Wynn Collins helps families protect their retirement savings, choose the right Medicare coverage, and keep their estate out of probate. Based in Knoxville, serving families in all 50 states.
The house. The 401(k) and the IRA. Medicare decisions at 65. The ring that was your grandmother's. Each piece is held a different way, and each one needs a plan.
Savings sit exposed to the next market drop. Gaps and cliffs hide in retirement income and coverage. And whatever isn't planned for goes through probate, a public court process that takes months.
Tennessee probate · four-month creditor period · T.C.A. § 30-2-306Positioning puts each part of your retirement where it does its best work: savings protected, coverage chosen, and a clear path for what you leave behind.
An arch can't stand until its keystone is set. Then every stone holds. A living trust works the same way. It holds what you own and passes it to your family without probate.
What a trust holds passes to your family without a court case.
A fixed index annuity's value isn't reduced when the market falls.
Income shortfalls, coverage gaps, and thresholds that quietly raise what you pay.
Coverage chosen around your doctors, prescriptions and budget.
Children, grandchildren, and people you may never meet. A legacy keeps working long after the day you set it in place.
It starts with a conversation about where you are and where you want to be.
Retirement isn't one decision. Savings, income, health coverage and what you leave behind all affect each other, so Wynn works on all four together, in this order.
A free, close look at your current plan, income, savings and coverage, to find the gaps and cliffs before they cost you. One example: Medicare premiums rise once income crosses set thresholds, even by a dollar.
Rolling 401(k) and IRA savings into fixed index annuities. Your balance isn't reduced when the market falls, and it can earn interest tied to a market index, up to a cap.
Help choosing coverage at 65, at retirement, and every fall during open enrollment, matched to your doctors, prescriptions and budget.
Revocable living trusts through Family Estate Docs, set up to keep your family out of probate when you pass away, with your home and accounts titled so the trust actually works.
Most plans look fine on paper. The trouble hides in the transitions and thresholds. These are the ones Wynn looks for first.
Retire before 65 and you need health coverage until Medicare starts.
Medicare Part B and D premiums jump once income crosses set brackets, called IRMAA, based on your tax return from two years earlier. Going over by one dollar puts you in the higher bracket.
A market drop in the first years of retirement, while you're withdrawing, can do lasting damage to savings.
Without a trust, what you leave can be held up in court for months, in public.
Hypothetical six years with an 8% cap and a 0% floor.
You give up some upside in strong years in exchange for no losses in down years.
Original Medicare with a supplement and a drug plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan. The right fit depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, how much you travel and your budget.
Seven months: the three months before your birthday month, the month itself, and the three months after.
Every year, anyone with Medicare can change plans. Changes take effect January 1.
If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another one or return to Original Medicare.
Most families end up with both. Here's what each one does.
| Question | Will | Living trust |
|---|---|---|
| Avoids probate | No. A will is carried out through probate court. | Yes, for property the trust holds. |
| Stays private | No. It becomes part of the public court file. | Generally, yes. |
| Helps if you can't manage your own affairs | No. A will only takes effect at death. | Yes. Your successor trustee steps in. |
| Controls when heirs inherit | Limited, unless it creates a trust. | Yes, by age, milestone or purpose. |
| Names a guardian for minor children | Yes. This is where it's done. | No. Pair the trust with a will. |
| Simple to set up | Yes. Fewer documents. | More work up front, including retitling assets. |
In a trust document, Schedule A lists the property the trust owns. Tap what you have, and see how each piece would typically fit into your plan.
Started with a common example. Tap to change it.
Property and provisions of the plan
General information. Your consultation covers what fits your situation.
Try Family Estate Docs free for 30 days. Start your family's revocable living trust online at your own pace, and bring your questions to Wynn whenever you're ready.
Start a revocable living trust online through Family Estate Docs, at your own pace, and bring your questions to Wynn whenever you're ready.
DraftThe free-trial link goes here once Wynn sends it.
Opens Wynn's page on Family Estate Docs in a new tab. Trial terms are set by Family Estate Docs. The software helps you prepare documents; it isn't legal advice.
Opens Wynn's page on Family Estate Docs in a new tab. Legacy Estate and Insurance isn't a law firm and doesn't give legal advice.
Talk through your family, your savings, your coverage and what you want to happen.
Wynn reviews your income, savings, Medicare options and estate documents side by side.
Rollovers, Medicare coverage and trust documents, each put in place in the right order.
Medicare plans change every year, and so does life. Open enrollment is a natural time to check in.
Wynn works with families across the country from Knoxville. Every state has its own rules. For Tennessee families, these are the ones that shape a plan.
Tennessee repealed its inheritance tax for deaths in 2016 and later, and its gift tax in 2012. Federal estate tax can still apply to very large estates.
Phased out 2012–2015 · repealed for deaths after Dec. 31, 2015Creditors get four months from the published notice to file claims, so an estate can't close sooner. Property held in a funded living trust generally stays out of probate.
T.C.A. § 30-2-306Since 2010, Tennessee couples can hold assets in a community property trust. At the first spouse's death, the whole trust can receive a stepped-up tax basis, which can lower capital gains tax for the survivor.
T.C.A. § 35-17-101 et seq.Tennessee's trust code sets the duties trustees owe your family. Banks can confirm a trust with a short certificate of trust, so the full document stays private.
T.C.A. § 35-15-101 et seq.
Wynn Collins is an estate planner and insurance producer, and the founder of Legacy Estate and Insurance. She helps retirees and families position their savings, choose Medicare coverage, and put trust documents in place so their families stay out of probate.
She's based in Knoxville and spends most days on the road, working with families in all 50 states.
Have a question that isn't here? Add it to your consultation request below.
Tell us where you are and what's on your mind. Wynn reviews your current retirement plan free of charge and will follow up to set a time.
It takes about a minute.