Practice Areas
Howard & Mobley, PLLC offers comprehensive, tax-sensitive estate planning, trust and estate administration, business succession planning, charitable planning, and wealth preservation planning services for clients located throughout Tennessee.
Estate Planning
We recognize that every client's situation is unique and we prepare every client's estate planning documents accordingly. Our estate planning lawyers have significant experience in planning for second marriages and blended families, tax planning for Qualified Retirement Plans and IRAs, and elder law issues related to estate planning. Our areas of representation include:
- Wills
- Revocable Trusts
- Bypass or Family Trusts for Surviving Spouses
- Marital Deduction Trusts
- Generation Skipping Transfer (GST) Trusts
- Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)
- Special Needs Trusts
- Qualified Domestic Trusts for non-citizen spouses (QDOTs)
- Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)
- Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)
- Installment Sales Agreements
- Financial Powers of Attorney
- Health Care Powers of Attorney
- Living Wills
Business Succession Planning
Our attorneys work with families to ensure the smooth, successful transfer of the business to a younger generation or to key employees. We formulate tax savings strategies for the transfer of the business, including Buy/Sell or Stock Purchase Agreements and utilizing advanced planning techniques such as Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts and sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts.
Charitable Planning
We can assist you with maximizing the tax savings from gifts or bequests to charities. Our attorneys can help you with the creation of a Charitable Remainder Trust, Charitable Lead Trust or a Private Foundation. We also counsel clients regarding charitable gifts to Public Charities and Community Foundations.
Asset Protection and Wealth Preservation Planning
High net-worth individuals often face an increased risk of exposure to litigation, especially in our increasingly litigious society. We can advise you on advanced asset protection planning and wealth preservation strategies including the use of asset protection trusts and various business entities. Our lawyers can also advise you on the use of multi-generational Dynasty Trusts and irrevocable trusts.
We are particularly sensitive to the ethical rules governing estate planners with respect to asset protection planning, and we will not recommend any strategies that could constitute a "fraudulent conveyance" in violation of state or federal law, which could be deemed voidable in a bankruptcy proceeding, or could be legally voided by a creditor or bankruptcy trustee.
Trust and Estate Administration
The firm has extensive experience in the area of estate and trust administration, including the settlement of complex estate matters and post-mortem income tax planning. We prepare federal and state inheritance and estate tax returns.
Court Proceedings and Litigation
We represent clients in court proceedings involving wills, trusts and other probate matters. Our attorneys also provide experienced representation of trustees, executors, administrators, agents, surviving spouses, other fiduciaries and beneficiaries. We represent clients in will and trust litigation, including contests, lawsuits concerning the interpretation and modification of estate planning documents. We also handle tax controversies, including IRS and state estate, gift and inheritance tax controversies.
