one of your main concerns, transferring your property to certain types of irrevocable trusts can achieve this goal. Similarly, if you are concerned that your heirs may have creditors that will look to money or property they inherit from you to satisfy their claims, you can make your heirs the beneficiaries of a trust instead of making outright gifts to them. Because the trust owns the property and money, and the trustee controls when and how much the beneficiary receives, the beneficiaries’creditors will not be able to reach it unless a distribution is made to them.
• (5) Family discord. During the estate planning process, you have the opportunity to explain to your family why you have made certain choices about how and to whom your money and property will be distributed when you die and who will act on your behalf if you are sick or unconscious, which may help to avoid disputes between your children or other family members. This is especially important if the gifts are not equal or if there are certain family heirlooms that more than one heir is interested in receiving. In addition, if you choose to utilize a trust, individuals that you choose not to include will not have access to the trust document and will be less likely to contest it. If you are concerned that naming one of your children as the executor or trustee will lead to squabbles, you can choose an impartial third party to act in those roles.
• (6) High estate taxes. Under the tax reforms enacted in 2017, the amount that you can give away both during your lifetime and at death without incurring transfer taxes is quite large (for 2020, the lifetime exemption for an individual is $11.58 million). In addition, a surviving spouse can benefit from the unused exemption amount of their deceased spouse’s estate if a timely IRS Form 706 (United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Form is filed. For 2020, the exemption is $23.16 million per couple. However, this increased exemption amount will revert to a much lower figure in 2026 unless Congress acts to extend it. Further, state estate and inheritance taxes could still be applicable for much smaller estates. We can help you implement strategies that maximize your tax savings.

REVIEW AN EXISTING ESTATE PLAN

It is important to review the estate plan you made in the past, whether that was 20 years ago—or even one year ago—to ensure that it will still accomplish your estate planning goals.

• (1) Think about what has changed in your life and if there are aspects of your estate plan that are no longer relevant or need revision. Change is a constant in life: If you have experienced a change in your marital status, a new child has been born, your financial status has improved, a beneficiary has died, the person you have named as trustee is ill, or other similar changes in life circumstances have occurred, it is important to update your existing estate plan. Even if you are not certain that anything has occurred that would affect your plan, it is wise to meet with us on a regular basis to ensure that your plan will still meet your goals: A change you think is insignificant may have an unexpected impact on your plan.
• (2) Changes in the law may impact your estate plan. As estate planning attorneys, we stay up to date about changes in state or federal law, especially tax law, that may affect your estate plan. It is important for us to periodically meet to review your plan to ensure that changes in the law have not reduced the ability of your plan to achieve your goals.

LET US HELP YOU MAKE A GREAT START TO THE NEW YEAR!

The new year is all about new beginnings. You can take steps today to make sure plans are in place for your own care and to provide for your family. Call the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier to set up a low-cost consultation today. We look forward to helping you start the new year heading in a positive direction.

Join us in today’s post as we discuss some of the reasons that you need a Living Will, even if you are 18 years old with no spouse or children. For help drafting your Living Will, contact the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier.

YOUR VOICE WHEN YOU NO LONGER HAVE ONE YOU WANT YOUR WISHES KNOWN

Everyone has a different idea of what is a good quality of life and what they expect out of medical care. While many people know what a “Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)” order is — a declaration to withhold CPR or life-saving interventions when you are no longer breathing or are pulseless — many people are not aware that in a Living Will, you can make your wishes known for all aspects of medical care or end of life care. If there are specific procedures or lifesaving measures that you are willing to undergo to save your life, while there are others that you are not, you can designate this in your Living Will and prevent you from enduring a procedure or intervention you would not have consented to if you were consciously aware.

SO YOUR FAMILY DOESN’T HAVE TO MAKE YOUR DECISIONS

When you are conscious and well, it is easy to make claims about what you would do in certain situations. However, when the time comes to make difficult choices, especially when the life of a close loved one is dependent on them, it is not so easy. While we can say “if I am a vegetable, pull the plug” and everyone agrees, when your loved one is that “vegetable” and the “plug” is in your hands, black and white become very grey. Human instinct is to preserve life, to relentlessly fight to continue breathing. At the moment when you are facing the death of a loved one, it is not easy to make the final decision that will end their life. Imagine your loved one having to make that decision about you. Your Living Will will lift the burden of making such decisions from your loved ones and allow you to make them yourself.

ALLOWS YOU TO CONTROL YOUR LIFE

There is a helpless feeling that can easily consume you when you feel like you are out of control in your own life. If you are incapacitated in a coma or left unable to speak after an injury or a stroke, but are completely aware, you are likely to feel even more helpless and out of control. A Living Will allows you to maintain the ability to make your own choices and decisions. Your life is yours and you should be able to continue controlling how you live that life, even when you are not in a state to verbalize your wishes while preventing confusion or disagreements between your loved ones.

Unlike a Will, which delegates assets upon your death, a Living Will allows you to make provisions regarding your medical care including life support measures and end-of-life care. When you create a Living Will, it is important to have someone who knows all the ins and outs of legal documents and can ensure that your Living Will is executed in such a manner that it will be honored in the event that it is needed. If you are considering executing a Living Will, contact the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier for your consultation. Our estate attorney has years of experience in Nashville law. Schedule your consultation today.