Full Transcript for Does a Trust Avoid Probate in Tennessee?

having to do anything else. [2:31] They just simply strike a stroke of a pin [2:34] and do what they need to do. [2:35] But if you have to go to court [2:38] because we're going into probate, [2:40] then we have to, let's say the house has a mortgage on it. [2:43] And the house payment has to be made. [2:45] The heirs don't have the money to make that house payment. [2:47] So the only way to move that along [2:50] is we got to get the house sold [2:51] so that we don't have to worry about those house payments. [2:54] So we have to open the estate. [2:55] It has to be open for four months. [2:57] We have to sell the real estate. [2:59] You have to get permission to list the real estate. [3:02] Then you have to get permission from a judge [3:04] to approve a contract that has been, [3:06] if there's an offer made. [3:08] And sometimes getting those hearing dates, [3:11] that can take a couple of weeks. [3:13] Sometimes it can take longer, [3:14] depending on the court's schedule. [3:16] It just really opens the door for chaos. [3:20] That could really all be avoided [3:23] by proper planning and funding into a trust. [3:27] How do you get that information of people though, Ms. Prattie? [3:30] How do you kind of convey that urgency or that importance? [3:34] You know what I mean? [3:35] When you're encountering people that don't really [3:38] maybe understand that kind of process. [3:41] So I'm really hopeful that by having these kind of conversations, [3:46] it opens everybody's eyes and their minds [3:49] to what needs to be done. [3:50] So the only way you can do that [3:52] is just trying to get the word out there. [3:54] You know, I tell anybody and everybody that'll listen, [3:56] hey, you need to talk to an estate plan in attorney. [3:59] I'm happy to do a consultation, those consults are free. [4:02] But let's talk about what you're doing with your stuff. [4:04] Let's talk about where it's going. [4:06] Let's talk about where you want it to be [4:08] and how you foresee leaving your legacy. [4:10] But what determines whether an asset has to go [4:13] through that probate process? [4:15] There are a couple of things. [4:17] So like you can set up the trust and design your trust. [4:21] You can leave it in a wheel. [4:23] And you can do some planning that probably is antiquated. [4:29] But if you have bank accounts and you do paid on death [4:32] and you pay it to your niece or your nephew or your child, [4:37] then that passes outside the estate. [4:39] And maybe you want that, maybe you don't. [4:41] So that wouldn't have to go through probate. [4:44] But if you have a large amount of money in a bank account [4:47] that you want to be controlled by the trust document [4:50] that you created or by the will document that you created, [4:53] then you need to pay it to the will or to your estate [4:56] or to the trust. [4:58] Either one of those would manage that. [5:00] One of them, the last will and testament, [5:03] is a ticket to probate core, [5:04] which is just a ticket to create the chaos. [5:07] The trust, on the other hand, [5:09] would simply disperse the money the way you direct in your trust. [5:13] No court approval necessary. [5:15] But can a trust avoid probate for property, real estate, [5:19] things like that? [5:20] Yes, so long as it's funded. [5:21] So long as those things get retitled and redirected, [5:25] we include in our package something called [5:27] an assignment of personal property. [5:29] So that means anything that I have that's a picnic table, [5:33] a dining room table, a bedroom suit, [5:36] a beautiful oil painting, whatever it may be, [5:39] all of that transfers to the estate upon my past. [5:42] That sounds like a painting of buddies [5:44] or am I overthinking it, is it a pain or no? [5:46] You know, it's not. [5:48] It would require a little bit of time, [5:50] probably on your end as much as five hours, [5:53] spread out over two to three meetings [5:55] with your estate planning attorney. [5:58] And that would also include signing. [6:03] But beyond that, I don't know of anything else [6:06] that would be required. [6:07] Other than every three to five years, [6:09] we want to have a follow-up conversation [6:11] and say, hey, have you bought property? [6:13] Have you done something? [6:14] Did you fund it to your trust? [6:15] What do we need to do? [6:16] So can part of an estate go through probate [6:19] while the other asset passes through a trust? [6:22] It could. [6:23] It could if the personal property didn't get moved [6:29] into the trust or if you buy another piece of real estate [6:32] and you don't title it to the trust, [6:34] then there is a possibility that we have a trust [6:37] that is only partially operational [6:41] in the sense of how it protects you. [6:43] So what about the beneficiary designations? [6:46] Can they also keep assets out of probate, Miss Patty? [6:50] They can. [6:51] So your life insurance policy, if you've got that [6:54] and you leave it to child one, [6:56] and then you have a bank account, [6:58] you leave child two as the paid on death beneficiary [7:01] on that account, [7:02] then those two items pass outside of probate [7:05] and they pass outside the trust. [7:06] What about the size of the estate? [7:08] Does it affect whether probate is necessary [7:11] in the state of Tennessee or it doesn't really matter? [7:13] Does not really matter, no sir. [7:15] So when you see these kind of things as far as this goes, [7:18] what's the most difficult thing you see in this process? [7:20] Is it kind of making people understand [7:22] how the process works? [7:23] Or is it just a lot of the things you have to go through [7:26] legally to kind of make things work? [7:27] What have you seen in your experience? [7:29] The most difficult part is having a conversation [7:33] with somebody who is not ready to have a conversation [7:36] about the day they die, [7:38] because they don't want to talk about it.

[7:40] They don't want to talk about what happens [7:42] and maybe your spouse doesn't want to talk about what happens, [7:44] but it is a critical conversation I believe to have. [7:49] And it's one to where if you have it and you plan for it [7:53] because we all know it's coming, [7:55] I'm not getting out of here alive and you're not either. [7:57] We all know it's coming, so let's plan for it. [8:01] And let's set it up and protect it and create a legacy [8:05] that does what you intend for your legacy to do. [8:10] How do you approach that subject, though, [8:12] as well as do you kind of give your own personal experiences? [8:15] Do you know, because I believe you know, [8:18] having that empathy as an attorney can kind of go a long way, [8:22] but so how do you kind of use your skill setting, [8:24] your experiences and things that you've gone through [8:26] to kind of help that through? [8:28] You know, usually by the time they get to me, [8:31] they recognize the need, [8:33] that they need to have the conversation. [8:35] So there are already three quarters of the way there. [8:38] They may not have a full understanding, [8:40] but they recognize the need. [8:41] They've had a spouse that's drug them into my office [8:43] that says we're gonna do this. [8:44] We've got to get this done. [8:46] Or they've had an experience like the family, [8:51] I'm working on a trust and it's 10 kids. [8:53] I think we talked about that earlier [8:54] where they wound up in probate. [8:56] So what that's gonna end up doing is those kids [9:00] are all gonna end up creating their own trust [9:02] because they recognize the pain that a properly funded trust [9:09] or a failure to properly fund a trust [9:11] has created for their family. [9:13] So they will each end up doing their own trust [9:16] and they should because they're all adults [9:18] and they all have their own children. [9:20] And so that's kind of how it happens [9:23] is people recognize the pain created by the chaos [9:27] in probate court and they recognize, [9:31] hey, this is not what I wanna do to my family and friends. [9:34] This is not how I want them to perceive my legacy. [9:37] I don't want them to think about all the misery [9:39] that was created by having to be in court and do the things. [9:43] I wanna take care of it for them. [9:45] And the truth is when people think about how cost [9:49] and how that's prohibitive or that kind of thing. [9:52] The truth is setting up the trust is probably [9:56] about the same cost as the beginning part [9:59] of probating an estate. [10:02] So when you think about that [10:04] and then if you have the wild card and uncle niece nephew [10:07] somebody comes in and contests that probate matter [10:10] they can drag on for years. [10:11] So a $5,000 thing over here where we create a trust [10:16] starts out as a $5,000 thing in probate court most likely. [10:20] But it could end up a $25,000 thing in probate court. [10:24] And so from my perspective it's one of those, [10:26] you either do it, you're either paying for it now [10:29] or you're setting your kids up and your family up [10:31] to pay for it later. [10:33] How do you wanna handle that? [10:34] I think you've handled it on your own. [10:37] So speaking of that though what kind of problems can come up [10:39] when a family expects a trust to avoid probate [10:42] but it doesn't, what can they see? [10:44] So if we don't properly fund it [10:46] we don't get the accounts named into the name of the trust. [10:48] So we create the trust document [10:50] but then we don't do the next steps and have the follow up. [10:53] Maybe we don't have the three year follow up [10:56] with the estate planning attorney. [10:58] So we talk about all the things that have been done since [11:00] we last saw you, you know you come in and we say okay, [11:03] what if you purchase, what have y'all done? [11:04] What kind of accounts have created? [11:07] Those are the things that we review and talk about [11:09] so that your plan grows with you and updates with you [11:14] so we can avoid that mishap for probate court. [11:17] And before I get you out here, I was proud of, [11:19] can you tell the people at home, [11:21] what's your favorite thing about what you do? [11:23] Why do you do what you do? [11:25] Because I love the idea of planning a legacy [11:29] and leaving your family in a better place [11:34] once your plan is put into place. [11:38] It removes the chaos, it removes the uncertainty [11:42] and it's a design for such a beautiful life [11:47] that you are gifting to your next generation. [11:50] I can't argue with that, sounds good to me. [11:52] Thank you so much. [11:54] Yeah, absolutely. [11:55] That's it for today's episode of ties [11:57] that buying law, family and legacy with Ms. Patty Garner. [12:00] If you have questions about your own estate planner, [12:02] want to make sure you're making the right decision [12:04] for your family, you can reach out [12:05] to Ms. Patty Garner at Garner law firm [12:07] by visiting pattybeetgarner.com. [12:11] Thank you so much for listening [12:12] and don't forget to like, subscribe and share this episode [12:14] with someone who might need it. [12:16] Y'all give me a call and let's plan your legacy. [12:24] Thanks for watching. [12:25] Be sure to hit that like and subscribe button [12:28] and leave us a review in the comments.