After you pass on, it is a normal part of the estate administration process for your assets to be distributed to your heirs. This should happen whether or not you wrote a will or designated a trust fund for your loved ones. You may have heard stories about what can happen if your estate goes into probate. Like many Detroit residents, you may wish to avoid the hassle and tension of probate for your heirs whenever possible. It can help to understand how the probate process works.
Is probate always a bad thing?
Avoid family squabbles with proper estate planning in Michigan
An important part of estate planning is to make sure that your wishes are kept following your death. As our team at Bingham Legal Group PC knows, another part is to make the task of allocating your assets easier on your family. Too often, someone passes away without a proper plan in place, and survivors end up arguing over who receives what.
I'm a beneficiary of a trust. Can I contest it?
You've probably heard of a will contest: A beneficiary of a will or another party goes to court in an attempt to prove the will is invalid. There are several good reasons for doing so. A party might have access to a will that was written later than the one being probated. A beneficiary might argue that the deceased was not in sound mind when the will was written. There might be allegations that a caregiver pressured the deceased person into revising the will. Whatever the situation, attorneys for the disputing parties can resolve the issue out of court or seek a ruling from a judge.
I didn't include a HIPAA release in my estate plan. What now?
Our estate planning tools have been developed and refined over the course of centuries, but that does not mean there is nothing new to consider. In fact, even a carefully considered, well-drafted estate plan should be reviewed from time to time, even if you're not sure your position has changed.
Avoid will contests by ensuring capacity
The point of making a will is to transfer assets to your beneficiaries in the manner you choose. If the will is contested and possibly nullified in probate, it renders the entire effort worthless.
What are trusts and their benefits?
With estate planning in Michigan, you have many choices when it comes to the legacy you wish to leave to your loved ones. You might want to make sure your grandchildren's college tuition is taken care of. Perhaps one of your relatives is a disabled person and you want to be sure he or she is provided for. You could also be concerned about how the assets you leave to your beneficiaries are handled. Establishing a trust for your heirs could be an effective option for any of these situations, as well as others.
Can I include my pet in my Michigan estate plan?
Good news for pet owners: You can make plans for your animal friends when you are putting together your estate plan. While you cannot leave money to an animal, you can make sure that your pet is taken care of in the event that you pass away.
