Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Dear Jonathan: I recently prepared a trust that includes very specific provisions regarding the beneficiaries that I want to receive certain assets when I die. Does my trust override who I named as my beneficiaries in the will I prepared several years ago and the beneficiary that I named to receive the proceeds from my life insurance policy and inherit my retirement accounts?

Jonathan: No, and your question is a very good one. Beneficiaries can be named in a will, a trust or pursuant to a beneficiary designation. Failure to properly coordinate the naming of your beneficiaries in those ...

Dear Jonathan: Based on my research, I feel like I’m pretty well versed in what I am supposed to do when it comes to creating an estate plan for myself. Everything I have read says that I should have a will, powers of attorney and a trust. What I would like to know, however, is what happens when I die if I don’t do any estate planning?

Dear Jonathan: Can you please explain what the difference is between a financial durable power of attorney and a health care durable power of attorney.

Dear Jonathan: I just completed the probate of my late brother’s will. I was the personal representative he appointed to act on behalf of his estate. This was not a pleasant experience and in fact, was quite the opposite and made me realize that I don’t want to put my family through anything like this at my death. My wife and I don’t have a large estate, but we want to make sure that everything we own goes to the survivor of the two us and then to our kids without first having to go through probate. What do you recommend we do to avoid probate at either of our deaths?

Dear Jonathan: My mother, who recently passed away, prepared a trust naming me as her sole beneficiary. She intentionally disinherited my brother due to a falling out they had years ago. Although he knows that he has been disinherited, I am uncomfortable getting my mom’s entire estate and would like to provide for him somehow.

In the digital age, identity theft has taken on new and sinister forms, extending beyond the living to the deceased. When a loved one passes away, their identity doesn’t simply vanish; it lingers in both the digital realm and on paper, presenting opportunities for fraudulent activity.

Dear Jonathan: My father, a widower, passed away a couple of months ago. Being his only child, he appointed me as his agent on his durable power of attorney so that I can handle his bill paying which I have been doing for the past two years.

People preying on the elderly to get at their life savings, unfortunately, has become a common occurrence in today’s society. We have all heard stories about an elderly person being targeted and falling victim to an unscrupulous con artist. It is a sobering reality that everyone and their families need to prepare for as they age. When it is a family member who is suspected as the one taking advantage of their parent it puts this problem in a whole different light. What should you do if you suspect a family member of financial elder abuse?

This is my third and final article addressing what needs to be done after a person passes away. Part 1 addressed what a person needs to do prior to the decedent’s funeral. Part 2 addressed those things that don’t typically need to be done until after the decedent’s funeral, so long as the funeral is not delayed. This column continues that discussion.

This is the second of three articles addressing the topic of what needs to be done when a spouse or loved one passes away. My last article addressed the immediate things that need to be done prior to the decedent’s funeral. This article and my third article address those things that don’t typically need to be done until after the decedent’s funeral. If the funeral is delayed, however, there should be no similar delay in addressing the matters that need to be addressed.

Dear Jonathan: Can you provide a general summary of what needs to be done when a person’s spouse or loved one passes away?

Dear Jonathan: I am thinking about preparing my own estate planning documents, including a will, powers of attorney and a trust. A close friend of mine just went through this process and it cost her thousands of dollars and I really don’t want to spend that much money on attorney fees. I think I can figure it out by doing a little research and finding samples on the internet. I know this is your business and you probably don’t think do-it-yourself estate planning is a good idea but what is the downside of my trying to do this on my own?

Dear Jonathan: My parents just updated their estate plan and told me that they named me in their wills, their trust and their financial and health care durable powers of attorney to act for them when they can no longer act for themselves. I am more than happy to help them, but I would like to know what my responsibilities are when acting in these various roles. When I asked them if they could explain what my duties would be they were not sure how to respond. Can you help?

In Michigan, the age of majority is 18 years. This means that when a person turns age 18, they are no longer a minor and are considered to be a legal adult. Consequently when your child turns 18, you no longer have the legal authority to make decisions for him or her, including financial and health care decisions.

Occasionally clients will request, for one reason or another, that I mail them the originals of the estate planning documents I prepared for them so that they can have them executed outside of my office at a bank or some other financial institution. 

The primary reason most people engage in estate planning is to name who they want to receive their assets when they pass away. Beneficiaries can be named in a will, a trust or pursuant to a beneficiary designation. When naming beneficiaries, it is critically important that your will and your trust (if you have one), not only coordinate with each other, but with the beneficiaries you have named on your various investments, as well as with how your assets are titled. Failure to properly coordinate in all of these areas could have unintended, and in some cases, disastrous consequences.

When people decide to engage in estate planning, typically they focus on naming the beneficiaries of their estate and making sure their estate avoids probate when they pass away. In most cases, these concerns are addressed by the preparation of a will, a living trust and certain probate avoidance documents. Those standard documents are an important part of the overall estate planning process, however, durable powers of attorney for financial matters and health care are just as important for other reasons. In fact, regardless of whether they have an estate plan, every adult should have these two durable powers of attorney. 

Many corporate clients ask why they should spend the time and money to maintain a corporate minute book. This is especially common in small or family-run operations. Other corporate clients don't even bother asking the question, they simply don't do it.

When someone dies there are many important things that need to be addressed by the survivor or survivors, and some of those things that need to be addressed are time sensitive. 

It is no secret that 2020 has been a whirlwind. Over the past six-plus months, the pandemic has been especially difficult for seniors as many continue to shelter in place, away from friends and family.