While we rarely see joint wills, they do come up often enough in conversations with clients to warrant a brief mention here. The context is usually the mistaken belief that a joint will might simplify the overall estate plan or, perhaps, result in a…
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Because it protects buyers, sellers and lenders alike, title insurance is an integral part of every real estate transaction. While we at Wright Beamer regularly deal in real estate law and are well-versed in the documentation involved, one title insu…
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I was recently asked by clients to review a trust that had been drafted by another attorney several years ago. The trust, like many others we see and draft here at Wright Beamer, left a gift to a Michigan-based nonprofit organization that had been es…
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Regular readers of these postings know that estate planning is a big part of what we do here at Wright Beamer. An often-asked question is: “Why do I need an estate plan?” Avoiding unintended consequences of dying without one is just one of the ma…
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With the January 1, 2018, implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the landscape will change for many nonprofit organizations and their donors alike. Here are a few of the changes that have received the most attention: Many nonprofits engage in b…
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While a great deal of Michigan has long since been divided and subdivided into “platted” lands for homesites and commercial development, most of the state continues to be made up of land that has never been platted. The Michigan Land Division Act…
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“Gifting” is an important estate planning strategy for individuals who wish to spend down their potentially taxable estates or just want to share what they have with others. Federal gift tax is imposed on the giver of a gift (most commonly, money…
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Michigan law generally defines your principal residence as the one place you own to which, whenever you leave, you intend to return. As such, your principal residence will be deemed exempt from certain school taxes upon the filing of the requisite Pr…
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If Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, and if store shelves are already loaded with Halloween candy, costumes and decorations, can the winter holidays be far behind? (105 days till Christmas for those who are counting.) A familiar sight dur…
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On September 26, 2017, Michigan will take another step into the digital age. That’s when a new law will take effect authorizing the use of an electronic copy or digital photograph of a vehicle registration certificate, thereby satisfying the requir…
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