Estate Planning and Probate in Memphis

Choose the route by your role and immediate task

If you are making your own plan, the work may include a will, trust, financial power of attorney, or healthcare planning documents. These tools serve different purposes: a will gives instructions for property at death; a trust has its own terms and administration; a financial agent’s authority comes from a power of attorney; healthcare decisions and preferences belong in healthcare documents.

If you are handling a person’s affairs, first identify the authority you have and the asset or task in front of you. Probate administration concerns estate administration; trust administration concerns responsibilities under a trust. A trustee, an agent named under a power of attorney, and a court-appointed guardian or conservator are distinct roles and should not be treated as interchangeable.

• Planning your own documents: identify what each tool should accomplish and who should act.
• Administering an estate or trust: gather the governing documents and clarify your role before taking action.
• Planning for care or benefits: consider long-term-care and Medicaid planning separately from authority to manage someone’s finances.

Compare a will-centered plan with trust planning

A will-centered plan uses a will to state instructions for property at death. A trust-centered plan depends on the trust’s terms and the property or responsibilities handled through it; a pour-over will may also be part of the plan. These are not interchangeable labels, and choosing a trust does not answer every question about other assets or decision-making during life.

When comparing routes, list the property you want addressed, the people or organizations who may receive it, and who would manage or make decisions. Also note existing beneficiary designations and business interests so they can be considered alongside the proposed documents. The appropriate mix may include revocable or irrevocable trusts, including special-needs, charitable, pet, or asset-protection planning where relevant. Do not assume any one trust type produces a particular legal, tax, or benefits result.

Prepare a document and asset checklist

Before a planning conversation, collect current wills and trust documents, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, advance directives, and any HIPAA authorizations. Make a separate list of assets, accounts, ownership information, beneficiary designations, debts or ongoing obligations, and business interests. Flag which details are uncertain rather than filling gaps with assumptions.

For administration, bring the will or trust, available records about property and accounts, and any notices or correspondence you have received. Write down what decisions are pending, who is asking for action, and the capacity in which you are being asked to act. This helps distinguish questions about document meaning from questions about administration or a possible court proceeding.

Consider Shelby County connections when administration is involved

For a matter connected to Memphis or Shelby County, confirm which office and process apply before relying on a directory listing or planning a filing. UT CTAS lists a Shelby County Probate Court Clerk and, separately, a Clerk & Master contact. Those offices are not interchangeable, and a contact listing alone does not determine the proper venue, required filing, or whether a proceeding is needed. Confirm current instructions for your specific matter.

Property records may also be relevant to an administration question, but a recorded document or land-record contact does not by itself establish ownership or the correct transfer procedure. The practical next step is to identify the property, the document that governs it, and the question that remains unresolved.

Plan the next conversation around decisions

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers estate-planning documents and trust planning, probate and trust administration, ancillary probate, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, guardianship and conservatorship matters, and related planning. For an initial discussion, identify whether you are planning ahead or acting for someone else, what decision is urgent, and which documents and assets need attention.