Smyth County, VA Estate Planning Lawyers

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Includes: Gift Taxation

Roy Franklin Evans

General Practice
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

James Patton Graham

General Practice
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Melissa Sue Carrico

Government, Divorce & Family Law
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Malcolm Marvin Brown

Estate, Elder Law, Trusts
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Jonathan Edward Patton Arnold

Traffic, Motor Vehicle, Divorce, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Mark Brach Fenyk

Misdemeanor, Accident & Injury
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Roy Hampton Burke

General Practice
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  56 Years

John Hubert Graham

General Practice
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Richard Allan Money

Real Estate, Social Security, Government, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Michael Everett Untiedt

Car Accident, Accident & Injury
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-814-6700

Member Representative

Call me for fastest results!
800-814-6700

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-814-6700

By submitting this request, I authorize you to forward my information to multiple potential lawyers and I agree to your Terms of Use and Privacy Policy including the Consent to Receive Automated Phone Calls, Emails and Texts. Information you provide is not privileged or confidential.

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Easily find Virginia Estate Planning Lawyers and Virginia Estate Planning Law Firms for your location. Narrow your Estate Planning attorney search for Virginia by major city or a specific Virginia city using the city list. Or search for Virginia Estate Planning attorneys by county. For more attorneys, search all Estate areas including Trusts, Wills & Probate and Power of Attorney attorneys.

LEGAL TERMS

NET ESTATE

The value of all property owned at death less liabilities or debts.

SELF-PROVING WILL

A will that is created in a way that allows a probate court to easily accept it as the true will of the person who has died. In most states, a will is self-prov... (more...)
A will that is created in a way that allows a probate court to easily accept it as the true will of the person who has died. In most states, a will is self-proving when two witnesses sign under penalty of perjury that they observed the willmaker sign it and that he told them it was his will. If no one contests the validity of the will, the probate court will accept the will without hearing the testimony of the witnesses or other evidence. To make a self-proving will in other states, the willmaker and one or more witnesses must sign an affidavit (sworn statement) before a notary public certifying that the will is genuine and that all willmaking formalities have been observed.

GENERATION-SKIPPING TRANSFER TAX

A federal tax imposed on money placed in a generation-skipping trust. Currently, there is a $1 million exemption to the GSTT; that is, each person may leave $1 ... (more...)
A federal tax imposed on money placed in a generation-skipping trust. Currently, there is a $1 million exemption to the GSTT; that is, each person may leave $1 million in a generation-skipping trust free of this tax. The GSST is imposed when the middle-generation beneficiaries die and the property is transferred to the third-generation beneficiaries. Every dollar over $1 million is subject to the highest existing estate tax rate--currently 55%--at the time the GSTT tax is applied.

ADMINISTRATION (OF AN ESTATE)

The court-supervised distribution of the probate estate of a deceased person. If there is a will that names an executor, that person manages the distribution. I... (more...)
The court-supervised distribution of the probate estate of a deceased person. If there is a will that names an executor, that person manages the distribution. If not, the court appoints someone, who is generally known as the administrator. In some states, the person is called the 'personal representative' in either instance.

PROBATE COURT

A specialized court or division of a state trial court that considers only cases concerning the distribution of deceased persons' estate. Called 'surrogate cour... (more...)
A specialized court or division of a state trial court that considers only cases concerning the distribution of deceased persons' estate. Called 'surrogate court' in New York and several other states, this court normally examines the authenticity of a will -- or if a person dies intestate, figures out who receives her property under state law. It then oversees a procedure to pay the deceased person's debts and to distribute her assets to the proper inheritors. See probate.

INTESTATE SUCCESSION

The method by which property is distributed when a person dies without a valid will. Each state's law provides that the property be distributed to the closest s... (more...)
The method by which property is distributed when a person dies without a valid will. Each state's law provides that the property be distributed to the closest surviving relatives. In most states, the surviving spouse, children, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, and next of kin inherit, in that order.

ESTATE TAXES

Taxes imposed by the state or federal government on property as it passes from the dead to the living. All property you own, whatever the form of ownership, and... (more...)
Taxes imposed by the state or federal government on property as it passes from the dead to the living. All property you own, whatever the form of ownership, and whether or not it goes through probate after your death, is subject to federal estate tax. Currently, however, federal estate tax is due only if your property is worth at least $2 million when you die. The estate tax is scheduled to be repealed for one year, in 2010, but Congress will probably make the repeal (or a very high exempt amount) permanent. Any property left to a surviving spouse (if he or she is a U.S. citizen) or a tax-exempt charity is exempt from federal estate taxes. Many states now also impose their own estate taxes or inheritance taxes.

RESIDUARY ESTATE

The property that remains in a deceased person's estate after all specific gifts are made, and all debts, taxes, administrative fees, probate costs, and court c... (more...)
The property that remains in a deceased person's estate after all specific gifts are made, and all debts, taxes, administrative fees, probate costs, and court costs are paid. The residuary estate also includes any gifts under a will that fail or lapse. For example, Connie's will leaves her house and all its furnishings to Andrew, her VW bug to her friend Carl, and the remainder of her property (the residuary estate) to her sister Sara. She doesn't name any alternate beneficiaries. Carl dies before Connie. The VW bug becomes part of the residuary estate and passes to Sara, along with all of Connie's property other than the house and furnishings. Also called the residual estate or residue.

PETITION

A formal written request made to a court, asking for an order or ruling on a particular matter. For example, if you want to be appointed conservator for an elde... (more...)
A formal written request made to a court, asking for an order or ruling on a particular matter. For example, if you want to be appointed conservator for an elderly relative, you must file a petition with a court. See also complaint.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

Ott v. L & J HOLDINGS, LLC

... Lou Ann consulted Glenn H. Goodpasture, a Fredericksburg attorney, who formed an entity called L & J Holdings, LLC (L & J) to accomplish her purpose. Lou Ann had also consulted R. Leigh Frackleton, Jr., Goodpasture's law partner, with respect to estate planning. ...

Keener v. Keener

... More than four years before his death, the testator consulted an attorney specializing in estate planning, who prepared a "pour-over" will that left all the testator's property to the "Hollis Grant Keener Revocable Living Trust" (the trust). ...

Campbell v. Campbell

... App. 580, 586, 397 SE2d 257, 261 (1990). "[G]ifts to family members c[an] be considered dissipation," but a "pattern of pre-separation giving as a part of estate planning" can provide evidence to support a finding that the giving was not done in anticipation of divorce. ...

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