- GuardianshipIt can be a more effective tool for planning for later incapacity or incompetency than a General Power of Attorney. The Grantor will serve as Trustee of the Living Trust so long as he is competent, then a Successor Trustee will assume management of the trust assets if the original Trustee (Grantor) is ever unable to handle his or her financial affairs. Once assets are registered in the name of the trust, it is easier for a Successor Trustee to assume management and control of assets in the trust than with the use of a Power of Attorney or Guardianship. Control over the incompetent’s assets is still achievable by the use of a prior executed General Durable Power of Attorney or a subsequent Guardianship appointment.
- Estate PlanningMichael D. Stice is a Tennessee Certified Estate Planning Specialist and a member of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.  He is also a director of the  Estate Law Specialist Board, the ABA-sanctioned body that certifies attorneys in estate planning.  He co-founded Holmes & Stice PLC in 2000, but began his practice in 1978 with the Wilson, Worley law firm. Mr. Stice graduated from Georgia Tech in 1975 (with highest honors) and Emory University School of Law in 1978, where he was the Style Editor of the Emory Law Journal.
- Wills
- TrustsA trust established by an individual during his lifetime to manage assets during his lifetime and to act as a vehicle for disposing of his assets upon death. The Living Trust should not be confused with a Living Will (Directive to Physician) or a trust established pursuant to a Will. A Living Trust is often used as a tool to plan for both death and incompetence.
- Power of AttorneyA General Durable Power of Attorney which gives the attorney in fact the specific power to contribute the Grantor’s assets to the trust.
- Probate
- Tax LawJAMES W. HOLMES, J.D., C.P.A., a Tennessee Certified Estate Planning Specialist and a member of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, co-founded Holmes & Stice PLC on July 1, 2000. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his Juris Doctor degree from Memphis State University, Memphis, Tennessee, where he was the recipient of the Aaron Smith Tax Law Scholarship. Mr. Holmes became a Certified Public Accountant in 1994.