Probate & Estate Planning Blog

Dying Without a Will: What It Really Feels Like for the Ones Left Behind Picture this: Your spouse—or your parent—has just passed away. The funeral is barely over (or may have not even begun), the house feels empty, and you’re still trying to process the loss when someone mentions “probate,” “beneficiaries,” or “the trust,” or…

Creating a last will and testament is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your loved ones and ensure your wishes are honored. In Michigan, governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), a will provides clear instructions for asset distribution, minor children’s care, and estate administration. Yet many residents…

A revocable living trust — also known as an inter-vivos trust — is a useful estate planning mechanism for many reasons. Living trusts can be used to help assets avoid probate, protecting your family’s privacy while helping them to avoid court fees and oversight. Living trusts also afford you a significant level of control, even…

In a previous post for this site, we explored a bit of the history and context surrounding Michigan’s Estates and Protected individuals Code (EPIC). In this followup, our goal is to dive more into the definition of “protected individual” as it applies in probate court proceedings — and offer some broad overviews of important concepts…

Today, most of us use computers, phones, and tablets to send messages, check in with friends, carry out important financial transactions, watch TV and listen to music, and even to conduct business. Case in point? Odds are very good that you’re reading this post on a smartphone, tablet, or computer screen right now!  The more…

In a previous article for this site, we wrote about the importance of taking care to thoughtfully organize, store, and safeguard your estate planning documents when you have the chance. This includes coming up with a plan to keep your will, trust, powers of attorney, and burial documents safe from displacement, damage, or theft —…

Will and trust contests can often cause estate administration to drag on — while pitting family members against each other.  To minimize the likelihood of contests during probate, one action that you may take as part of your estate plan is to add a “no-contest clause” to your will and/or trust.  Also known as a…

A trustee has many important responsibilities and duties, including managing, controlling, and distributing trust property, while keeping beneficiaries and other relevant parties informed about the administration of the trust.  A trustee is a fiduciary, meaning that they are held to a very high standard for conduct. In executing his or her duties, a trustee is…

When you’re gone, your most important assets will remain — and they will be reallocated. Estate planning is a process that keeps you in control of the most important things in your life. Depending on the specifics of your circumstances, there are numerous estate planning mechanisms and tools to discuss with your estate planning attorney,…

Estate planning is one of the most powerful and important steps you can take to prepare for the future — and it’s crucial to make sure that no critical step gets overlooked, forgotten, or misplaced along the way. Unfortunately, many people end up committing one or mistakes or mishaps during the estate planning process, which…