Helping families protect what matters and live with more intention.
Steward exists to awaken intentionality in families, helping them protect what matters, clarify their values, and pass on a legacy of purpose.
Most families mean to get the important things done.
They love their kids. They work hard. They care deeply about the life they’re building and the people they’re building it for.
But life is loud. The calendar fills up. The kids need something. Work doesn’t stop. And the conversations that matter most keep getting pushed to a quieter season that never quite arrives.
So families who are deeply intentional about a lot of things can still find themselves unprotected when it comes to the ones that matter most.
That gap between good intentions and actual protection is exactly what Steward exists to close.
We start with the foundational legal protections your family should have in place: a Will, Advance Directive, and Financial Power of Attorney. But we believe protection is bigger than paperwork.
The families who are most protected know who they are, what they value, and what they want to pass on. They’ve had the hard conversations before a crisis forced them to.
That’s stewardship. That’s Steward.
Estate planning involves enough fear already.
We don’t believe a business should add to it just to increase the checkout total.
No online Trusts.
When Trust planning is appropriate, we believe it belongs in a real attorney relationship.
No pretending we’re a law firm.
Steward is self-directed and does not provide individualized legal advice.
No invented complexity.
If foundational planning fits, that’s what we’ll help you complete.
No pretending software does everything.
When you need an attorney, we want you to know it.
We’re not trying to replace estate-planning attorneys. We’re trying to help more families get started and know when it’s time to graduate to one.
Meet the attorney behind Steward’s legal documents.
Russ Cook, JD, AEP®, EPLS
Estate planning isn't a side practice for Russ Cook. It's been his life's work.
A third-generation estate planning attorney, Russ has spent nearly four decades helping families protect what matters most. He was the first attorney recognized as an Estate Planning Specialist by the Tennessee Board of Certification and Specialization and holds both the Accredited Estate Planner® and Estate Planning Law Specialist designations.
Russ doesn't just practice estate planning—he teaches it. The Tennessee Bar Association has called on him to provide continuing legal education to other attorneys, including instruction on how to properly prepare estate-planning documents.
Russ leads the legal drafting behind Steward's state-specific estate-planning documents, bringing decades of specialized experience to the wills, powers of attorney, advance directives, and other documents our families rely on.
Joshua Smith
Joshua’s path didn’t begin in technology or estate planning. It began in ministry. While in college, he served as a youth pastor and studied psychology with the expectation that his future would eventually involve men’s ministry, helping men become more intentional husbands, fathers, and leaders.
His career took an unexpected turn when he discovered he was unusually good at sales, marketing, and communication. That led to more than two decades of leadership across media, advertising, direct response, and business building, including leadership at Ramsey Solutions.
But the original interest never really changed: people, families, the decisions they make, and the lives they’re building.
Joshua’s Christian faith has shaped the way he thinks about family, responsibility, and stewardship. He and his wife, Terrica, have carried that conviction into their own family, while Terrica’s work includes leading an international women’s ministry.
Simple doesn’t have to mean shallow.
Two different areas of expertise, working toward the same thing: helping families get the important work done without lowering the standard behind it.
Russ builds around the law.
Decades of estate-planning experience, document architecture, and state-specific rigor.
Joshua builds around the family.
Clarity, communication, and an experience that helps people actually get the important work done.
The Will is the door.
Steward’s long-term vision is bigger than paperwork: helping families become more intentional about their story, values, preparedness, and legacy without turning estate planning into something it isn’t.
Protect what matters most.
You don’t need to have everything figured out today. You can take the next responsible step.