Estate and Trust Services


Estate Planning
Steele Martin Jones & Company, PLC provides a broad range of services to assist clients in all aspects of trust and estate planning, including the design, implementation, and ongoing administration of individualized plans aimed at minimizing the impact of gift, estate, and generation-skipping taxes.
We can help you with:

  • Clearly defining your estate planning goals.

  • Organizing and creating your estate planning team
                                                    (experts on law, finance, and taxes) if you need one.

  • Evaluating and recommending estate planning options.

  • Preparing, organizing and reviewing your estate planning
                                                    documents including current wills, trusts, health care
                                                    and power of attorney.

  • Decreasing the problems and expenses associated with probate.

  • Lessening taxes at time of death.

  • Arranging for management of your estate in the event
                                                    you are incapacitated.

  • Drafting a working plan for conserving and effectively
                                                    managing your estate after death.

  • Transferring the assets of your estate to heirs the way you want.

  • Organizing fair and adequate liquidation of estate to cover
                                                    taxes and other expenses.

  • Amending your plan as needed.

  • Living Wills and Trusts.

  • Lifetime Family Wealth Transfers.

  • Family partnerships and other business relationships.

  • Leaving money to charities.

  • Preparation for estate and trust tax problems.

Please contact us for more details about these services and how Steele Martin Jones & Company, PLC can meet your individual needs.


Professional Executor Service
When a person dies his/her net estate must be distributed to the heirs named in the will. The will also names an executor or personal representative of the estate who is responsible for carrying out the provisions of the will. These duties involve, among other tasks:

  • Probating the will through the courts,

  • Locating all of the assets of the deceased,

  • Paying off any bills or debts of the deceased from those assets,

  • Filing final income tax returns and estate tax returns (if necessary), and

  • Distributing the net assets to the heirs in an efficient manner.

This process can be long and complex, usually requiring the assistance of a CPA and an attorney. The executor named in the will should be someone capable of this task at the time the services are needed. Wills often need to be revised to name a new executor when the originally named person dies, becomes ill or incapacitated, and would no longer be capable of performing the duties required.
A family member of spouse is often used as an executor, but generally has little or no experience in handling the task. A professional executor, either as primary executor or co-executor (assisting the family member to the extent needed) could be a great benefit through this confusing process.
For over 25 years our firm has been providing services which include estate planning, estate accounting, and preparation of estate and inheritance tax returns. We also have been named individually as executors. Naming an individual CPA as your executor carries the same risks as naming any other person (illness, death, etc). To meet these special needs of our clients, we have now established a “Professional Executor Service” as part of our firm. Naming “Steele Martin Jones & Company, PLC” in your will as your primary or secondary executor provides you with an independent professional executor which will have a “continuity of life.”
If you wish to name our firm as your executor, we request that you first discuss this arrangement with us for appropriateness and then furnish us with a copy of your revised will.

Elder Care Services
Steele Martin Jones & Company, CPA has recognized that as America ages, many elderly persons in the West Tennessee area no longer have family members nearby or available to assist them with independent living. Our CPA ElderCare Services brings together the trust you have in our profession with your family's need to assure that the daily and long-term financial needs of your elderly family member are being met. Our staff and your responsible family member will specifically identify the services that you wish our firm to provide. These services include the following:

  • Assess and evaluate the desires and goals of the client and
                                                    family to facilitate decision making

  • Record receipts and deposits and account for
                                                    income, providing assurance that expected revenues are received

  • Review and pay bills and assess transactions for reasonableness

  • Monitor investments and accounting for the client's assets in
                                                    conjunction with your investment advisor

  • Income Tax and Trust Tax Return preparation, along with
                                                    planning for the minimum amount of tax required

  • Provide information for handling unusual or unexpected situations

  • Prepare payroll and tax filings for household employees and
                                                    independent contractors

  • Report to client and family on monthly activities, including complete
                                                    accounting for all financial transactions

  • Work with your insurance professional to provide appropriate
                                                    long-term care, Medicare/Medigap, and life insurance
                                                    recommendations for the preservation of assets

  • Coordinate with your other service providers for
                                                    minor home repairs, routine maintenance, etc.

  • Provide referrals to local services and agencies
                                                    (examples: health, legal, financial, and home care)

The frequency of contact with our client (ranging daily to monthly) is based on the needs of the parties. We also will discuss our CPA internal controls and money manager limitations.


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