In America, approximately 27 people die per day as a result of drunk driving. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: A Two-Week Reminder to Save Your Life On Friday, August 18, the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign went into effect across the country. The two-week movement is a reminder to all about [...]
A structured settlement provides a secure, tax-free, and management free investment that is often a sensible tool for a minor that will receive money from a settlement of a lawsuit. There is much confusion about how a structured settlement works. Specifically, there is uncertainty about when to use a structured settlement when settling a case [...]
Let's examine the wrongful death statute. Following the resolution of a wrongful death case, the court must determine to whom to distribute the proceeds. After the payment of attorney fees, costs, and liens on the monies, the court will distribute the monies among the available wrongful death claimants. Most of the time, the personal representative, [...]
As a personal injury attorney, are you handling your settlements correctly for minors and incapacitated persons? MCR 2.420 mandates that all personal injury settlements and judgments for minors or persons under guardianship must be brought before the judge to whom the action is assigned to pass on its fairness. Judge Milton L. Mack, Jr. of [...]
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 [...]
WRONGFUL DEATH DISTRIBUTION A wrongful death lawsuit was commenced by a personal injury firm and a favorable settlement was reached for the decedent. Following a settlement, the proceeds of the settlement must then be distributed to the wrongful death claimants based on Michigan’s wrongful death act, MCL 600.2922. The statute distributes the proceeds to certain family [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Most Plaintiff attorneys fail to provide notice to the potential wrongful death claimants following the filing of the lawsuit. Michigan’s Wrongful Death Act (MCL §600.2922) states that “within 30 days after the commencement of an action, the personal representative shall serve a copy of the complaint and notice as prescribed … upon the person or [...]
The Probate Pro scored another victory against an insurance company that refused to pay the reasonable attorney fees associated with the administration of guardianship and conservatorship files. PIP and Probate: Guardianship Case In 2009, a nineteen year old woman was injured in an automobile accident while a passenger in her boyfriend’s vehicle. The driver was [...]
