Important Considerations for Funding a Living Trust
A revocable living trust — also known as an inter-vivos trust — is a useful estate planning mechanism for many reasons. Living trusts can be used to help assets avoid probate, protecting your family’s privacy while helping them to avoid court fees and oversight. Living trusts also afford you a significant level of control, even […]
What Is a No-Contest Clause In a Will or Trust?
Will and trust contests can often cause estate administration to drag on — while pitting family members against each other. To minimize the likelihood of contests during probate, one action that you may take as part of your estate plan is to add a “no-contest clause” to your will and/or trust. Also known as a […]
Can a Trustee Be Challenged or Removed?
A trustee has many important responsibilities and duties, including managing, controlling, and distributing trust property, while keeping beneficiaries and other relevant parties informed about the administration of the trust. A trustee is a fiduciary, meaning that they are held to a very high standard for conduct. In executing his or her duties, a trustee is […]
What Is a Testamentary Trust?
When you’re gone, your most important assets will remain — and they will be reallocated. Estate planning is a process that keeps you in control of the most important things in your life. Depending on the specifics of your circumstances, there are numerous estate planning mechanisms and tools to discuss with your estate planning attorney, […]
Updating Your Estate Plan After a Divorce
Whatever stage of life’s journey you may currently be facing, estate planning is one of the most important ways to prepare for whatever the future may hold. An estate plan can empower you to keep control of your most important assets, and have a say in the matters that will directly impact you and the […]
Organizing and Safeguarding Your Estate Plan
Estate planning is one of the most important steps you can take to prepare for the future and protect your family, even when you’re gone. This process involves using a variety of tools — including wills, trusts, and powers of attorney — to help ensure that you can maintain control even when you are unable […]
How to Provide for Someone With Special Needs as Part of Your Estate Plan
If you are the parent or sibling of a loved one with special needs, you know the importance of making sure they’re protected and able to enjoy the best possible quality of life. These crucial and meaningful goals should also be considered as part of your estate plan. A writing from the Special Needs Alliance […]
When to Consider Choosing a Professional Fiduciary
Setting up your estate plan isn’t always a pleasant thing to think about; however, it’s a very important step to take when you have the opportunity. Often, taking time to plan for what will happen to the people who matter most and the assets you’ve spent a lifetime acquiring will include considering who you will […]
The Downsides of DIY Estate Planning
You may be familiar with the concept of “Do It Yourself,” or “DIY.” In short, this ethos is all about tackling important projects on your own, without having to involve professionals. Most people associate DIY with homeowners researching solutions, buying their own tools, and getting to work making fixes and repairs around the house. Other […]
What Can a Probate and Estates Attorney Do for You?
When you have a foot problem, you go to the podiatrist. When you have a heart problem, you go to the cardiologist. When you want to complete your estate plan or are forced into the probate courts, you need to go to an established probate and estate planning attorney. Michigan probate attorneys focus on the […]