PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICES
FMS provides a full range of estate planning services to individuals and families and succession planning for small and midsized businesses.
Attorneys practicing in our Private Client Services Group have training and experience in the evaluation and assessment of estate planning needs, including both estate and income tax planning, and planning for the management of estate or business assets during disability.
Estate planning attorneys strive to provide family members with the flexibility necessary to deal with unforeseen family circumstances, including an unexpected death in the family. The estate planning attorneys at FM&S have the necessary knowledge of options available to implement an estate plan, both prior to and following a death in the family, that will provide that flexibility.
For those individuals and businesses in a lawsuit or other legal proceedings involving the control or disposition of estate or business assets, our attorneys also have litigation experience to provide top-notch representation for the protection or preservation of your interests.
What We Do For You
The attorneys in our group provide a full range of estate planning for individuals, families and businesses, which includes the following:
- Wills – With or Without Trust Provisions
- Powers of Attorney – Financial & Healthcare
- Revocable Trusts – Creating & Funding
- Irrevocable Trusts – Insurance Trusts, Charitable Trusts, Asset Protection Trusts
- Special Needs Trusts
- Estate & Income Tax Planning
- Formation of LLC’s & Corporations
- Business Succession Plans
- Operating Agreements for LLC’s
Who We Serve
In addition to planning on the front end, the attorneys in our group provide the following litigation services associated with the protection of you or your loved one’s estate during disability and the administration of wills and trusts following your death:
- Guardianship/Conservatorship Proceedings – Contested & Uncontested
- Probate of Wills – Limited or Small Estates and Full Administration
- Asset Transfers without Probate
- Trust Administration
- State & Federal Tax Compliance (Tax Returns and Other Tax Filings)
- Contested Probate Matters & Will Contests
- Surviving Spouse Claims/Disputes
- Prosecution & Defense of Claims by Executors/ Administrators
Back to all Practice Areas
EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS
James E. Wagner
Attorney
Richard T. Scrugham, Jr.
Attorney
Kevin A. Dean
Attorney
Related Blogs
The Importance of Having Powers of Attorney – And the Disaster of Not Having Them
Clients often ask me “Why do I need a power of attorney …. I am not sick, and I don’t want anyone to have that kind of control over me or my finances.” A “Power of Attorney” (or POA) is a document in which you appoint a specific person the authority to act on your […]
Many clients have called me and expressed a great dread of something which they have heard of, and seem to fear …. Probate.
What is Probate? In Tennessee, probate is a process under state law by which a deceased person’s family (or beneficiaries) may present their loved one’s will to a local court to formally open an estate. The court then oversees the gathering of the estate’s assets, the payment of any claims against or debts of the […]
Estate Planning: It’s for the Children (of all kinds)
In Tennessee, a person can leave his estate pretty much to whoever he wants.* Of course, when a person dies without a will, the State of Tennessee provides for how property is divided. See the blog article entitled, “When Aunt Becky Had No Will.” If a person has no will, there are differences in how […]
Disinheritance in Tennessee
An occasional question that comes up in drafting a will, is whether the person making a will can disinherit a child. The simple answer is that in Tennessee, parents can disinherit a son or daughter. No reason needs to be stated in the will. Some think they must leave a child a dollar. That is […]
What are the Duties of a Conservator?
In Tennessee, a Court may appoint a Conservator for a person who lacks mental capacity to handle his / her own affairs. But what exactly does a Conservator DO and what are the responsibilities of the job? There are two types of authority which the Court will normally grant to a Conservator: 1. Conservator of […]
What is a Conservatorship?
All adults in Tennessee are legally considered to be competent and to have the ability (or capacity) to make their own decisions – about their finances and their own medical issues. However, sometimes an adult can suffer disability through a tragic injury, disease, or (in many cases) through the aging process and the deterioration of […]
Potential Legal Traps for Executors Distributing Firearms from an Estate
In Tennessee, like most states, estates frequently include the decedent’s firearms. There are legal concerns for the executor1 concerning distributing the firearms to beneficiaries or heirs of an estate. These can involve a beneficiary who is disqualified from possessing a firearm, or too young to take possession. There may even be concerns about the legality […]
Estate Planning Update 2017
No one can predict the future, but it appears likely that we’ll see some major changes the federal estate tax law following President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20th. A repeal of the federal estate tax has been discussed, along with what I’ll call an alternative system whereby certain unrealized capital gains are taxed at death. […]
Better Safe Than Sorry…Always a Good Idea to File Form 706
No one has a crystal ball, but that does not mean we should not keep our eyes and ears open. Given the drama surrounding the 2016 presidential election, there is one certainty…there could be some MAJOR changes in the federal estate tax regardless of who wins the election. Mr. Trump’s plan proposes to nearly eliminate […]