Tennessee Will

When you prepare your Tennessee will you have to make two decisions: who do I want to leave my property to and who will be my estate administrator. You should also designate an alternate beneficiary in case you are predeceased by the primary beneficiary. Your estate administrator is responsible for gathering estate assets, paying debts of the estate and distributing the remainder to the beneficiaries under the will. This person should be made aware of the nature and location of your assets and extent of your debts. He should also be provided with a copy of your will and advised as to the location of the original.

When you create a trust in these wills you have to decide who you want to act as trustee of the estate created by the will. In each of these wills, the trustee is instructed to use the income and principal for the benefit of the children. Upon their attaining whatever age you designate the trustee is instructed to distribute to them the remaining income and principal. We have used the age of majority, eighteen (18). as the trust termination date. Some parents prefer a later age to afford their children an opportunity to mature as well as obtain a college education so they will be better prepared to manage their inheritance. You may insert any preferable termination date.

All of these wills, with the exception of the joint and mutual wills, contain the following optional provisions which you can elect by initialing after you have printed out your will:

If persons owing you money on your death are obligated to offset those debts against their inheritance
If debts owing on real estate are required to be assumed by the person receiving such property
If a beneficiary contests the will he or she will forfeit their inheritance and receive only $100.00
Any desires you may have for cremation
Any specific place you request for your burial

RESOURCES:
1. Tennessee Code, Title 31 Descent and Distribution and Title 32 Wills.
2. Glossary, Black's Law Dictionary, Fourth Edition 1951.

These wills provide that the estate of one spouse will pass to the survivor. If both spouses die simultaneously all property passes to adult children. These are the most common wills written by lawyers. If you have two or more adult children but you do not want all of them to share in your estate simply list as beneficiaries the ones you want to share.

You have the flexibility in these wills to make specific gifts of property. Mom can give her jewelry to her daughter and pop can give his gun collection to his son. You can make conditional gifts or make whatever disposition of your property you like.

Normally the husband will name the wife as his administratrix and the wife will name the husband as her administrator although you can designate anyone you choose. An alternate administrator should be designated in the event of simultaneous death of husband and wife. This person is normally the oldest child or the most trustworthy.

If you do not want to designate your spouse as beneficiary, use the male and female wills listed below if the beneficiaries are adult. If the beneficiaries are minors, use the male and female trust wills.

Each will is approximately six to seven pages in length.

These are wills that provide that the estate of one spouse will pass to the survivor but provides for additional contingencies. If both spouses die simultaneously and the property passes to the children, a guardian will be appointed and a trust will be created and administered by a designated trustee for the benefit of any child who is a minor. The guardian and the trustee may be the same person.

The trust provides that the trustee will use the estate property for the use and benefit of the minors until the youngest reaches whatever age you designate at which time the trust will terminate and the balance remaining in the estate will be turned over to the children. The trustee should be a trusted friend or relative or could even be an adult child. Since the trustee has absolute discretion to make expenditures for the benefit of the minors you should also select someone who cares for the welfare of your children.

Keep in mind the age of the person you designate. You don't want to designate a guardian and trustee in their seventies who may not be around long enough to raise five or six year old children. You may also designate children by a prior marriage as beneficiaries.

Each will is approximately seven to eight pages in length.

These are contractual wills between husband and wife that provide upon the death of both spouses all property will pass to the designated beneficiaries. Normally they are used when husband and wife marry late in life and bring separate property into the marriage and want the children of each by prior marriage to share equally in their estate after their death. If either husband or wife accept benefits under this will the survivor is contractually bound to dispose of the property according to the disposition scheme contained in this will. If, for example, each spouse has two adult children by a prior marriage and they enter into a joint and mutual will, the survivor cannot change the provisions of his or her will and make his or her children sole beneficiaries to the exclusion of the other two children. This will gives protection to the children of the first deceased spouse. DO NOT USE THIS WILL IF YOU HAVE MINOR CHILDREN.

You have the flexibility in these wills to make specific gifts of property. The wife can give the keepsakes and heirlooms invaluable to her side of the family to her children and the husband can do likewise. You can make conditional gifts or make whatever disposition of your property you like.

This will is approximately six pages in length.

These wills follow the same format as the sample will above. You may now write anything you want in your will providing for the disposition of your estate. In effect you can do your own customizing and are not bound by the more static provisions of the other more commonly used wills. Flexibility is allowed in identifying your beneficiary/beneficiaries as well as making uneven distributions of your estate. You can make specific gifts of property as well as conditional gifts. You can submit your will, review it and if it is not the way you want it, hit the back button on your browser and redo it as many times you like until you get it right.

These wills can be used by anyone, married or single, who wants to customize the dispositive provisions of his or her will.

Each will is approximately six pages in length.

You may leave your property to your minor children and include a trust provision. These wills are commonly used by non custodial divorced parents who want to leave their estate to their children but prefer someone else manage the estate. However, you may designate the other parent as trustee if you choose. You should designate a trustworthy person who will manage the minors' estate until they attain whatever age you designate. Since the trustee has absolute discretion to make expenditures for the benefit of the minors you should also select someone who cares for the welfare of your children.

In cases where you only have one child you should designate an alternate beneficiary in the event your child does not survive the trust. Where two or more children are involved, these wills provide that upon the death of any child before attaining the designated age, the remainder of the estate is evenly divided among the remainder of the children.

Each will is approximately seven to eight pages in length.

You may leave your property to your children and also select a guardian who will provide for them until they reach majority. These wills are more commonly used by single parents or where one parent predeceases the other. If you are divorced and have custody of your children you may still designate a guardian. However, you should consult a lawyer to determine the rights of your divorced spouse to custody of the children upon your death.

You should designate a responsible trustee who will manage the minors' estate until they attain whatever age you designate. Since the trustee has absolute discretion to make expenditures for the benefit of the minors you should also select someone who cares for the welfare of your children.

In cases where you only have one child you should designate an alternate beneficiary of your estate in the event your child does not survive the trust. Where two or more children are involved, these wills provide that upon the death of any child before attaining the designated age the remainder of the estate is evenly divided among the remainder of the children.

Each will is approximately seven to eight pages in length.

Mom Will with Guardian and Trust		Pop Will with Guardian and Trust
One Minor	Two or More Minors	One Minor	Two or More Minors

Female Will with Trust		Male Will with Trust
One Minor	Two or More Minors	One Minor	Two or More Minors

Female Will with Guardian and Trust		Male Will with Guardian and Trust
One Minor	Two or More Minors	One Minor	Two or More Minors