Attorney at Law
As a child I had a very strong sense of justice, from a young age. I never wanted to see someone treated unfairly. Once I was old enough, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer.
But I also learned that I was a planner, not a litigator. My natural tendency is to plan for every contingency, well ahead of time. You should see my pantry. My husband calls it hoarding, but I call it planning!
As a planner, business law and real estate law were a natural fit, but I found my passion and my plan ahead nature could best be used in estate planning.
I have seen many times the effects of good, bad and non-existent estate planning, and absolutely want to help others to plan properly for the inevitable.
As a widow (since remarried to my husband Brian who also works in the law firm), I completely understand the devastation and confusion the surviving spouse feels, and I know that proper planning lifts a tremendous burden from the survivor. It's an immeasurably valuable gift to one's family, in the time that they need it most. I personally experienced the values of having in place:
- A comprehensive estate and disability plan when my late husband was diagnosed with cancer.
- All the tools and financial support I needed to obtain medical records, make medical decisions, and obtain 24/7 in-home care for him.
- Authority to access financial and other assets with very few questions asked and without having to go to court.
When we received dreaded diagnosis, it might not have been too late to plan, in theory, but in reality it would have been too late because from that moment forward managing his care was more than a full-time job. Fortunately, we already had plans in place.
Additionally, my father was in an assisted living facility due to dementia before he passed. I am grateful to have been able to help my mother plan for her husband's incapacity by drafting thorough medical and financial powers of attorney, as well as reviewing and amending my parents' rather dated, simple, and dreadfully flawed estate plan (that my mother had naively obtained free from a trust mill associated with a name brand financial management company). I also took steps, before it was too late, to ensure that important assets were transferred to my parents' trust (something the drafting attorney failed to do, an all-too-common occurrence).
Helping others avoid the pitfalls of failing to plan, failing to fund their existing plan or failing to update their plan as their life and the law changes is my passion; it's why I do what I do. I work directly with my clients to not only insure that they have the plan they need and want, but that the assets are transferred to the trust when possible, and beneficiary designations are updated correctly. It's taking the extra time to make sure that the details are properly attended to that makes the difference between a successful plan and a failure.
A maxim I live by: What is more valuable than ensuring your loved ones will be well-provided for according to your wishes after your passing, and that they will not undergo any additional unnecessary stress and expense at your passing?
I graduated with a B.S. degree from Arizona State University in 1983 and a J.D. in 1986. I am a member of WealthCounsel, ElderCounsel, the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, and the National Care Planning Council.
We have two dogs (Jagger and Nellie), both adopted a rescue societies, and have been adopted by a cat (Champ). Our adorable little dogs BoyBug and Gidget and our cat KittyCat, some of whom you may have met, have passed away, and we miss them very much.
When not helping clients, we combine their love of animals with our passion for flying by transporting adopted pets from shelters to their new forever homes, often to another state. We also love to explore our newfound home of Tennessee, either by flying or driving the backroads, seeking that next great diner or barbecue joint, and live bluegrass music.
You can read more about Brian's and Nina's exploits here.
You can watch a video of Nina speaking about Medicaid Compliant Annuities here.
Recent Blog Posts
Who Holds Your Will and Other Estate Planning Documents?
Estate Planning Checklist: 5 Initial Steps You Can Take
Inheritance Tax: What States Have It and When It Applies
IRS Announces 2025 Gift and Estate Tax Exemptions
How to Apply for Social Security Retirement Benefits
Recommendations
- Nina Whitehurst, Esq. of Cumberland Legacy Law, has been, and continues to be, invaluable to me. My husband and I attended Nina's seminar, and halfway through, we knew she was the one to facilitate the extremely important task of creating our Family trust. Throughout this process, Nina was immens...
- I found Nina by 'google.,' and was pleasantly surprised when she answered the phone. As she listened to my story she also ran up against time constraints to talk longer. Then, asking me to email her my story,....she replied the next morning with a link to answer my most pressing question and with...
- Constant communications -- with any concern or though we received 'at once' response. Is a realist. Giving valued consideration to our desires measured against possible reality. Did her homework on the issue, then presented options with details for execution of each. Very professional, yet mainta...
- Nina Whitehurst is a legal wizard, no less. She helped me to craft a trust concerning another entity which will serve well. She and her husband Brian listened to all aspects of the situations and came through with Class AAA service and product, not to mention their personal touches. The BEST.
- So happy to have discovered Legacy Law Center and to have worked with them. Smart, prompt, affordable and reliable. Needed to work with a good team player and we got that.
- When we learned that our estate plan was missing crucial element, we heard from one attorney after another, “your trust is too complicated, so nothing was accomplished in a year in a half. Once we found Nina, she worked diligently through a holiday weekend to analyze our lengthy documents. At one...
- I thought Nina did an excellent job doing a restatement of our revocable trust. She responded quickly to questions and clarifications when asked for. The process went smoothly and without stress.
- I hired Nina Whitehurst for an adoption of an adult child. She did an excellent job in the adoption was final . A few months later I had hired Mrs,Whitehurst again this time for probate. She help me through the grieving. By taking a big problem and making it very small .I have now hired her for t...
- Thank you very much for updating our Trust. We learned so much under your tutelage. You accommodated us when we were late and even came out to meet our dog. You have told us much that was undisclosed at our initial Trust preparation in 2017 [by a different attorney]. It seems like [our 2017 t...