If you can’t speak for yourself, who will?
Incapacity rarely announces itself. The documents you sign while healthy decide whether your family steps in seamlessly — or ends up in a courtroom asking a judge for permission to help you.
Start Your Estate Plan Call (615) 599-1785Without a plan, the court decides
If illness or injury leaves you unable to manage your affairs and no valid documents are in place, your family can’t simply take over. They must petition for a conservatorship — a public, expensive, and often slow court process that puts a judge in charge of decisions about your money and your care. The person the court appoints may not be the person you’d have chosen.
Keeping your affairs running
A durable financial power of attorney names someone you trust to manage bills, accounts, property, and benefits the moment you can’t — without court involvement. “Durable” means it survives your incapacity, which is precisely when it matters. Drafted well, it’s broad enough to be useful and specific enough to prevent abuse.
Making sure your wishes are followed
A healthcare power of attorney names who speaks for your medical care, and an advance directive (living will) records your wishes about treatment so your family isn’t left guessing during a crisis. Together they spare the people you love from agonizing decisions made in the dark.
Planning for the care you may need
Elder care planning looks ahead to the real possibility of extended care — coordinating your incapacity documents with strategies that protect assets from long-term-care costs. (See our TennCare & Medicaid planning for how the financial side works.) The two halves belong together: who decides, and what’s protected while they do.
A plan your family can actually use
The goal isn’t a binder of documents — it’s that on the worst day, your family knows exactly who is in charge and what you wanted, and can act immediately. That clarity is the kindest thing you can leave them.
Put the right people in charge — before you have to.
A short conversation now can spare your family a conservatorship later. Tell us about your situation and we’ll map what you need.
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