Areas of Practice

PROBATE

 

In Mississippi the legal actions falling under the term “PROBATE” are as follows: accounting; birth certificate correction; commitment; conservatorship; guardianship; heirship; intestate estate; minor’s settlement; muniment of title; name change; testate estate and will contests. The traditional “ESTATE PRACTICE” is included under probate and involves testate estate (when there is a will) and intestate estates (when the legislature has created laws to dispose of a deceased person’s property). Many decedents have not completed a will, the will cannot be located and/or the witnesses cannot be located and require the probate of an intestate estate. These matters are well defined and somewhat straight forward and the costs associated therewith are reasonable.

ESTATE PLANNING

 

A lot of individuals give at least some thought to the disposition of their property upon death. The well planned, usually reduce this to writing in a legally enforceable document called a will and designate beneficiaries to financial accounts and/or convey assets during their lifetime. Wills can be very simple, for example, the “I love you will” wherein the surviving spouse gets everything. Historically, this could cause certain tax issues, but for 2022, an individual can pass $12,600,000 without incurring any estate tax. Wills can also be more complex and even create trusts for the direction of the handling of assets subsequent to death. Trusts are great tools for minors, persons with disabilities and/or young adults who may stand to inherit assets they should not possess freely for whatever reason. One of my favorite sayings is, “that trusts are only as good as the trustee,” and careful planning must be made when considering a trust.

HEALTHCARE PLANNING

 

Unlike estate planning, most individuals spend little time thinking about their healthcare and the thought of someone else making these decisions on their behalf. As a loosely related counterpart of estate planning, healthcare planning should be prepared for with a healthcare directive, living will and possibly a durable power of attorney.

BUSINESS FORMATION AND BUSINESS SEPARATION

 

Business formation and liability limiting are directly connected in the world we live in today and go hand and hand with estate planning. The explosion of limited liability companies and the upholding of the separation of the personal liability of member of an LLC from the LLC make this a truly attractive modern marvel. The Revised Mississippi Limited Liability Act governs domestic limited liability companies in Mississippi and allows for great flexability and the desired separation from personal assets which make these entities a great fits for most needs and cost efficient for the goals they achieve.