In Michigan, a legal guardian has the right and responsibility to make medical decisions for an incapacitated person (ward). The guardian can, for instance, select the ward’s medical providers, consent to treatment on the ward’s behalf, and access the ward’s medical record. But what about making end-of-life decisions? Can a Michigan guardian stop doctors from giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest? In short, the answer is yes: a Michigan guardian can sign a do-not-resuscitate, or DNR order (with some exceptions that we will discuss below. With ..read more

If you are a parent, you know that in some ways, your child will always be your “baby.” But from a legal standpoint, your child is an adult at midnight on their eighteenth birthday. That creates a change in your relationship that neither of you may be ready for, especially if your child is heading off to college. Now that your child is a legal adult, you no longer have the right to do many of the things you’ve done for them all their lives—like make medical decisions and manage their money. In order to do those things now, you will need a power of attorney for your college student. Powers of a ..read more

Many people, when asked about their estate planning goals, say that they want to avoid probate. Even if they are not entirely sure what the probate process involves, they have the sense that avoiding probate is a good thing—and often, they are right.  Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person (decedent), with some level of court involvement. Depending on the size and complexity of the estate, the court’s involvement may be significant. More often, however, the court’s oversight of the probate process is minimal. Even so, probate typically takes months ..read more

As this blog post is published, we’re in the thick of the holiday season: shopping, decorating, attending parties, gathering with loved ones, and thinking about the year to come. Often, the holidays are also filled with reminiscences of loved ones who have gone before us. As hard as it is to think about, someday we will be those loved ones our families are remembering around the holiday table. One of the best gifts you can give your family this year is to ensure their future is a secure one: make some estate planning New Year’s resolutions. It may seem strange to think about estate planning at ..read more

Most people expect that after their death, their property will go to their family. But what exactly does that mean? If you adopt a child, do they have the same inheritance rights under the law as any biological children you have? What about stepchildren? If you surrender a child for adoption, are they still entitled to inherit from you under the law?  Questions like these arise more often than you might think. If you want to protect the inheritance rights of a child you care about, read on to understand how and when an adopted child can inherit from a biological parent. Does an Adopted Ch ..read more

Most people don’t spring out of bed on their eighteenth birthday, eager to start their day with a good breakfast and a visit to the estate planning attorney. In fact, many people wait decades before making an estate plan, and some never make one at all. Often, the reason they give when asked is, “I’m waiting until I need one.” The reality is that every adult—even a newly-minted eighteen year old—needs an estate plan. However, the composition and complexity of that plan will vary with time and life changes. Let’s take a look at some detailed answers to the question “When should I start estate p ..read more

These words don’t usually come up in conversation, but if you have recently been involved in dealing with a loved one’s estate, you may have heard the words “testate” and “intestate” and wondered what they mean. They sound very similar, but they mean the exact opposite—and the difference between testate and intestate could be important to your family.  What’s the Difference Between Testate and Intestate? Simply put, testate means “with a will,” and intestate means “without a will.” When someone dies testate, it means that their estate will be distributed according to the terms of their wi ..read more

Often, when a homeowner dies, their house is the largest asset in their estate. Family members may need or want to liquidate the property as soon as possible. A house frequently represents more than its financial value, of course; it may hold treasured memories of the deceased and of time spent with family there over the years. From an emotional standpoint, family members may not want to sell the house, even if that is the best move from a financial standpoint. Accordingly, it is often difficult to decide what to do with a house, and when, after a death. One question we often hear in our offic ..read more

In a nutshell, a pour-over will is a tool to make sure that everything in your estate passes according to the terms of your estate plan. In recent years, trusts have become an increasingly popular way to avoid probate and ensure that inherited assets are managed for beneficiaries, like children and young adults, who may not be ready to manage an inheritance.  There are many different types of trusts designed to achieve these and other estate planning goals, such as protecting assets from creditors, minimizing taxes, and ensuring that someone with special needs can receive an inheritance a ..read more

The decision to pursue guardianship of a loved one can be a difficult, but necessary one. Most family members who seek to become a guardian of a vulnerable person do so not because they want to control their loved one’s life, but because they believe that person is at risk, physically or otherwise, without a guardian’s protection. Often, a family member who seeks to become a guardian is unfamiliar with the process, and that can make an already emotional situation even more stressful. In this blog post, we will explain what to expect at a guardianship hearing.  In Michigan, guardianship is ..read more