Planning for the security of your spouse and children after your gone is a sign of your love and concern. When you prepare a will or a trust, when you communicate your wishes about medical treatment and end-of-life care, you spare your family from difficult decisions during stressful times.
Contact the estate planning lawyers at Gormley and Johnson to begin the process of preparing your estate plan. We can walk you through the process and prepare complete, accurate paperwork, including:
- Legal wills and trusts
- Medical powers of attorney ("living wills")
- Durable powers of attorney (finances)
- Succession planning for small business owners
- Premarital agreements for families with significant assets or couples entering a second or subsequent marriage
- Conservatorships to allow you to handle an aged parent's financial affairs
- Guardianships to allow you to make medical and other decisions for an elder or disabled family member
Over the course of a lifetime we accumulate possessions that we want to pass on to our heirs; or to leave certain items to certain people upon our death. These items can be cash, real estate, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, jewelry, cars, art and many other items. Sometimes the goal is just to prevent the Internal Revenue Service from seizing or taxing our assets. Planning for these and other goals is commonly referred to as Estate Planning.
A Will is a legal document designating where and how your possessions should be distributed upon your death. Properly executed and witnessed, a Will can be created by any competent adult. After death, the Will is probated in Court to guarantee that your treasured belongings are disbursed according to Michigan law and your wishes. If you do not make a proper Will [you die "intestate"], Michigan law can designate who gets your belongings when you die. A probate judge from Ingham, Livingston, Jackson, Genesee or Shiawassee could appoint a person [called a "personal representative"] to distribute your belongings under the authority of the Court. Under a proper Will, you are able to choose the personal representative who is to distribute your assets, and you are able to choose who gets those assets. If you do not designate a beneficiary for each of your assets, the law could decide where your belongings go - or even if those belongings will be forfeited to the State of Michigan.
In order to draft a Will you need to seek the advice of an experienced estate planning attorney familiar with Michigan law to help you put together a list of your assets, your debts, and those people or organizations you choose as beneficiaries. Upon death, your debts are then settled and the remainder of your assets are distributed. If you want to change your Will - perhaps because of a marriage or divorce, or upon the birth or death of an heir - you can destroy the old Will and draft a new one. Your Will should be stored in a safe location where those you trust can access it upon your passing. Where better to safely store your Will than at our Fowlerville office, centrally located to the probate courts in Lansing, Howell, and Corunna; a service we provide our clients free of charge.
Durable Power of Attorney refers to a document that allows continuity of your financial needs in the event you can not, or choose not to, do so yourself [for instance, you are in a coma]. This does not mean 'lawyer' but, rather, a person whom you trust to act on your behalf regarding your financial affairs. A Michigan durable power of attorney is terminated in a number of ways. For example, your death automatically terminates a power of attorney; or you may execute new Durable Power which then terminates the power given under the previous instrument.
Medical Powers of Attorney, Patient Designations, Health Care Directives and "Living Wills" are all names for a document that speaks to your health care desires in the event you can not speak for yourself. A medical power appoints a "patient advocate" whom you vest with authority to make certain medical care and treatment decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so. Pregnancy, accidents and severe illnesses all can cause people to become incapacitated or unable to make doctors and others aware of their desires regarding life-sustaining procedures or resuscitation. We can also meet with you, family members or friends in Shiawassee, Livingston, Ingham, Genesee or other county hospitals and locations should those individuals be unable to travel to our office in Fowlerville.
Probate refers to the legal process involving the administration of a person's estate after the person dies. Some cases can be simple; others are quite complex. Probate involves opening a Court case and appointing a personal representative to administer the payment of creditors, decide issues, and distribute property to heirs or beneficiaries of the deceased person. This can be a complicated process that many people are completely unprepared for when confronted with these situations. While Michigan law is utilized in all Probate Courts statewide, the exact process can differ depending on the Court or the Judge assigned to the case when it is opened. Judges' practices vary from County to County, and from Howell to Corunna. You should consult with an attorney who practices in all these locations.
Trusts are used to have your assets transferred to your heirs in the manner of your choosing without using the probate process. A Trust can provide for the future care of a spouse or children, provide for continuation of a business. A Trust can be utilized to prevent creditors of an heir from seizing assets passed on to that heir by inclusion of a "spendthrift provision" to protect the property which might otherwise be seized by the creditors of the beneficiary/heir after the property is transferred to him/her.
Trusts can be irrevocable or revocable. A Revocable Trust allows you to amend it during your life.
