You have done no estate planning – no will, no trust, no financial power of attorney and no health care power of attorney. Congratulations! You are with the majority of Michiganders. Over half of our state’s adult residents have no …
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Healthcare Issues
In your estate plan, if you are like most people, you want to make sure that you are in control while you are alive and well, that you and your loved ones are provided for when you are not so …
Medical Decision Making for Young Adult Children
It is the high school graduation season and now time again for my annual column for young adults. If you have any adult high school or college aged children, they are responsible for making their own medical and mental health …
Estate and Trust Administration Legal Fees
A loved one has passed away. You may have been named the personal representative of the estate or successor trustee of the trust. You have never had this job before and you now have to hire an attorney to administer …
What Do We Do With The Car
You have a car in your garage. Have you ever thought about what is going to happen with your car after your death? The answer is the typical legal answer, depends. If your car is in your sole name, the …
Providing for Special Needs Loved Ones
Last week, we discussed protecting your special needs child or other loved one who is developmentally disabled and/or legally incapacitated. As we talked about, if you are your loved one’s primary caregiver or caretaker, proper planning dictates that you designate …
Protecting Special Needs Loved Ones
You may have a special needs child or other loved one who is developmentally disabled and/or legally incapacitated. Since his or her birth, you have been the primary caregiver. Have you thought about what would happen if you could no …
I’m A Trustee – What Do I Do Now?
You may have been named as successor trustee of Mom or Dad’s trust. Do you really know what that entails? Do you know what your obligations are? As a successor trustee, your primary duty is to preserve and protect the …
Elder Financial Exploitation Is Not Always So Obvious
As we discussed last week, there is no shortage of trust and annuity peddlers out there ready to take advantage of seniors. There has been an epidemic of elder financial exploitation in our country. It is reported that the number …
Protecting Your Baby
If something happened to you and you were unable to care for your minor children, what would take place? If you became incapacitated or died, who would take care of the kids, where would they live and who would make …