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A great-uncle of mine passed away recently at the age of 81. A few days after his death, his family learned that his bank account was modest and that the beneficiary on his investment account was his deceased wife. With no money being passed directly to the family (without involvement of the court or access […]

Did he die intestate or testate? Only a legal professional would word a question this way, but it’s an important one. If a person passes away without a will then he has died “intestate.” If a person has a will at death then he has died “testate.” If you have a will, then you picked

Some might argue that when it comes to property, “If you don’t use it, then you lose it.” That’s not true, but at the same time, you should never ignore someone who uses your property openly and without permission. Michigan courts have long held that an owner of real property may lose title to some

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

A durable power of attorney gives the person you select the power to act in your place. But what if your agent shows the document to your financial planner and is turned away? If you are competent, you can sort out the problem yourself. But what if you’re not? A general durable power of attorney

When your business is doing well, it’s easy to just work “in” the business and not “on” it. In other words, the day-to-day customer and client demands dictate your day and you don’t take the steps to focus on important ways to position your company for the future. One of these actions is strategic planning. Which

Estate planning for second families often gets overlooked. The irony is that these situations typically require the most planning. In Michigan, a person who passes away without an estate plan will have his or her assets distributed under Michigan’s Intestate Succession statute. This one-size-fits-all approach often misses the mark. These laws rarely take into account

If you own a business or advise business owners, you know that having a business partner can be one of the most fulfilling relationships (outside of a marriage). It can help “round out” your skills, give new perspective to your business, and allow the company to grow much faster than it would if you were

Are you comfortable with how your 20 year-old child might spend an inheritance if you and your spouse unexpectedly passed away? According to an article by David Dobbs in the October 2011 issue of National Geographic (“Beautiful Brains”), the human brain is in the process of development from age 12 to 25. Because of the