Bloomfield Hills, MI, Estate Planning

Bingham Legal Group PC is an estate planning firm serving Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. We can help you create an estate plan tailored to your needs, protecting your assets from probate while meeting your needs here and now. Our attorneys have deep knowledge and experience of Michigan probate law and are skilled at finding creative solutions to estate planning problems.

All families are unique, and not all families fit the traditional mold of a father, a mother, and kids. If your family doesn’t look like everyone else’s, you may have unique estate planning needs. Our attorneys know how to create the perfect estate plan for any family, whether you’re a traditional family, a same-sex couple, a grandparent who has adopted your grandchildren, non-married partners, or any other family. If you need to put together a comprehensive estate plan in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, contact Bingham Legal Group PC today.

Estate Planning Services We Offer Bloomfield Hills Residents

An estate plan is much more than just a will and a trust. A comprehensive plan should address how your assets will be passed down to your heirs, who will make your financial and medical decisions if you become incapacitated, how you will pay for your long-term care, and other contingencies.

Estate planning services we provide in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, include:

• Drafting a legally valid will that expresses your wishes clearly and appoints a trusted personal representative to administer your estate
• Creating trusts to keep your assets out of probate, protect them from creditors, use them to provide for a family member with special needs, or fund charities that are important to you
• Using a power of attorney form to appoint a financial agent if you become incapacitated
• Using a designation of patient advocate form to appoint an agent to make medical decisions for you if needed
• Helping you plan for your long-term care expenses
• Modifying an existing estate plan
• Crafting an estate plan for all kinds of nontraditional families and individuals

Writing a Will

Even people with extensive assets sometimes neglect to write a will, causing everything they own to pass to their heirs according to Michigan’s intestate succession laws. While these laws will ensure that your spouse and your children inherit from your estate, most people would rather have more control over their assets than that.

Some people write a will but aren’t careful to write it clearly and unambiguously. This can lead to trouble, as one of your heirs might interpret a passage differently than another of your heirs would, leading to hard feelings or even probate litigation.

Some people appoint a personal representative without giving enough thought to their qualifications. An executor needs to be someone you can trust to administer your estate and have the knowledge, skills, and experience to do so successfully.

Our skilled estate planning lawyers can help you avoid all these problems by writing a legally valid will that expresses your wishes clearly and unambiguously and appoints a competent and trustworthy executor for your estate.

Trusts in Michigan

A will is only the first step in a comprehensive estate plan. The next step is to create one or more trusts to protect your assets and achieve other goals. Common trusts in Michigan include:

• Revocable living trusts. These allow you to retain control over your assets and change or cancel the trust if you need to do so.
• Irrevocable trusts. These can protect your assets from creditors and reduce the taxes your estate will need to pay after your death.
• Charitable trusts. These allow you to leave some of your assets to a chosen charity.
• Special needs trusts. These can provide income for a family member with special needs without affecting their eligibility for government benefits.

Ask your estate planning lawyer how to use trusts to keep assets out of probate, save money on estate taxes, and achieve other important goals.

Power of Attorney in Michigan

Most people don’t like to think about the prospect of becoming incapacitated due to health issues or a serious accident. However, it’s much better to think about that prospect ahead of time than to leave your family members to make decisions for you without knowing what you would have wanted.

Even in extreme circumstances, you can retain some control by giving your chosen agents power of attorney in the event you ever become incapacitated. An executed financial power of attorney form will give an agent the authority to make decisions about your bank accounts, investments, and real estate if you are unable to. You can use a designation of patient advocate form to do the same for your healthcare decisions. If you appoint a trusted agent, such as your spouse, and explain your wishes to them ahead of time, you can protect your family from what would otherwise be a stressful and challenging situation.

Long-Term Care Planning

Do you have a plan for your long-term care? Nursing homes can be expensive, and the best nursing homes are extraordinarily so. An experienced estate planning law firm can help you plan for these expenses, so they don’t financially burden your family or drain your estate. Talk to our estate planning attorneys about long-term care planning strategies.

Estate Planning for Nontraditional Families in Bloomfield Hills, MI

The law tends to assume that all families are the same, consisting of a married couple with children. Reality isn’t always like that. What can you do if your family doesn’t fit the mold? Nontraditional families include:

• Same-sex couples
• Families with adopted children
• Grandparents raising their grandchildren
• Unmarried couples
• Families led by aunts or uncles rather than parents
• Families that adopt in adulthood
• Individuals

Nontraditional families may have specific estate planning needs that traditional families wouldn’t have. If your family is nontraditional in any way, talk to your estate planning attorneys about how to account for your unique needs.

Modifying an Existing Estate Plan

What if you need to modify an existing estate plan? Perhaps you want to change your approach to asset protection, add or remove a beneficiary, or address a change in your life circumstances. You should always take a fresh look at your estate plan after major changes, such as:

• Selling your home
• Adding new family members
• Experiencing a death in the family
• Receiving a major medical diagnosis

If you need to modify an existing estate plan, an estate planning lawyer serving Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, can help.

Contact an Estate Planning Lawyer Serving Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Today

Estate planning is the process of preparing for contingencies. Protecting your assets, avoiding probate, protecting your assets from taxes as much as possible, taking care of your loved ones, and planning for your own healthcare as you age are all aspects of a well-crafted estate plan. With the help of an experienced estate planning law firm, you can make yourself ready for whatever comes next.

Bingham Legal Group PC is an estate planning law firm serving Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Our legal team has over 60 years of combined experience solving estate planning problems just like yours. No matter how complex your estate is or how unique your legal situation may be, we can help. If you need estate planning services in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, contact Bingham Legal Group PC today.