Estate Planning

Estate planning can protect you and your assets during your lifetime and preserve your estate for your heirs and other beneficiaries after your death. A well thought out and personally tailored estate plan can insure your assets are distributed as you intended after your death while minimizing administrative costs, transfer costs, and taxes. An estate plan can also protect wealth from the claims of creditors and predators in the event of a divorce, lawsuit or bankruptcy. 

Putting together an estate plan is an individual custom process that has several different determining factors. For example, a young, single individual will have a much different plan than a married couple with children. It is important to have a plan in place to help alleviate the burdens after your death. Once a plan is in place it is also important to keep it updated with changing life events such as a marriage, the birth of a child, or health complications.

What We Offer

  • Wills

    A will in Michigan provides you with the ability to determine who will inherit your assets, it also allows you to nominate a personal representative, to oversee your estate and pay final bills and make distributions to beneficiaries, and if you have minor children you can nominate a guardian in the event of your death. A will in itself does not avoid probate. A will takes effect after death.

  • Trust

    Trusts are similar to a will, it also determines your beneficiaries, allows you to nominate a successor trustee at your incapacity or death, and can nominate a guardian for minor children. But, unlike a will it is in effect while you are living and avoids probate.

  • Deeds

    Deeds can be drafted in conjunction with your estate plan or as a stand alone real estate transfer. Quit Claim and Ladybird Deeds are the most common deeds we draft.

  • Healthcare Directives

    These include a Patient Advocate to nominate an individual to make medical decisions for you in the event you are unable to. The HIPPA Waiver names the persons that will be allowed to receive medical information, and Living Will allows you to make end of life medical decisions in advance.

  • Elder Law

    This focuses on the legal issues that most affect senior citizens, such as: estate planning, asset protection, assistance with obtaining government benefits, health care decision making, deciding who will handle their financial affairs if they are unable to handle them, and many others

  • Power of Attorney

    Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to nominate an individual to take care of your financial affairs if you become unable to do so.

Let’s start the conversation.