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Estate Planning. Simplified.
Do you know that you need a will or living trust, but just haven’t gotten around to it? We provide a convenient process that simplifies the estate planning process, helping provide peace of mind that you have your affairs in order.
- We will not spam, sell, or rent your information.
Ryan Smith
Founder and Managing Attorney
The Next Frontier Estate Planning Process
- Choose to meet with us virtually or in person at our office
- We will provide guidance to help you think through the important decisions
- Once your first draft is ready for review, we email a personalized video explanation, along with an option to book a meeting to answer any additional questions
- You choose to finalize your documents at your home or in our office in Apison, TN.
What Is Estate Planning?
- Choose Who Will Take Care of Your Minor Children If You Were to Pass Away
- Choose Your Medical and Financial Decision Maker If You Were to Become Incapacitated
- Choose Your End of Life Decisions Such as Whether to Continue Life Support
- Choose Who Will Receive Your Assets When You Pass Away
- Ensure Your Assets Are Protected to the Greatest Extent Possible Under TN Law
- Special Needs Planning If You Have a Special Needs Child or Children
- Ensure Your Business Continues to Operate If You Pass Away or Become Incapacitated
- Planning Around Potential Estate Tax Issues
- Avoiding Lengthy, Expensive, and Public Probate Through Trust Planning
Initial Estate Planning Session
During our 60-minute Zoom, I will commit the following to you:
- answer your questions and listen as you share your goals, Vision, and objectives
- explain your options including a Will versus a Trust, so you can make educated, informed decisions about what is best for you and your family
- thoroughly review our process and flat fee pricing so you know exactly how much your investment will be and how long it will take
- If we each decide to move forward, then We will clearly explain the remaining steps to complete your estate plan
- guarantee that you’ll leave our session clearer than before about what you really need to protect your family and assets
Frequently Asked Questions
Estate planning is the process of establishing legal documents to designate trusted individuals to manage your well-being, children, assets, and finances the event of your incapacity or death. Additionally, it entails specifying beneficiaries for your assets upon your passing. An estate plan encompasses all the necessary documents to achieve these goals.
Even if you haven’t yet created a will or trust, you technically have an estate plan—it’s just that the state of Tennessee has predetermined it for you. Every state has a default plan for the distribution of your assets and care of your family in the event of your incapacity or death. This default plan currently governs your affairs. Estate planning involves proactively opting out of this default arrangement and implementing your own wishes.
Let’s start by clarifying what we do not require! We do not need account statements, social security numbers, or tax returns. We will need information regarding the types of assets you own (such as a home, retirement accounts, life insurance, etc.), their approximate value, and how they are legally owned (jointly, separately, etc.).
In addition, we will need responses to inquiries about your personal preferences for estate planning, including things like:
- Your desired guardians for your minor children in the event of you and your spouse or partner’s absence.
- Your chosen individual to oversee your children’s finances until they can manage them independently.
- Your designated individuals to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacity.
Don’t stress if you can’t provide immediate answers to these questions! You will have plenty of time to contemplate your decisions, and we can provide guidance along the way.
We offer a streamlined, 3-step process aimed at completing your trust and other estate planning documents within 6-8 weeks:
1) Begin with your Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session. Prior to our meeting, you’ll complete a secure online questionnaire (“Family Profile”) to maximize our time together. During this Zoom session, we’ll discuss your options and our flat fees. Once you’re ready to proceed, we’ll send you an engagement letter and invoice for online execution.
2) Follow up with your Estate Plan Design Meeting. Here, we’ll delve into designing your trust and other documents based on the information from your Family Profile. Within approximately two weeks after this meeting, I’ll draft your documents and send them to you for review. We’ll accommodate any changes or updates you desire. Once everything meets your approval, we’ll arrange an in-person Signing Ceremony.
3) Your Signing Ceremony marks the formal signing of your documents, adhering to all legal requirements, with two witnesses and a notary present. This session can be held either at our office or your home.
Further, Ryan’s clients are provided an optional consultation for ancillary services, such as life insurance, retirement income planning, and medicare coverage.
Attorney Ryan Smith’s estate planning practice is dedicated to assisting individuals and families in making crucial decisions today to prevent future hardships and disputes. He recognizes the complexities of estate planning and provides guidance to ensure his clients’ loved ones are provided for and their wishes are honored.
Ryan received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Memphis and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis School of Law in 2013. Following law school, Ryan practiced in a variety of areas of law, and advocated for clients on many contested matters in court. Realizing that he wanted to be more proactive than reactive for his clients, Ryan set out on a different path that uniquely qualifies him to assist in both estate planning and other ancillary matters.
In 2017, Ryan began working as a financial representative in Tennessee, where he assisted clients with planning for the future using insurance and financial products. Ryan achieved extensive experience as a financial representative, whether he was helping young families protect their children through life insurance or using the contractual guarantees of annuities to provide more stability and peace of mind to retirees and pre-retirees. Ryan has the ability to not only help his clients ensure their estate planning needs are in place but also to assist with many other related matters, providing significant value and convenience for his clients.
Ryan lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he and his beautiful wife Lindsey are raising their two wonderful children, Stratton and Scotland. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys trail running, kayaking, and spending time with family.
A lawyer who listens attentively and ensures your complete understanding of available options before any decisions are made! Anything less wouldn’t fulfill my duties as an attorney. Your sense of being heard and having all your questions addressed is very important to me. Additionally, we will thoroughly review our process, flat fees, and overall client experience, providing clarity on precisely what you can expect and the investment involved.
If you have not already attended a seminar, webinar, or Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session, the first step would be to schedule a Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session to get to learn about our process, fees, and client experience. Once you are ready to move forward, whether at your Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session, or later, we will send you an engagement letter via DocuSign and an invoice via our secure online payment provider, LawPay. Once these housekeeping items are taken care of, you will schedule your Estate Plan Design Meeting.
That depends! Estate planning isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor, making it challenging to provide a quote without understanding your unique circumstances. Even if you perceive your situation as straightforward, there are likely subtleties that you haven’t considered. We thoroughly discuss our fees and process during the Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session, after we’ve provided comprehensive guidance on all available options. Please note that we do not disclose our fees outside of this session.
We recognize that cost plays a crucial role in selecting legal representation, and that estate planning is a significant investment for many individuals. Our main objective is to ensure transparency and fairness. Hence, we offer flat fees instead of hourly billing, providing clarity on your investment from the outset. Additionally, we stand behind our services with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you’re dissatisfied with our services, we’ll make it right or refund your money.
Ultimately, we’ll only recommend proceeding with estate planning through our firm if the potential savings outweigh our fee.
Our process is designed to finalize your estate plan no later than 6-8 weeks of your Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session. The time required will depend in part on your schedule and how long it takes for you to provide information and review your draft documents.
We work with a variety of clients – including families with minor children, blended families, or retirees and pre-retirees. Common life events are good times to create or review estate plans, including marriages, the birth of children, divorce, death of a spouse or child, or if you are approaching or in retirement.
When it comes to estate planning, you have two primary options: a will-based plan or a living trust-based plan. The majority of my clients opt for a living trust. A living trust is a legal document in which you designate a trusted individual to manage your assets in the event of your incapacity and distribute them to your family upon your passing. It’s typically preferred over a will because it’s designed to bypass the time, expenses, and public scrutiny of probate court—a process unavoidable with a will.
During the Next Frontier Initial Estate Planning Session, I delve extensively into the distinctions between a will and a living trust. A common question that arises at the conclusion of this session is, “Why would anyone choose a will?” Ultimately, the decision rests with you.
Probate is the court-monitored procedure for managing your estate after your passing. If you die without a will, your estate must go through probate before your assets can be distributed to your heirs. Additionally, even with a will in place, your estate still undergoes probate! The sole method to sidestep probate is by establishing a revocable living trust.
Why is probate unfavorable? Even a fairly straightforward probate can drag take months or longer to complete, depleting up to 5-7% of the estate’s assets in the process. Moreover, it’s a public process, exposing your will to anyone interested in viewing it.
While a will is subject to probate proceedings, a living trust is specifically structured to entirely avoid them.
A power of attorney enables you to designate an individual to handle your assets if you become incapacitated. This person, known as your “agent,” will act on your behalf, handling tasks such as bill payments, tax filings, and business management should you be unable to do so.
In every estate plan we craft, we incorporate a power of attorney for both spouses
In Tennessee, an advanced care directive for healthcare is a legal document that allows individuals to outline their preferences for medical treatment and healthcare decisions in the event they become unable to communicate or make decisions for themselves. This document includes instructions regarding life-sustaining treatments, organ donation preferences, and designation of a healthcare agent or proxy to make medical decisions on their behalf. Advanced care directives in Tennessee may also be referred to as a healthcare power of attorney, living will, or advance directive.
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Protect your family and assets from the comfort of your own home, or come to our office in Apison, Tennessee. We are here to make estate planning easier - to help you get it done.
CONTACT US
- Next Frontier Estate Planning PLLC
- Street Address: 11286 First Street, Apison, Tennessee 37302
- Mailing Address: PO Box 243, Apison, Tennessee 37302
- Phone: (423) 565-8807
- Email: [email protected]
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