When you take on the important role of serving as a Conservator on behalf of another person one of the required responsibilities is to account for the finances. Michigan statute MCL 700.5418 provides that a conservator shall account to the court for administration not less than annually unless the court directs otherwise, upon resignation or [...]
If someone has died and there is a vehicle, it will be necessary to transfer the title to the proper person. The manner in which this is done depends on a number of factors. Was the vehicle in joint name with survivorship rights? Is there, or will there be, a probate estate? If no probate [...]
Upon someone’s death, a personal representative (once appointed) will be tasked to distribute the assets to the Interested parties, according to the will or intestate law. Assume however that there is an interested party who can’t be reached. Their whereabouts are unknown. In case of a situation like this, the Declaration of Intent to Give [...]
Probate isn’t a commonly known field of law, but you would be remiss in protecting yourself if you didn’t know what probate is. So, what is it? Probate is a broad field of law that includes important legal hearings and procedures such as deceased estates, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts and more. For any regular Joe Six-Pack, [...]
The statistic on inaccurate death certificates you just read was issued by Bob Anderson, Chief of Mortality Statistics at the National Center of Health Statistics. Why does this matter? Perhaps that question comes to mind, but once you find out just how much the death certificate is utilized, you’ll understand why this statistic matters. At [...]
Daisy Maxey of Barron’s put together a piece on how COVID-19 has forced people to set their estate plans. Indeed, a virus with no cure and no vaccine is something we should all be careful about. Times like these, however, shouldn’t be the only reason that you rush to prepare your estate plan. The fact [...]
Many families around the world have a canine, feline or other type of animal companion that’s in their lives. While there’s no biological relation, they’re often treated like family. When it comes to family, you always want to leave them protected. Through a comprehensive estate plan, you can protect your family and assure your assets [...]
As you can tell by the name of our practice, probate is the field of law which we practice. Because of this, it’s up to us to educate you on the basics of probate. Let’s face it: it’s not pervasively known to people until they’re involved with it. You've probably needed to use Google to [...]
You’ve been appointed the personal representative of a deceased estate in the State of Michigan. Now, it is time to present the probate inventory. First, you need to complete the Estate Court Administrator form for the preparation of the required probate inventory. This form is required under both Michigan statute and Michigan Court Rule. We [...]
It’s an often-asked question, but to those of us in probate, it’s an age-old question. Does a will avoid probate? The answer to this question is no, a will does not clear way. A will is a document that guides you through the probate process. The only way to avoid probate is if there were [...]
