Whenever I am in a group of people and they are aware of what I do, discussion very often comes around to estate planning and estate administration. Everyone seems to have a horror story regarding the administration of a relative’s …
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Why Would I Want To Do Estate Planning?
If you are like most Michiganders, you have done no estate planning. It is reported that over 50% of the residents of the state of Michigan have no powers of attorney to care for them and their stuff during their …
Updating Your Estate Plan is Critical to Its Success
You did your will years ago when the kids were little. You even named a guardian for them in the event you could not care for them. The kids are now in their 40s or 50s and have children of …
Choose the Right Person for the Job
You are doing your estate plan. You have to choose people for certain duties. You may be tempted to name your spouse or the kids in birth order because you think that this is the fair thing to do. But …
Canadian Taxes Different from Ours
In St. Clair County, we are just across the river from Canada. There are many Americans, including myself, who regularly cross the border into Canada for dinner, shopping or entertainment. With the American dollar usually so much stronger than the …
New Help for After-Hospital Care
After a hospital stay and when back at home, have you ever felt lost about what to do? You were told by the doctor, nurse and/or discharge planner something, but you do not remember exactly what it was. You were …
Six Questions to Ask Your Estate Planning Attorney
You may think of estate planning as something simple. You may have seen the forms for the statutory will or patient advocate designation and thought “I can fill that out.” Or maybe you have seen the advertisements for the online …
Making Health Care Decisions When You Can’t
Last week, we discussed appointing someone to handle your finances and other property when you cannot and avoiding a court appointed conservatorship. A financial power of attorney will work very well in those instances, but what about health care decisions? …
Managing Your “Stuff” When You Can’t
You are doing ok now. You are paying your bills, still able to balance your checkbook and do your own banking. But it is getting to be a real chore. It just seems harder to do now. If that is …
You May Own Life Insurance Company Stock and Not Know It
Are you receiving annual or quarterly dividends from an insurance company? You have one or more life insurance policies with that company. Those life insurance policies have cash value that has built up over the years. Those dividends that you …