What is a Guardianship? When a person lacks the understanding or ability to make or communicate informed decisions relating to their care, medical needs, and placement, the individual may need the help of a guardian. A guardian is appointed by the probate court at the request of a concerned person (the petitioner). Common petitioners include [...]
Just recently, traditional notions of privacy have clashed with social media, prompting a headline-making case: Yahoo is denying two personal representatives access to their deceased brother’s emails. What’s the Story? John Ajemian was just 43 when he died in a bike accident in 2006. He did not have a Will, so his brother and sister [...]
How to Serve a Minor Defendant--- Frequently, I receive telephone calls from personal injury attorneys seeking assistance on how to effectuate service of process upon defendants that have died or are incapacitated. In those circumstances, a probate estate may be needed to be commenced and a fiduciary appointed to establish jurisdiction over the defendant. Imagine [...]
In most adult conservatorship estates and in many deceased probate estates, the court will impose a probate bond requirement. No, this is not the 007 type of Bond. Rather, it is a guarantee of payment if another party fails to perform a certain obligation. The following are examples of situations in which the court may [...]
A new trend among Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance companies is to intervene in probate proceedings. The goal is to force the attendant care provider to battle the insurance carrier in two courts, circuit and probate. This is an unfortunate new tactic. It causes additional expense and time to a family that already may have [...]
When a beloved family member has passed away and the will has been read, there may be objections from the surviving family members who want to contest the will. Those who want to know how to contest a will in Michigan look to a probate or trust attorney, who is specially trained in these complicated [...]
Michigan probate litigation is one of the most complicated facets of estate planning and family law. The attorneys at The Probate Pro PLC provide probate litigation services across the state of Michigan for a wide variety of situations. We are able to help people who are involved in legal disputes over issues such as power [...]
Are you a Michigan wrongful death claimant? MCL 600.2922 governs who is entitled to file a claim for wrongful death proceeds in Michigan: decedent’s spouse children and grandchildren; parents; grandparents; brothers and sisters children of the deceased’s spouse (step-children); and devisees under a will and beneficiaries of a living trust. If you are a wrongful death [...]
Regularly, my office gets asked the same question. What do I do if I need to serve a defendant that has died? This scenario occurs most often in auto related cases where the at-fault driver dies. However, it can occur in any context. Of course, this is not what is meant by a grave [...]
Many PI attorneys that I speak with make an incorrect assumption that it is always better for settlement proceeds to pass via the wrongful death statute instead of through the probate estate. I call this assumption the “wrongful death myth.” I understand why the myth exists. PI attorneys are generally untrusting of probate judges meddling [...]
