Michigan Estate Planning Attorneys

Get Michigan Estate Planning Guidance that Protects Your Legacy and Your Loved Ones

If you’ve spent a lifetime working hard to grow and protect your estate, you deserve to have it administered according to your wishes.

The estate planning attorneys at Heath & Kolomjec provide the legal guidance you need to care for your family, your finances, and your legacy by ensuring your estate wishes are legally documented and carried out.

Let us use our experience and insights into Michigan’s laws and requirements to help you with wills and trusts, asset protection, power of attorney, and special needs planning.

Wills and Trusts

In Michigan, both wills and trusts are commonly used for estate planning.

It’s important to note that a person without a valid will or trust, a an estate may be divided under Michigan’s intestate succession laws.

These laws may divide up your assets in a way that doesn’t reflect your wishes, cause unintended outcomes, and spark disputes among family members.

Let the estate planning lawyers at Heath & Kolomjec explain the most important aspects of each one to help you choose what is right for you.

Wills

Basically, a will is a legal document that outlines how your assets will be distributed after your death and who should oversee your estate.

A will allows you to:

• Specify who will inherit your property and assets
• Appoint a personal representative (executor) to manage your estate
• Name guardians for minor children
• Make charitable gifts or donations

For a will to be legally valid under Michigan law, it must meet these requirements:

• Written by someone 18 years of age or older
• Made voluntarily by someone who is of sound mental capacity and who understands the nature and extent of their property
• Signed by the testator (the person creating the will) and witnessed by at least two individuals

Many choose a will to provide a simple, affordable, clear way to divide up their estate as they see fit. However, others choose trusts to ensure their estate is administered according to their wishes.

Trusts

A trust is a legal arrangement where a person (the grantor) transfers assets to a third party (the trustee), who manages and distributes them according to the grantors wishes for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries).

Michigan law recognizes various types of trusts that include revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, and charitable trusts.

However, revocable trusts are among the most common trusts used in estate in Michigan.

Revocable trusts:

Allow you to maintain control over your assets during your lifetime

• Can help avoid probate to provide privacy and quicker distribution of assets
• May allow you to reduce or eliminate having to pay estate taxes that are often imposed with a will, as well as potentially protecting you from creditors
• Help manage your affairs if you become incapacitated
• May include provisions for minor children or beneficiaries with special circumstances

While many think that trusts allow them to avoid probate (the court-supervised process of distributing your estate), this is not always the case.

For example, a trustee (the person assigned to oversee the administration of the trust) may be accused of misconduct by other beneficiaries of the trust.

As a result, a trust action may be filed, resulting in the entire trust being opened up in court — the opposite of what was originally desired by the trust’s grantor. In some cases, a receiver may be assigned by the court to manage the assets until the dispute is resolved instead of the trustee.

This is just one example of the invaluable legal insights provided by the estate planning attorneys at Heath & Kolomjec. Our thorough understanding of estate planning will help you make the correct choices that achieve your goals and carry out your wishes.

Asset Protection

Any individual with substantial assets or business interests may face risks or liabilities posed by creditors or lawsuits.

Fortunately, Michigan allows for legal protections and strategies that can shield your assets, preserving your wealth and ensuring it benefits your intended heirs.

Some key asset protection tools in Michigan include:

Business entities

If you own a business or rental properties, structuring ownership through a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation can protect your personal assets from business liabilities.Trusts

As discussed earlier, certain types of trusts can protect assets from creditors, lawsuits, and long-term care expenses. For example, assets transferred to an irrevocable trust are no longer legally owned by you, making them less vulnerable.

Homestead exemption

Michigan provides a homestead exemption that protects a portion of the value of your primary residence from creditors. While it doesn’t cover all potential risks, it can offer some level of protection for your family home.

Retirement accounts

Many retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s are protected under federal and state laws from most creditors. Proper beneficiary designations are essential to ensure these accounts pass to your intended heirs while avoiding unnecessary delays or taxes.

It’s important to note that this is not an exhaustive list of the protections available.

However, it’s important to remember asset protection strategies must be implemented before problems arise. If you wait until you’re facing a lawsuit or significant debt, many protective measures may no longer be effective.

Our estate planning attorneys know how to effectively protect your estate and assets by helping you build a proactive plan tailored to your unique assets, financial profile, and risk level.

Powers of Attorney

Estate planning isn’t only about what happens after you pass away — it’s also about making sure your affairs are managed if you are unable to make decisions due to illness, injury, or age-related conditions.

Powers of attorney are vital documents for addressing this possibility.

Michigan Durable Power of Attorney

This document allows you to appoint someone you choose (called your agent) to manage your financial affairs. They can pay bills, handle banking, file taxes, manage investments, and make business decisions on your behalf.

A durable power of attorney remains in effect even if you become incapacitated. Without this document, your loved ones may have to go through a lengthy and expensive court process to be appointed as your guardian or conservator.

Michigan Medical Power of Attorney

In Michigan, a medical power of attorney allows you to name someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to make decisions for yourself.

It can also include your preferences about end-of-life care, organ donation, and treatment options. This helps to ensure your medical wishes are respected, even if you can’t communicate.

Having these documents in place is critical for maintaining control over your health and finances. They can also ease the burden on loved ones during difficult times.

Let the estate planning lawyers at Heath & Kolomjec guide you through this complex process to ensure your health and financial wishes are always followed.

Special Needs Planning

One of the strongest desires a person can have is to provide for loved ones and protect them from danger. This is especially true of loved ones who have special needs.

If you have a child or other family member with a disability, estate planning requires special attention in Michigan.

For example, it can be important to provide for their needs without jeopardizing their eligibility for important government benefits, such as Medicaid or Social Security.

To help avoid potential issues or conflicts, Michigan law allows for the creation of Special Needs Trusts.

Special Needs Trusts

A Special Needs Trust (SNT) is designed to hold assets for the benefit of a person with disabilities without affecting their eligibility for public assistance.

Funds in the trust can be used to pay for:

• Housing and utilities not covered by benefits
• Education and training
• Travel and recreation
• Personal care services
• Medical and dental expenses not covered by Medicaid

There are two main types:

Third-Party Special Needs Trust – Often used as part of an estate plan, these trusts are funded by someone other than the person with disabilities, such as a parent or grandparent.

First-Party Special Needs Trust – These are often funded with the person with a disability’s own assets, such as from a lawsuit settlement or inheritance.

Pooled Special Needs Trust – This involves the pooling of funds from different people to care for the person with special needs. It may be a combination of both a First-Party and Third-Party SNT.

As already mentioned, however, there are a number of considerations that need to be made with special needs planning, such as how to ensure all documents are consistent with benefit program rules or deciding who to assign as the trustee.

The estate planning attorneys at Heath & Kolomjec can guide you through this process to ensure your loved one continues to be cared for after you’re gone.

Get the Estate Planning Help You Need

There are countless ways that can make each person’s estate planning needs unique. Additionally, there are often contributing factors or circumstances that require careful consideration.

With a combined 60+ years of experience, the attorneys at Heath & Kolomjec have successfully handled estate planning for countless individuals, each requiring a unique approach.

So no matter what your needs may be or what makes your situation unique, our estate planning lawyers will provide the answers and legal guidance you’re looking for.