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In: Adoption, Domestic Relations, Family Law Attorneys, Featured Articles, Legal Terms

Tennessee Adoption Law Changes Starting July, 2018, Tennessee Adoption Law changed in significant ways.  Some of these changes favor adopting parents, while others favor the natural parents. Consult with a family law adoption attorney about how these changes may affect you. Certainly the most significant change in Tennessee adoption Law is the definition of abandonment. Most private party adoptions focus on the legal ground of abandonment of the child by one or both natural parents. While current law requires the adopting parents to prove that the failure to visit or the failure to support is “willful”. This must be shown by clear and convincing evidenceRead More →

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In: Estate Planning : Wills Trusts Estates, Legal Terms

Tennessee General Power of Attorney and the Hazards In Tennessee. a Durable General Power of Attorney is a very powerful legal document that appoints a person or persons to act on your behalf in any matter.  The “Attorney-in-Fact” can do anything that you can do, including buy, sell or mortgage property, open or close financial accounts, write checks, etc.  A power of attorney grants awesome authority to the attorney-in-fact and should be used with extreme caution. In a recent estate case which was tried in the Chancery Court of Washington County, Tennessee, the Chancellor stated: [T]his is the worst estate and power of attorney caseRead More →

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In: Estate Planning : Wills Trusts Estates, Legal Terms

Estate Planning Attorneys in Chattanooga, TN When most people think about the term “estate” the mind conjures up images of an extensive manor home, perhaps a mansion,  and its property.  It would be fair to say that the common belief is that if a person has an estate then that person is wealthy.  In the legal arena the word estate typically means  the whole of one’s possessions – all of the property and debts of a person or a family.  In other words, if you own anything of value, then you have an estate.   It may not be extremely valuable, but it is an estateRead More →

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In: Civil Litigation, Divorce, Domestic Relations, General Legal Issues, Legal Terms

Evidence Discovery in Tennessee Civil Law Cases In a Tennessee civil lawsuit one of the key pre-trial legal procedures involves written requests for production of documents.  Like interrogatories and a deposition a request to produce documentary evidence is a discovery tool which is provided by the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.  This legal process is used to discover or uncover the documentary evidence that is in the possession or control of your adversary. As with any other legal procedure discovering evidence involves questions of law and issues of legal strategy.  A civil law attorney will prepare a request for production of documents in such aRead More →

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In: Estate Planning : Wills Trusts Estates, Legal Terms

Probate a Will in Tennessee In Tennessee if a person who dies has a Last Will and Testament then the Will typically must be administered in probate.  In order for the Executor to gain control over the decedent’s estate  the Last Will and Testament is filed in the Probate Court. The court officially declares the Will to be valid.  The Court supervises the administration of the decedent’s estate. A Last Will and Testament is a legal instrument which is a declaration of a person’s intentions in regards to the division and distribution of property after death. Unlike a Trust,  a Will is not a contract, therefore it mustRead More →