Jeffrey K. Helder

The legislature in Lansing, no doubt seeing the mess that the State Tax Commission (STC) had created, decided to pass a new law (codified at MCL 211.27a(7)(s)) that provided that transfers of “residential property” from one person to another person or persons who were related by “blood or affinity to the first degree” would be […]

Since the introduction of the Headley amendment (Proposition A) to Michigan’s property tax laws, the property tax assessment has been divided into a Taxable Value (TV) and a State Equalized Value (SEV). The TV is what taxes are actually based upon. The TV may not increase by greater than the COLI or 5% whichever is

In November 2013 the IRS announced new rules for up to $500 of unused amounts in a health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that is part of a cafeteria plan. The old rule was that if you didn’t have medical expenses during a plan year that totally used up your FSA, you were permitted a “grace

A number of years ago I used to write an “Answers” article for a local newspaper. I was looking at some of those old articles recently and realized how little some things have changed in the last 10 years. Even though I tend to gravitate to the new and more interesting topics, some of these

A lot of what I do as an estate planner involves helping people to have the most efficient (read: “inexpensive”) method of transferring their estates to their loved ones, or designated charities. One of the most inexpensive ways of transferring assets upon death is with a beneficiary designation. Life insurance, annuities and Individual Retirement Accounts

Seems like every day I get something across my screen or desk that is warning about a new scam. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which is in charge of all things relating to business organizations in Michigan, recently enclosed a flyer with each Michigan Annual Report form warning that there is

I recently had a client with a desire to distribute their property upon their deaths to their children in equal shares, but they wanted to give their house to one of their children and to give to the other children other assets of equal value. The client had plenty of assets to accomplish their equal

I’ve been working with some clients who are very interested in the recent Supreme Court decision on laws involving single-sex marriage. As most people know by now, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional in requiring all federal agencies to follow a definition of marriage as between a

Beware of offers to sell you services you don’t need, or documents to which you are already entitled! Numerous clients along the lakeshore recently have reported being approached by companies offering to sell copies of certain documents, especially deeds related to recent real estate transactions. Companies offer to provide these documents at a cost of