Leave No Questions Behind.
A proper estate plan is not about paperwork. It is about making sure the people you love are protected — and that the decisions you would have made are made the way you would have made them, even when you are no longer there to make them.
Flat fees quoted upfront. Most plans completed within 3–5 business days of intake.
Estate planning is one of those things everyone intends to do and very few actually finish. It feels uncomfortable to think about, easy to postpone, and not urgent — right up until it is. By then, the opportunity to do it on your terms is gone.
When someone dies without a proper estate plan, the people they leave behind are not just grieving. They are also navigating a legal and financial process that is more complicated, more expensive, and more emotionally painful than it needed to be. Courts make decisions the deceased never got to make. Families argue over things that a clear document would have resolved in a sentence.
None of that has to happen. A well-drafted estate plan — done once, done right — takes those burdens off the people you love at exactly the moment they are least equipped to carry them.
“The best gift you can leave your family is clarity. An estate plan is not about what happens to your money. It is about making sure your family does not have to guess what you would have wanted — at the worst possible moment.”
Who Needs an Estate Plan?
If any of these describe you, you need an estate plan. The question is not whether — it is when.
A proper estate plan is not a single document. It is a coordinated set of documents that work together to cover every situation — while you are alive, if you become incapacitated, and after you are gone.
Names who receives your property, who carries out your wishes, and who raises your minor children.
Passes assets directly to beneficiaries without probate court — saving time, money, and privacy.
Authorizes someone to manage your financial affairs if you become unable to do so yourself.
Tells your doctors what life-sustaining treatment you do or do not want — in writing.
Allows your designated people to speak with your doctors and access your medical information.
Protects heirs who inherit NFA-regulated items from unintentional federal criminal liability.
These are not hypothetical scenarios. They are the situations families actually face — and they are almost entirely preventable with a proper estate plan in place.
The Court Chooses Your Children's Guardian
If both parents die without naming a guardian for minor children, a judge decides who raises them. That judge does not know your family, your values, or your wishes. The person you would have chosen may not be the one who ends up with your kids.
Probate Delays & Costs
Without a will or trust, your estate goes through probate — a court-supervised process that can take months or years, costs money, and is a matter of public record. Every asset, every debt, every beneficiary becomes public information. A trust avoids this entirely.
Tennessee Law Decides Who Gets What
Tennessee's intestacy laws determine how your estate is distributed if you die without a will. The result may bear no resemblance to what you would have wanted. A longtime partner with no legal status may receive nothing. A relative you were estranged from may receive everything.
No One Can Pay Your Bills
Without a power of attorney, if you become incapacitated your family cannot access your accounts, pay your mortgage, or manage your affairs without a court order. A conservatorship proceeding is expensive, slow, and public — and it is entirely avoidable with a single document signed before the crisis.
Family Conflict Over Your Wishes
When there is no written plan, family members fill the silence with their own assumptions — and those assumptions rarely agree. Disputes over property, finances, and medical decisions tear families apart at the moment they should be coming together. A clear estate plan eliminates the ambiguity that causes those fights.
Federal Liability for Firearms Heirs
Heirs who receive NFA-regulated firearms without a proper legal transfer process can face federal criminal charges — even when they had no idea the items were regulated. If you own NFA items and your estate plan does not address them specifically, your family may be inheriting a legal problem along with the firearms.
In over 15 years of practice I have seen wills that run 40 pages. Impressive documents — heavy paper, formal binders, elaborate language that sounds like it was written for a 19th-century English estate. They cost clients a great deal of money to produce.
And they say exactly what a clean 5 or 6-page will would say. Not one thing more.
Some attorneys have built practices around the perception that length equals quality. Thick binders, embossed covers, and heavyweight paper give the impression of thoroughness. But a will's legal validity has nothing to do with how much it weighs. It depends entirely on whether it meets Tennessee's legal requirements — and whether it clearly expresses your wishes.
A well-drafted will is clear, specific, and complete. It does not need to be long to be thorough. What it needs is a lawyer who knows Tennessee law, understands your situation, and takes the time to get it right — not one who charges by the page.
“Fancy binders and heavyweight paper do not make your will better. They make it more expensive. What makes a will valuable is that it says exactly what you mean, meets every legal requirement, and leaves your family with no questions.”
What Adds Cost
What Adds Value
Volume — padding documents with boilerplate language to increase page count
Clarity — language that says exactly what you mean with no ambiguity
Fancy binders, embossed covers, and heavy paper stock
Legal compliance — meeting every Tennessee requirement for a valid, enforceable document
Hourly billing that rewards longer documents
Flat fees that reward efficiency and respect your time
Legalese designed to impress rather than communicate
Plain-English explanation letters so your family understands what they are signing and why
Unnecessary complexity that obscures your actual wishes
Specificity — documents tailored to your family, your assets, and your actual situation
The bottom line: A legally valid, clearly written Tennessee will that expresses your wishes completely does not require 40 pages. It requires an attorney who actually knows what they are doing.
We handle estate planning the way it should be handled — efficiently, personally, and without unnecessary complexity or cost.
We send you a plain-English questionnaire covering your family, your assets, your wishes, and any specific concerns. Most clients complete it in 15–20 minutes from home. No legal jargon, no confusing forms.
Chris Shaffer personally reviews your intake, identifies anything that needs clarification, and prepares your documents. If there are questions or unique circumstances in your situation, he will reach out directly — not delegate to a paralegal.
Once your documents are drafted you will receive a payment link for the flat fee you were quoted upfront. No surprises. Each document comes with a plain-English explanation letter so you understand exactly what it says and why it matters.
Schedule a short signing appointment at our Lawrenceburg office. You review the documents, ask any questions, sign in the presence of witnesses and a notary, and you are done. Most signings take under 30 minutes. In-home and hospital visits are available if you cannot come to us.
Will + Trust Combination
Will handles anything outside the trust; trust avoids probate on major assets
Full Estate Planning Packet
Will, Trust, POA, Advance Directive, and HIPAA Auth as a complete bundle
Married Couple Intake
Both spouses' documents prepared together at a combined rate
NFA Firearms Provisions
Added to any will or trust when needed at no additional charge
Ready to Get Your Estate Plan Done?
Don't wait for the right moment.
The right moment was yesterday. The second-best moment is today. Start with our simple online intake and we will take it from there. Or call us — there is no charge to ask questions before you decide.