Birmingham Estate Planning Lawyer, Alabama

Sponsored Law Firm


Includes: Gift Taxation

Ferris S. Ritchey Lawyer

Ferris S. Ritchey

VERIFIED
Estate, Estate Planning, Wills & Probate, Mediation, Elder Law

Ferris Ritchey has over 35 years of experience in a wide range of legal matters with an emphasis on Domestic Relations, Mediation, Collaborative, Prob... (more)

Lorrie Maples Parker

Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, Contract, Business Organization
Status:  In Good Standing           

V. Michelle Obradovic

Corporate, Business Organization, Elder Law, Estate Planning
Status:  In Good Standing           

Shay N. Click

Collection, Estate Planning, Family Law, Municipal
Status:  In Good Standing           

Brett Harrison Hollett

Landlord-Tenant, Litigation, Estate Planning, DUI-DWI, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  17 Years

Anne Lamkin Durward

Farms, Estate Planning, Divorce, Adoption
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  29 Years

Stephen W. Shaw

Mass Torts, Estate Planning, Employment Discrimination, Divorce, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  44 Years

John N. Hester

Estate Administration, Estate Planning, DUI-DWI, Criminal
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  38 Years

Preston Hunter Neel

Commercial Real Estate, Wills, Gift Taxation, Credit & Debt
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  16 Years

Marilyn H. Macey

Military & Veterans Appeals, Social Security -- Disability, Social Security, Estate Planning
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  32 Years

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-620-0900

Member Representative

Call me for fastest results!
800-620-0900

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-620-0900

By submitting this lawyer request, I confirm I have read and agree to the Consent to Receive Messages from all messaging and voice technologies including Email, Text, Phone, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Information provided is not privileged or confidential.


Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

Member Representative

Call me for fastest results!
800-943-8690

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

By submitting this lawyer request, I confirm I have read and agree to the Consent to Receive Messages from all messaging and voice technologies including Email, Text, Phone, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Information provided is not privileged or confidential.

TIPS

Easily find Birmingham Estate Planning Lawyers and Birmingham Estate Planning Law Firms. For more attorneys, search all Estate areas including Trusts, Wills & Probate and Power of Attorney attorneys.

LEGAL TERMS

PER CAPITA

Under a will, the most common method of determining what share of property each beneficiary gets when one of the beneficiaries dies before the willmaker, leavin... (more...)
Under a will, the most common method of determining what share of property each beneficiary gets when one of the beneficiaries dies before the willmaker, leaving children of his or her own. For example, Fred leaves his house jointly to his son Alan and his daughter Julie. But Alan dies before Fred, leaving two young children. If Fred's will states that heirs of a deceased beneficiary are to receive the property per capita, Julie and the two grandchildren will each take a third. If, on the other hand, Fred's will states that heirs of a deceased beneficiary are to receive the property per stirpes, Julie will receive one-half of the property, and Alan's two children will share his half in equal shares (through Alan by right of representation).

CERTIFIED COPY

A copy of a document issued by a court or government agency guaranteed to be a true and exact copy of the original. Many agencies and institutions require certi... (more...)
A copy of a document issued by a court or government agency guaranteed to be a true and exact copy of the original. Many agencies and institutions require certified copies of legal documents before permitting certain transactions. For example, a certified copy of a death certificate is required before a bank will release the funds in a deceased person's payable-on-death account to the person who has inherited them.

RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES

An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For examp... (more...)
An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For example, a person would not be allowed to leave property to her husband for his life, then to her children for their lives, then to her grandchildren. The gift would potentially go to the grandchildren at a point too remote in time.

BEQUEATH

A legal term sometimes used in wills that means 'leave' -- for example, 'I bequeath my garden tools to my brother-in-law, Buster Jenkins.'

ADMINISTRATRIX

An outdated term for a female administrator -- the person appointed by a court to handle probate on behalf of someone who died without a will. Now, whether male... (more...)
An outdated term for a female administrator -- the person appointed by a court to handle probate on behalf of someone who died without a will. Now, whether male or female, this person is called the administrator.

LETTERS TESTAMENTARY

The document given to an executor by the probate court, authorizing the executor to settle the estate according to either a will or the state's intestate succes... (more...)
The document given to an executor by the probate court, authorizing the executor to settle the estate according to either a will or the state's intestate succession laws.

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.

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR

(1) In the law of wills and estates, a person appointed by the court to take charge of only a designated portion of an estate during probate. For example, a spe... (more...)
(1) In the law of wills and estates, a person appointed by the court to take charge of only a designated portion of an estate during probate. For example, a special administrator with particular expertise on art might be appointed to oversee the probate of a wealthy person's art collection, but not the entire estate. (2) A person appointed to be responsible for a deceased person's property for a limited time or during an emergency, such as a challenge to the will or to the qualifications of the named executor. In such cases, the special administrator's duty is to maintain and preserve the estate, not necessarily to take control of the probate process

WARRANTY DEED

A seldom-used type of deed that contains express assurances about the legal validity of the title being transferred.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

Maloof v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co.

... "The reason that these policies were even being discussed was because we were talking about estate planning and we got into a discussion of — of estate taxes and things like that. ... The whole purpose of the policies was to take care of estate planning. ...

ROTHFEDER v. KAUFMAN GILPIN McKENZIE THOMAS

... In February 2003, Rothfeder met with Derek Warren, an accountant practicing in Geneva, Alabama, to discuss the referral of one of Warren's clients, Ruth K. Baucom, to the firm for assistance with tax and estate-planning matters. ...

DeFriece v. McCorquodale

... Seeking to minimize that tax burden, the family consulted an estate-planning attorney who recommended, first, that DeFriece, Durst, Ernest Jr., their 467 respective children, and Nell disclaim their rights to receive real property under Ernest Sr.'s will, and, second, that DeFriece ...