Estate planning law has been needlessly complicated over the years due to the evolution of the law in general. Since America's founding, we have been moving away from our British cousins but we still retain some of their ways of doing things. Estate planning is one area of law where we just keep doing things the old-fashioned way (but most people want it to be different!)
Under the old system, to pass assets at death, an attorney and the court system was necessary. Surprisingly, most people do not like attorney's or being in court. (I am trying to contain my sarcasm.) Over hundreds of years, they old fashioned system has been changing to give people what they want - to make estate settlement simple and avoid lawyers and courts as much as possible.
The Tennessee General Assembly passed some updates to the probate law this year. One major change that has been badly needed was to modernize the law regarding how your "stuff" gets into your living trust. There were ways to do it previously but there were also some questions about those ways. Now, the law is clear.
If you were uneasy about the whole "living trust" thing, I get it. It can be intimidating. There is some confusion and distraction out there. There are some unscrupulous players as well. But the bottom line is, for almost every family, a living trust can meet your families needs and keep your family out of the court system at your passing.
If you are interested in learning more, register for one of our upcoming workshops or make an appointment with our estate planning attorney's to get started leaving a lasting legacy.