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
- Credit Cards Accepted
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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
- Member
- Current
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- ElderCounsel
- Member
- Current
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- National Association of Elder Law Attorneys
- Member
- Current
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- Siskiyou County Bar Association
- Member
- Current
- Activities: President 2017-2018
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- State Bar of Tennessee # 037146
- Member
- - Current
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- State Bar of Alaska # 1802010
- Member
- - Current
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- State Bar of Oregon # 172386
- Member
- - Current
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- State Bar of Colorado # 26720
- Member
- - Current
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- State Bar of California # 159873
- Member
- - Current
- Activities: Business Law News, Business Law Section; Executive Committee, Business Law Section
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- State Bar of Arizona # 011030
- Member
- - Current
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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 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.
- Q. How can my wife take over the home mortgage if I die unexpectedly?
- A: Under federal law, when a home loan borrower dies and the house is inherited by a family member, such as a spouse, the lender may not call a loan due or force the family member to assume the loan. All your wife will need to do is notify the lender that you have passed and that she has inherited the property. The paperwork to prove death is a death certificate, of course. The paperwork to prove inheritance varies, depending on how title was held. Your wife will most likely hire an attorney to help with the administration of your estate and can help with this.
