Many people assume that having a will means avoiding probate altogether. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. A will is an important part of estate planning, but it doesn’t automatically bypass the probate process. Whether probate is required depends on several factors, including how the assets were titled and what type of property the estate  … Read more

Inheriting a home that’s in bad shape after a loved one dies can add more stress to an already emotional situation. Whether the house is outdated, has major structural issues, or simply hasn’t been maintained in years, you might be wondering if you can sell it as-is during the probate process. The good news is  … Read more

Understanding Conservatorship In our last blog entry, we discussed the process of becoming a guardian. We also touched upon how in most cases guardianship does not contain financial powers for the incapacitated individual and instead that is a separate process called conservatorship. Our Troy, MI estate planning lawyer is available to answer questions about becoming  … Read more

Understanding Guardianship If you have a relative, friend, or neighbor that is seriously ill or injured and is no longer able to manage their own affairs and people are asking you, who has the power to make decisions for this person? You may step in to help. However, when you try to make decisions for  … Read more

Probate Process Without Estate Planning Documents In this blog entry, we will discuss the probate process when a decedent passes away and they do not have any estate planning documents and have no co-owners or beneficiaries on their accounts. An estate for a person who does not have a Last Will and Testament is called  … Read more

Understanding The Probate Process With A Will In our most recent blog entry, we promised a more in-depth analysis of the probate process. In this blog, we will discuss the probate process for the family of a decedent with a Last Will and Testament, and how having a Last Will and Testament operates. An estate  … Read more

What Happens With An Improperly Funded Trust In our last blog entry, we discussed the administration of a trust estate for a person with a fully and properly funded trust. In this blog entry, we will talk about a situation where a person passes away with a trust, but the trust is not fully and  … Read more

What Happens With A Properly Funded Trust In our last blog post, we discussed a basic outline of what happens to a decedent’s assets when someone passes away. In this blog post, we will discuss more in depth the process of what happens when a decedent passes away with a properly funded trust. Our Pontiac,  … Read more

One Of Life’s Harsh Realities One of the harsh realities of life is that our loved ones are unfortunately not going to be with us forever. You may ask yourself, what needs to be done after your loved ones have passed away? The answer to that question has many answers depending on whether the person  … Read more

Buying or selling property can be exciting, but it also involves a series of important financial steps before the deal is complete. One of the most important of these is closing costs. These fees can come from several directions—lenders, local government, and service providers—and if we don’t review them closely, they can catch us off  … Read more