Cumberland Legacy Law* provides the highest quality Estate Planning for clients in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Tennessee. Whether you need a sophisticated strategy for minimizing or avoiding estate taxes and providing maximum possible asset protection, or just a simple will or trust to ensure your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes, or anything in between, we are here to help you and your loved ones.
We present seminars on a variety of Estate Planning and Elder Law topics; call us if you want to be on our seminar mailing list, or subscribe to our newsletter by jotting a quick note to us.
Nina Whitehurst, the owner of Cumberland Legacy Law, is a member of Wealth Counsel, Elder Counsel and the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, all national estate planning attorney organizations. She is continually upgrading and updating her knowledge of estate planning law through seminars and being an active member of several estate planning attorney email list serves. Her husband, Brian Whitehurst, is the firm's marketing coordinator. Nina Lamothe is the firm's documentation paralegal.
*Cumberland Legacy Law is not a public legal aid society.
- Estate Planning
- Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Elder Law
- Probate
- Probate Administration
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Mortgages, Residential Real Estate
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
No legal advice is provided prior to engagement. You will know when you have engaged an attorney because you will have signed a fee agreement and will have provided a deposit for legal fees.
- Alaska
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- Arizona
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- California
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- Colorado
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- Oregon
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- Tennessee
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- US District Court, District of Arizona
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- English: Spoken, Written
- Attorney
- Cumberland Legacy Law
- Current
- Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
- J.D. (1986) | Law
- Honors: summa cum laude
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- Arizona State University
- B.S. (1983) | Accounting
- Honors: summa cum laude
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- AV Preeminent Peer Rating
- Martindale-Hubbell
- 2017-2023
- Client Champion - GOLD
- Martindale Hubbell
- 10.0 Superb Rating
- Avvo
- Client Champion - SILVER
- Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Services
- Distinguished Lawyer
- Expert Network
- Wealth Counsel
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- ElderCounsel
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- National Association of Elder Law Attorneys
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- Current
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- Siskiyou County Bar Association
- Member
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- Activities: President 2017-2018
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- State Bar of Tennessee # 037146
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- State Bar of Alaska # 1802010
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- State Bar of Oregon # 172386
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- State Bar of Colorado # 26720
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- State Bar of California # 159873
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- Activities: Business Law News, Business Law Section; Executive Committee, Business Law Section
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- State Bar of Arizona # 011030
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- Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 654
- Director and Secretary
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- 3 Common Probate Questions: Estate Planning Basics
- Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
- 6 Facets of Estate Planning That LGBTQ+ Couples Should Know
- Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
- 8 Frequently Asked Questions on Last Wills and Testaments
- Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
- Affordable Housing Options for Low-Income Older Adults
- Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
- Do You Need a HIPAA Release?
- Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
- Wills, Trusts and Nursing Home Asset Protection, Various
Medicaid Compliant Annuities vs. Promissory Notes in Crisis Planning | Elder Law Interview
- Q. How can I add myself to a deed with my mother in CA after my father's passing?
- A: If your father's name is still on the title, then you need to hire a probate attorney to help you get your father's name removed from the title. The process does depend on exactly how title is held. It could be something as simple as an affidavit filed in the land records, or it might require filing with the local probate court.
After that your name can be added with a deed, but in most instances when I am presented with the same situation I do NOT recommend that for a long list of reasons. For one thing, if you are added to the title as a joint tenant with right of survivorship, yes that avoids probate but you lose the step up in basis at your mother's death. That mistake ... Read More
- Q. How can my wife continue our business if I die as a sole proprietor?
- A: As a sole proprietor, all of your business assets are your assets. There is no separate entity. At a minimum you need a will that leaves your business assets (or everything you own, if that is your desire) to your wife when you die. But you should seriously consider creating a revocable living trust instead in order to avoid probate. Probate is crazy expensive and unnecessarily complicated in California. Trust administration is typically orders of magnitude cheaper and easier than probate.
- Q. Do we report home sale on 2024 or 2025 taxes await final probate docs?
- A: If the estate sold the house then the sale is reported on the 2024 estate tax return.
If you and your sister sold the house then the sale is reported on your 2024 income tax return and her 2024 income tax return.
