[ Stewardship ]
The trust drafted, funded,
and read aloud.
[ The Document ]
A revocable living trust, drafted to keep what you have built inside the family.
Most plans start with the spouse who noticed first.
If you started looking after something happened to someone close, an aunt who died without a plan, a friend's father who can no longer sign his own name, you are already doing the protective work. A revocable living trust is the document that keeps what you have built together inside the family, out of Tennessee probate court, and out of public record.
It is the conversation worth having with your spouse before life gives you a reason to.
By Knight Lancaster, JD, CPA · Last reviewed May 2026
Tennessee Bar
Practicing since 2019
Triple credential
JD · CPA · MBA
Peer-reviewed
Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch, 2023 + 2024
National board
American Academy of Attorney-CPAs, Director
[ What it does ]
What a revocable living trust does for your family.
[ Probate ]
Keeps your estate out of probate.
Trust assets pass to beneficiaries directly. No four-month creditor window under TCA Title 30, no public filing, no waiting on Letters Testamentary. The family settles the estate without paperwork in the way.
[ Incapacity ]
Lets your spouse act if you cannot.
If you become incapacitated, the successor trustee acts immediately. No conservatorship petition under TCA Title 34, no judge-appointed stranger, no months of frozen accounts while someone learns what you would have wanted.
[ Control ]
Stays yours while you are here.
While you are well, you remain trustee. You buy, you sell, you spend, you change your mind. The trust simply waits, with the second hand on the wheel for the day you cannot reach it.
[ Side by side ]
A will alone, and a will paired with a funded trust.
A will alone
Will + funded trust
Probate court
Required, six to eighteen months
Avoided when funded
Public record
Yes
Private
Incapacity coverage
None
Successor trustee acts immediately
Names a guardian for minor children
Yes
Done in the pour-over will alongside the trust
[ How it works ]
How a revocable living trust works, in three movements.
- 01
We draft.
The trust names you as initial trustee, names the successor for incapacity or death, and follows the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code (TCA Title 35, Chapter 15). A pour-over will is drafted alongside.
- 02
We fund.
Title moves into the trust. The home is deeded in. Investment and bank accounts are retitled. Closely held business interests are assigned. This is the step most attorneys skip and most trusts fail at. We do it with you, asset by asset, and confirm each one is inside the trust before we close the engagement.
- 03
You live, and the plan waits.
Until it does not.
Funding is where most plans go wrong.
A trust on paper, with no assets retitled into it, does nothing. We hand you a checklist and confirm each asset is inside the trust before we close.
Stewardship, not paperwork.
Knight Lancaster, JD CPA
[ At the kitchen island ]
The conversation worth bringing to your spouse.
What to say
What the trust answers
“If something happened to either of us, neither of us could actually access the other's accounts.”
A funded trust gives the surviving spouse and successor trustee immediate authority. No court order. No frozen accounts.
“If one of us got sick, the other would be running our life from a hospital chair.”
The successor trustee structure keeps the household and the business moving. The person you have already chosen just steps in.
“I do not want our children to find out what we own by reading a probate file.”
Trust assets pass privately. The probate docket never sees them.
“We have done well. I do not want any of it lost to court.”
The plan keeps assets working for your family rather than paying executors and bond premiums in probate.
[ Questions ]
Frequently asked.
Yes, at any time you have capacity. You can amend, restate, or revoke. After death the trust becomes irrevocable and the successor follows the terms exactly. The flexibility is the entire point.
[ Reviewed by ]
Knight Lancaster, JD, CPA, MBA
Knight Lancaster is the founder of Lancaster Law, P.C. and The Lancaster CPA Firm, P.C. He is one of a small number of attorneys in Tennessee who is also a licensed CPA, giving him a dual perspective on estate planning and the tax consequences that drive it. Knight has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch (Corporate Law), in 2023 and 2024, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Attorney-CPAs. He earned his JD and MBA from Belmont University and a BS in Accounting from the University of Tennessee.
Read Knight's full bio →/Book My Planning Call →
This article is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice specific to your situation, contact Lancaster Law directly.