Sometimes an estate doesn’t have a lot of money. Sometimes so little that you don’t even want to open a probate estate. Only question is, how can you avoid opening a probate estate and still retrieve the money? We’ll go over a particular process in the State of Michigan known as “Affidavit of Decedent’s Successor [...]
Life is wonderful, but mysterious. We know - or at least learn - when life began for us, but the the mystery is when it ends. There's a misconception that's been spread for ages that only a person dying is in need of planning his or her estate. On the contrary, people should plan their [...]
Earlier this year, we talked about Tom Petty's estate and how family drama has reached a boiling point. Daughter Adria and widow Dana York Petty have been entangled in the estate of the late rock icon for at least a year and a half now. At first, we talked about how Adria and her sister [...]
An Annual Estate Plan? Seriously...Every year you should go to the doctor to get a physical, see how you're doing and if there are any changes that need to be made in your life. All of this is for the betterment of your health. In this respect, wouldn't you do the same when it comes [...]
News broke earlier this week that the late Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, had wills written out that were found between her couch cushions. What these wills represent are something called holographic wills. A holographic will is a will, but it ignores some of the formalities that go into putting together a will. Such formalities [...]
The Probate ProSM has informed you in the past to have a plan in place for someone’s untimely death. While we continue to inform you about the importance of having a will in place, there’s a slight caveat. Even if a will or just a plan is set up, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll avoid [...]
Written by Brandon Thomson A Question, Often Asked Here at The Probate ProSM, we are often asked this question: “If a loved one receives Medicaid benefits, will the State of Michigan take their home?” The answer … it depends. The State of Michigan may recover property from estates of certain deceased Medicaid beneficiaries who have [...]
The Lady Bird Deed is a specific type of deed that has become popular in recent years. The reason for its popularity is simple – it has many benefits. Some of the benefits include the ability to transfer property outside of probate without using a trust and the avoidance of Michigan Medicaid Estate Recovery. What [...]
The administration of a deceased’s estate can bring drama with it, and celebrity status in no way prevents the drama from happening. In fact, you could argue it creates more drama. Take for example the late Tom Petty. After his passing, Petty’s widow, Dana York Petty, became the trustee of the artist’s trust. As you’ll [...]
Michael Franklin is one of the many fantastic attorneys who are part of our team at The Probate ProSM. As an attorney, Michael deals with many cases and is in constant contact with many individuals involved in these cases. We sat down with Michael and heard from him about the work he does every day. [...]
