With the holidays upon us, we will be surround by family.  This is an opportune time to discuss with loved ones how you want your end of life care handled.

A great website (www.engagewithgrace.org) encourages people to talk with their loved ones about the five questions of end of life care and encourages you to get your appropriate health care documents in place.  In Michigan, everyone needs at least a Patient Advocate Designation for health care decisions and possibly a living will.  A Michigan estate planning lawyer can help your prepare your health care directives.

There was an article about the site in the Boston Globe.

Here is an except:

When Rosaria Vandenberg lay unconscious in the hospital, a malignant brain tumor stealing her life, her brother decided to overrule doctors’ advice and bring her home to die. He believed, but wasn’t sure, that this was what she would have wanted. The truth is, when she was conscious, her family had never asked.

Back at home, Vandenberg’s 2-year-old daughter, who had been afraid to touch her mother in the hospital, snuggled next to her in bed. Rosaria opened her eyes, the first time in a week, and took in the sight. She died the next night at home.

-Christopher J. Berry, Esq.

Creating a living trust in Michigan, as stated in my previous post, has the added advantage of keeping family affairs private.  Using a will based estate plan in Michigan is a public process that must go through the probate court system.

Evel Knievel is the most recent celebrity to fail to use a trust, therefore his will became public record.  Trust and Estates Magazine recently had an article discussing his will (which never would have happened had he created a revocable living trust).

The reason they could write about his will is that it went through the probate system.  In his four page will he left most his estate to his newest ex-wife, cutting out his ex-wife to whom he was married for nearly 40 years.  Additionally, his son Robbie was also cut out in favor of the newest ex-wife.

However, she is not necessarily going to inherit a huge estate.  Just like the Michigan probate system, creditors, loans, and past judgments must be paid.  Evel’s estate looks to be on the hook for over $14 million in judgments and loans owed.

Continue reading “Privacy Loss of a Will versus a Trust, Celebrity Style” »

Michigan became the last state in the U.S. to pass an estate recovery law in an effort to recoup Medicaid expenses of nursing home patients in Michigan and to meet Federal requirements.  The Feds and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid have rejected the Michigan proposal.

Michigan is now in the process of appealing the decision according to the non-profit group Elder Law of Michigan.

What this means is that the Michigan Estate recovery, Medicaid planning, and Elder Law areas continue to remain in a state of flux.  Speaking with an elder law or estate planning attorney is critical to understand the current state of laws.

Continue reading “Michigan Estate Recovery Law | Rejected by The Feds” »

Our clients ask us to develop Michigan estate plans that avoid the Oakland County probate system (Wayne and Macomb, as well) to keep their affairs private.  Typically, as estate planning lawyers we draft living trusts to avoid probate.

When your estate plan goes through the probate system, you lose all privacy.  As your will, and other matters go through the probate system, they become part of the public record.  Individuals have been known to submit false claims against Michigan probate estates and use the probate record to target heirs and beneficiaries.

Michigan Living Trusts on the other hand, if properly prepared by a Michigan estate planning lawyer, can be totally private.  Noon can find out your assets, or who will inherit what with a living trust.

Continue reading “Oakland County Probate | Loss of Privacy” »

Every Tuesday I have a meeting with other business people in the area and we each talk a few minutes about our practice. As a Michigan estate planning lawyer I talked about the need to review your estate plan. I was asked a question about how often to review your estate plan the night before as well.

What I told the group was that our firm believes in annual reviews of your estate plan. We care very much about our clients and the hard work that was put into thier estate plan, we do not want their plan to fail due to a lack of maintenance.

Setting up an estate plan is not a “one-and-done” propostion. Just like going to the dentist, an estate plan needs at least annual check ups. Occasionally like a dentist there will be major work, such as an amendment to the plan. But as a whole, only a few tune ups each year.

The reason for the need for check-ups is threefold.

1. Your family situation may change. There may be a new child to plan for, a divorce, marriage, etc.
2. Your assets may change. Have you added new bank accounts, bought a new house, new life insurance, etc?
3. The laws change. There have been many changes to both Michigan and Federal law in the past 10 years alone that effect estate planning. With the new administration there is bound to be new Federal Estate tax laws as well.

So, have you updated your estate plan? If you have an estate plan with another attorney, have they cared enough to contact you?

Wathcing the news today and they quoted a Kiplingers article that offered some questions to ask your financial planner during these turbulent times. Those questions were:

• How have your investments performed?
• How do your investments meet time horizons?
• What adjustments have been made due to the turbulent economy?
• How and when will the planner provided feedback and updates?