What comes to mind when you think about your estate plan? Most people think about a Last Will and Testament —or “will”—and many people also incorporate a living trust into their estate plans. These two estate planning tools cover a lot of ground. But it’s a mistake to believe that if you have a will […]
Michigan law has provisions intended to protect divorced people’s assets from going to unintended beneficiaries after their deaths. That said, the most effective and efficient way to protect your estate and your intended beneficiaries is not to rely on Michigan law, but to update your estate plan yourself. Here are some things of which you […]
Almost everyone knows they should have an “estate plan.” Unfortunately, not everyone knows exactly what that means, or what it should mean for them. As a result, many people don’t bother with an estate plan, or make one that leaves important gaps that get discovered too late. Here are five common mistakes many Michiganders make […]
It sounds like something out of a fortune cookie: “No decision is also a decision.” As far as your children and your assets go, though, the saying is apt. If you don’t deliberately make choices, someone else will end up making them for you. Chances are, that decision-maker will be a Michigan court. There’s another […]
In some states, courts will not grant a divorce to a couple unless they have been living “separate and apart” for a period of time, in some cases a whole year. As you can imagine, this places a significant financial burden on some families who are not ready to bear it. Fortunately, Michigan has no […]
If you’re a single parent, everything falls on your shoulders, from earning a living, to keeping the house, to helping with homework. You’re so busy, in all likelihood, that you may not even have had time to consider what would happen to your family if anything happened to you. When you do pause to think […]
Starting a small business to provide for one’s family, or carrying on an existing family business, is a source of pride and labor of love for many Michiganders. Unfortunately, a divorce can threaten the fruits of a lifetime of hard work in the family business. Of course, no one plans or hopes to get divorced. […]
Oftentimes, people reach the difficult decision to file for divorce because they’ve reached the end of their rope: they’ve tried everything they can think of to make the marriage work, and none of it has helped. The emotional stress and strain may be so bad that they feel divorce is the only option, and they […]
Where money and assets are concerned, everyone has heard that “you can’t take it with you.” That much is true–but you do have to figure out who’s going to take care of what you necessarily leave behind. That person is the executor of your estate. Being an executor can be a difficult and thankless job. […]
Determining child custody can be the most problematic aspect of a divorce in Michigan. Custody concerns usually linger long after the divorce is final, as kids grow and life circumstances change. Often, when you are embroiled in bitter disagreements over custody, it feels like you’re all alone. Likely, though, many parents have been in your […]
