News

Mlive.com recently posted an article on March 16th ranking Michigan’s 30 most-populated counties by life expectancy (which data was collected from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington), and to my delight, Ottawa County was ranked #1. Specifically, the average life expectancy of men in Ottawa County is 79.8 years […]

Many seniors wonder how to best protect their home. This risk comes up because their health declines and they need medical care in an assisted living facility or skilled nursing facility. At this stage, they could be pursuing Medicaid benefits to help pay for their care. Fortunately, the Medicaid rules allow them to keep their

Ladybird deeds have gained popularity as a way for an owner to maintain property in his or her name but pass it along to a beneficiary at their death. This method avoids probate, is an alternative to transferring property to a trust during the owner’s lifetime, and is useful for someone who needs to apply

KLOMP THE RECORD 2.0

Do you know what the future will be for the people you will leave your estate to? I don’t intend that to be a rhetorical question, but we can all agree we don’t know the future for our loved ones. They could continue to live fulfilling lives. Or, they could experience (through no fault of

If you’ve owned a business for some time, you’re proud of it. You’re serving your customers or clients. You’ve provided jobs to your employees and likely consider them part of your family. You also likely give back to your community in a number of ways. Your customers, employees, and the community would be significantly affected

Traditionally, many businesses are formed under a single company that owns all the business assets (including the real estate) and operates the business. This structure is simple and easy to manage. But, it does not take advantage of certain liability protections that might make an enormous difference for the business owner. This protection is primarily

It is often said that your purchase of real estate is one of the biggest investments you will ever make. This is true whether the property is your home, rental property, or your business location. Despite this truism, many people take a “head in the sand” approach to protecting their investment when finances are tight.

We never want to face the day where we can’t handle our own finances. But, planning can be done to make that process as smooth as possible for your loved ones. For example, a General Durable Power of Attorney names someone (referred to as “Agent”) to handle your financial affairs. Consider these tips for creating,

Business owners are faced with putting out fires each and every day. Since their time and resources are limited, they have to prioritize which ones are worth dealing with right then and there and which ones they should develop a plan or structure to put them out in the future. Legal “fires” for business owners