Filed under: Estate Administration,Estate Planning,Probate,Will — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:09 pm
According to the Associated Press, Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop”, did not have a last will and testament. This leads me to believe that he didn’t have any type of trust or guardianship planning done either. I find this ridiculous if no Will surfaces.
If you have minor children, you need to name guardians for your children, regardless of the size of the estate.
According to court filings in California, Michal Jackson’s parents, Katherine and Joe have petitioned the court to become temporary guardians of his children and executor of his estate.
You can read more of the AP story on Michael Jackson’s estate here: Parents file papers to administer Jackson estate.
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Michigan Probate Litigation Attorney, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Estate Administration and Michigan Probate.
Filed under: Estate Administration,Probate,Probate Litigation — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:11 pm
Whether you are the personal representative for an estate in Michigan or you are a beneficiary looking to challenge the personal representative, there are some key questions when it comes time for the accounting. These are especially important if you are a personal representative or executor and are looking to avoid a nasty drawn out Michigan probate litigation case.
First, look to the expenses and fees. Are they reasonable? Reasonableness is a gray area, but ask yourself if it passes the smell test.
Another area of interest is whether the personal representative or Michigan executor has provided verification of funds from any of the institutions where funds were deposited.
Third, look at the Michigan probate accounting as a whole. Is it understandable, clear, unambiguous? Does the probate accounting have all the necessary requirements of Michigan statute, Michigan case law, and court form?
Fourth, look at the timing of the filing of the Michigan probate accounting. There are rather strict time requirements to file an accounting.
These are just a few things to keep in mind as you navigate the Michigan probate process and try to avoid any Metro-Detroit probate litigation.
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Michigan Probate Litigation Attorney, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Estate Administration and Michigan Probate.
Filed under: Elder Law,Long Term Care — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:13 pm
Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disease. One of the issues when a loved one has Alzheimer’s Disease is the prevention of injury around the house.
Cari Nierenberg at ABC has a post with expert tips on how to adapt your home for a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is worth a read if you have a loved one affected. Read it here: Making Your Home Safer for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s.
The first step? “Increasing the lighting around the home because at mid stage Alzheimer’s patients need 50 percent more light to see at the same level of acuity…”
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Bloomfield Hills Elder Law Attorney, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Longterm Care Planning, and Medicaid Planning.
Filed under: Estate Planning — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:14 pm
The new Michigan Trust Code is now official. The Michigan Trust Code will take effect on April 1, 2010. The new Michigan Code will displace Article VII of EPIC as well as touching other areas of EPIC. Attorney Mark K. Harder has an overview of the Michigan Trust Code at the Michigan State Bar Website.
-Christopher J. Berry, Esq., a Michigan Wills and Trusts Attorney, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Probate.
Filed under: Estate Planning,Probate,Will — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:15 pm
Did you know that over 50% of Americans do not have a Last Will and Testament? This according to a 2008 Findlaw.com survey. A Last Will and Testament is one of the most important estate planning documents, especially if you have minor children. The Will lays out not only how your assets should be distributed in Michigan probate court, but also who will be the guardians of your children.
Michael Doran at Keystone Financial Services has a newsletter on this very topic. Read it here: Estate of Emergency.
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Michigan Probate Litigation Attorney, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Michgian Probate.
Filed under: Estate Planning — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:24 pm
Have you or your parents or loved ones been invited to a free estate planning seminar with dinner provided? If you have, be careful. There are quite a few trust-mill lunch and dinner seminars going around.
Things to watch out for include estate planning seminars that are not taught by actual attorneys, but by annuity salesmen. Also, be mindful of seminars where they quote you a price for a living trust up front. For example “$2,295 and updates for the rest of your life!”.
Living trusts are not one size fits all documents. As a Michigan living trust attorney, there is no way I could quote you a fee for planning without sitting down with you to discover what your goals are.
For further proof, take a look at this out of state, slightly dated article on how these borderline scams work. Quoting the article:
“the companies sponsor free estate-planning seminars for seniors as a way ‘to learn about the senior’s assets and manipulate them into purchasing manifestly inappropriate financial investments for seniors, namely annuities.’ ”
You can read the article here.
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Oakland County Wills and Trusts Attorney, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Michigan Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Michigan Probate.
Filed under: Estate Planning,Living Trust,Will — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:29 pm
An estate planning lawyer in New Jersey, Victor Medina, has a short, insightful post regarding the advantages of a living trust based estate plan versus a last will and testament based estate plan. You can read it at the New Jersey Estate Planning website.
His answer, “Whether you have a will or a living trust doesn’t matter if the plan isn’t tailored to meet your goals!” I agree!
-Christopher J. Berry, Esq.
Bloomfield Hills Will and Trust Attorney
Older Posts »
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
June 30, 2009
Filed under: Estate Administration,Estate Planning,Will — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:08 pm
It turns out that there might be a last will and testament for Michael Jackson after all. In an AP article, Michael Jackson’s family attorney has said that a last will and testament has surface and will be presented to the court. You can read more here: Jackson Family Lawyer Says Will Has Surfaced
This late developing news certainly makes things interesting considering Michael Jackson’s mother just filed a petition to become administrator of Michael Jackson’s estate.
I look forward to seeing the last will and testament, since it will be part of the court case and available as a public record.
The key questions now are:
- Who is named as personal representative or executor under Michael Jackson’s last will and testament?
- Has he provided for who will be the guardians of his children?
- Will he estate be liquid enough to pay his numerous debts?
We shall see. What we already know is that most likely Michael Jackson was not as prepared as he should have been if just now they are discovering his will and estate planning documents.
-Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Michigan Estate Planning Lawyer, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Estate Administration and Michigan Probate.
Filed under: Estate Administration,Estate Planning,Probate,Will — Christopher J. Berry @ 8:06 pm
It seems that the Michael Jackson Estate story will continue on for a while. Just within the last few hours the WSJ is reporting that a Last Will and Testament drafted in 2002 for Michael Jackson may be the controlling document in Michael Jackson’s Estate. Read more here: Jackson Will From 2002 In Spotlight.
Apparently the will divides his estate between his mother, 3 children, and one or more charities. The will named lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain as executors. They will be the ones administering the will for the estate. According to the article, it is still unclear who will be appointed guardian of his children, or if it was even mentioned in the will.
What is clear is that this will be a mess moving forward because of what appears to be shoddy estate planning.
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Michigan Probate Lawyer, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Estate Administration and Michigan Probate.
June 29, 2009
The loss of a loved one, especially a spouse can be a devastating, emotional experience. Added to the stresses at the time are the estate administration legal aspects of what needs to be done. Unfortunately, avoiding costly Michigan estate administration mistakes needs to be addressed at this time as well. Sitting down with a caring and compassionate Michigan estate planning attorney is important to protect the surviving spouse and to ensure that the surviving spouse protects his or her assets for his or her enjoyment.
When sitting down to handle the administration of the deceased’s assets, one area that needs to be addressed immediately is “disclaimers”. Should the surviving spouse disclaim any property so that it flows through to the next beneficiary. There can be huge tax implications to this. Additionally, we need to check to see how any trusts are funded, especially if the initial estate plan contemplated planning for the Federal Estate Tax.
Next property issues must be analyzed. How were the deceased’s spouses assets owned? Will their have to be a probate, or were assets jointly owned or in trust? Hiring an estate planning or Michigan estate administration lawyer can help you walk through these important questions in a timely manner.
After a period of time, one of the issues that pops up for a surviving spouse is remarriage. Remarriage can have drastic effects on the distribution of assets to children. This is one the most common reasons that children are “accidentally” disinherited.
Christopher J. Berry, Esq., A Michigan Elder Law Lawyer, is a Partner with Witzke Berry PLLC, which practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Michgian Probate.
|
|
(248) 481-4000
Free Initial Consultation
For Email Newsletters you can trust
- Michigan Elder Law Attorneys & Lawyers | Michigan Elder Law Center
- Michigan Estate Planning Lawyers & Attorneys
- Tulsa Estate Planning Blog
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
