Nashville Estate Administration Law Blog

A trust is an interesting fiduciary arrangement that places your assets into the hands of a third party who is entrusted with their safety. The trustee holds those assets to later distribute them based on your wishes as stated in your will or estate plan.

There are many reasons to have trusts, with one of the main being that some can help reduce your estate's value. This could prevent you from paying estate taxes or could reduce the taxes you owe.

An interesting type of will that many people don't know about is a joint will. It's a unique legal document in that it allows a surviving spouse to inherit the entire estate upon their spouse's death.

Joint wills are executed by two or more people at the same time. Usually, they're made for married couples, combining their last will and testaments. With joint wills, the surviving party is able to receive the entire estate when their spouse dies. Usually, when the second party passes, the estate then passes to the spouses' children, if they have them.

For someone receiving an inheritance, it can be an exciting moment. For the person who has to decide what inheritance to leave behind, it can be complicated. As someone who is trying to leave assets behind for your loved ones, you may not be sure how much of an inheritance to leave to each child or person you care about. You may not be sure how to leave the inheritance so that they use it wisely or that they get it when they need it most.

For the most part, inheritances are made up of cash or assets such as bonds, cars, jewelry, real estate or other tangible assets. Inheritances can be taxed, and inheritance taxes are likely to be larger for those who are not related or who are distantly related to the decedent.

Wills are an important part of the estate-planning process, but many people don't have them. When wills aren't in place, the estate will go through probate, which takes much longer to resolve.

You may not have a will because of the limitations you believe they have, but it's a good idea to put one into place. Still, it's smart to know the limitations, so here are some to remember.