Michigan Estate Planning Attorney and Lawyer

Estate Planning, Wills, and Trusts

In the event of your death or disability, have you prepared for your family and loved ones to be taken care of? Our Estate Planning Attorney and Lawyer Services can help. At Dailey Law Firm, P.C. we can help you with all of your Estate Planning needs such as Medicaid Planning, Wills and Trusts. Contact us for your free consultation to learn how you can get help.

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Your initial consultation is free of charge. In many cases, a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.

What is Estate Planning

In general terms, estate planning is the process of helping a client prepare for his or her future. It includes preparing advanced medical directives, as well as the management of the client’s assets in the event that he or she becomes incapable of managing assets himself or herself. It also includes planning to distribute a person’s assets after he or she passes on.

Why is estate planning important?

There are a few reasons everyone should consider estate planning. First, estate planning allows a client to choose to whom his or her assets will belong after the client passes on. In the event a person dies without a will or other form of estate planning, the laws of the State of Michigan will distribute a person’s property. While perhaps some people like the system set up by the State of Michigan—in sum, a person’s property is divided, with half going to the surviving spouse, and the other half to children—many people may not like that system. For instance, a person may not want a second spouse receiving half of his or her property, but would prefer that all of the property be distributed to the children from the first marriage. An estate planning attorney can help a ensure client that his or her property is given to right person.

Second, estate planning can save the client’s survivors many headaches and legal fees. If a person dies owning property, the probate court must distribute the property. That process can be time consuming, can be expensive in terms of legal fees, and can cause a great deal of inconvenience. These burdens, however, can be avoided or at least minimized with the help of a good estate planning attorney.
Third, estates of significant value, such as $1 million or more, are subject to the Federal estate tax upon a client’s death. With the help of an estate planning attorney, this amount may be reduced, and perhaps even avoided altogether.

Last, and certainly not least, estate planning can help a client make plans in the event that he or she becomes unable to make his or her own financial and medical decisions. By consulting an estate planning attorney, a client can discover what options are available to ensure that a client’s wishes regarding health care be made known. Moreover, a client will have the peace of mind of knowing that his or her financial affairs will be in order in the event of a prolonged incapacitation.

What are some of the estate planning tools?

First, many estate plans include a legal entity called a “trust.” A trust has the ability to hold title to property. Think of a trust like a big box. Boxes are used to store stuff, such as old clothes or books. Many boxes typically have locks, and thus need someone who owns a key to the lock. A trust is like a box. But, instead of holding clothes, trusts can hold title to real estate, bank accounts, and stocks. In addition, the “trustee” is the person who holds the key to the trust. A client can place all of his or her property into a trust, and name himself or herself the trustee. If all of the client’s property is in the trust, and if the client named a successor trustee, there is no need for probate court proceedings if the client were to die, as the client really owns no property—the trust owns everything. In addition, a trust can be used for many other purposes, such as providing for the client and the client’s family and friends.
Second, a durable power of attorney is useful in the event that a client becomes incapacitated and thus unable to handle his or her own financial affairs. Often times, the successor trustee will also have a durable power of attorney in order to handle a client’s financial affairs. This way, a person the client trusts a great deal, such as a spouse or a child, will be able to care for the client’s finances. Without a durable power of attorney for financial affairs, a court may appoint a conservator who is not of the client’s choosing.

Third, the most basic estate planning tool is a will, and almost every estate plan has a will. If all of a client’s property is placed into a trust, a “pourover will” is needed as a backup plan in case some property was left out of the trust. If a client opts not to use a trust, a will is needed to ensure that a client’s property is distributed to the proper person.
Fourth, and most important, is a document that appoints a patient advocate. The appointment of a patient advocate may be accompanied by declarations about a client’s wishes regarding medical and mental care. This is most important tool in estate planning because the other documents deal with money and property, whereas this document literally deals with questions of life and death. It is very important to consult an estate planning attorney in order to ensure that a patient advocate is appointed correctly.

Contact Dailey Law Firm, P.C. for Your Free Initial Consultation 1.866.66.LAWYER (1.866.665.2993)
If you have any specific questions about our Michigan Estate Planning Attorney and Lawyer Services call us at 1.866.66.LAWYER (1.866.665.2993) or click here to contact us.