» Estate Planning

Bleak House is a novel written by Charles Dickens in 1852. Set in England, it’s the account of a family dispute that resulted when a deceased ancestor left multiple conflicting wills. The case (Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce) spanned generations of the fami… Read More

You’re Going to the Chapel Did you know that the perfect time to get your first estate plan is the moment those wedding bells finish ringing? Marriage is a major life-changing event. Do you understand how it affects your assets and debts? What… Read More

Occasionally, clients will bring us legal documents that they created using an online service. It happened again a couple of weeks ago when long-time clients of mine came in for a trust review. I learned when we met that they had used a popular onlin… Read More

You’re Having Surgery You have the date. You know the procedure’s risks and rewards. You’re familiar with the pre-op instructions, and you’ve made arrangements to get to and from the procedure. But, do you have your estate plan in place?… Read More

I always impress upon estate planning clients the importance of updating their homeowners’ insurance after conveying real estate to a trust, even if the transfer is via a “ladybird deed” that doesn’t take effect until the client is deceased.�… Read More

There’s a National Holiday for It Raise your hand if you have your party hat on for National Estate Planning Awareness Week, which kicked off yesterday! Just me? Not surprising. Yes, National Estate Planning Awareness Week is an actual thing. Adopt… Read More

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… Read More

In Michigan, any document that says who gets what after one’s death and that meets specific requirements constitutes a valid will.  There are exceptions to this general rule, however, allowing certain less formal documents to also qualify as wills… Read More