Nina Whitehurst

Nina Whitehurst

Planning for peace of mind and wealth preservation.
  • Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate ...
  • Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Tennessee
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Claimed Lawyer ProfileQ&AResponsive Law
Biography

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.

Practice Areas
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
Fees
  • Credit Cards Accepted
  • 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.
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
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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Languages
  • English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
Attorney
Cumberland Legacy Law
Current
Education
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
J.D. (1986) | Law
Honors: summa cum laude
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University Logo
Arizona State University
B.S. (1983) | Accounting
Honors: summa cum laude
Arizona State University Logo
Awards
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
Professional Associations
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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Publications
Articles & Publications
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
Do You Need a Spendthrift Trust?
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Do You Need a Trust?: Estate Planning Q&A
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Home Health Services Underutilized by Seniors, Study Shows
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Is "Aging in Place" Right for Me?
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Lady Bird Deeds: A Different Kind of Life Estate
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Medicare Extra Help Program Set to Expand in 2024
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Should I Explore Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts?
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Some States Testing Out Medicaid Coverage for Healthy Food
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
The Consequences of Not Paying Your Property Taxes
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
What Are the Drawbacks of Naming Beneficiaries?
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
When Does Someone Need Financial Guardianship?
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Which Should I Choose? Nursing Home Care vs. Hospice Care
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Will Robotics and AI Be the Future of Elder Care?
Cumberland Legacy Law Blog
Speaking Engagements
Wills, Trusts and Nursing Home Asset Protection, Various
Websites & Blogs
Website
Cumberland Legacy Law
Website
Nina Whitehurst's Firm Profile
Blog
Nina Whitehurst, Attorney at Law, Professional Blog
Legal Answers
1650 Questions Answered
Q. Can an executor get help paying estate creditors?
A: You should probably hire an attorney to help you navigate this probate case. That is the best help you can obtain.

If you mean financial help, theoretically you could obtain a loan to the estate to pay claims, to be paid back when the estate settles, that that is usually not necessary. The usual solution is to sell assets of the estate and use the proceeds to pay creditor claims against the estate,
Q. Can single adults buy their own principal residence in Tennessee solely as cash buyers without cosigners?
A: If you are an all cash buyer, then you are not using a loan to buy the property, making the lending requirements of a hypothetical lender irrelevant. If you are paying with part cash and part loan, then you will need to comply with the lender's requirements, of course. Lenders do not automatically require a co-signer for every loan to a single person. They only require co-signers or guarantors (which are two different things) when the single applicant for the loan does not qualify for the loan based upon his or her own income and credit history.
Q. Why is the other party opening an estate for my deceased husband, and am I liable for anything?
A: The auto accident liability case is a potential claim against your husband's estate. Yes, your husband's auto insurance might end up actually paying the claim, but the legal mechanism for presenting claims against a decedent is to file them in the probate case. If you had opened a probate, which you could have done, then they would have simply filed the claim in that case. It appears that you did not open a probate so the claimant had no choice but to open the case without you because there are very short and strict deadlines for filing claims against deceased persons.

You should notify your husband's auto insurance company and his former employer that this is happening. If they do not receive timely notice, they might have the right to refuse to pay the claim. You should also insist that they provide a defense to this claim. That is one of the reasons for auto insurance, to defend against auto accident lawsuits.

If one or the other insurance company does not spring into action, you might need to hire an attorney to protect your interests and force them to defend.
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Contact & Map
Cumberland Legacy Law
330 Ridgeline Dr.
Crossville, TN 38571
US
Telephone: (931) 250-8585
Monday: 9 AM - 3 PM (Today)
Tuesday: 9 AM - 3 PM
Wednesday: 9 AM - 3 PM
Thursday: 9 AM - 3 PM
Friday: Closed
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed