What is Michigan Probate? 

This is our definition, and the true reality:

“Probate is a lawsuit you file against yourself, with your own money, on behalf of your creditors.”

The Facts...

Probate is the legal process of presenting your Will to the Court after your death to authenticate it, and appoint your Executor/Personal Representative. Your Executor/Personal Representative must be appointed by the Court in order to collect and distribute your assets as stated in your Will.

However, because it is a legal process, there are many steps that must be followed before your Executor can be appointed. 

• The Michigan probate process requires a Personal Representative be appointed - even in simple and/or uncontested cases.  
• The Personal Representative must file numerous forms, follow an extensive and somewhat complicated process, and pay attention to deadlines and criteria throughout the entire process.  Most people find this to be exhausting, confusing,...

It’s never easy to watch our parents get older and lose the capabilities to do certain tasks independently. It’s even harder for those whose parents have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia while raising a young family of your own simultaneously. Not only does this diagnosis guarantee a parent’s eventual loss of skills and independence, but it could also mean a loss of personality traits and characteristics of the person who raised them.

Below is a letter I think unfortunately many of us can relate too. Written by a member of the Sandwich Generation to sociologist and coach Christine Carter about her struggles with feeling overwhelmed, sad, and stuck.

“My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago, just before I got pregnant with my second daughter. I was fortunate to have a stellar short-term therapist available through a pregnancy program at work to help me come to grips with my mom’s...

How old should you be before you get powers of attorney? In this video, I was inspired right after leaving a court hearing to answer this VERY important question about why it may not be when, or why, you think.

Use The Amazing Legal Tools Available To Protect Yourself, and Those You Love. 

How?  Contact us Today: (248)278-1511

Prefer to read this information? Below is the video transcript.

So how old should you be before you have a power of attorney?

Hi, I'm Nicole Wipp, the founder and lead attorney of the Family and Aging Law Center.

I'm sitting here in my car after I literally just got out of court in that building right there today, and I got so inspired to make this video because of what happened in court today.

You know, the reason that I was there is because I was representing a woman that is younger than me. She has a husband that got in a terrible car accident, and now is completely unable to make any decisions for himself related to finances and related...

Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trusts With David Zumpano (Part 1)

What is an irrevocable pure grantor trust, and why would someone want one? In this episode, David Zumpano, a nationally recognized expert on asset protection, estate planning & elder law, discusses with our attorney Nicole Wipp, this little known (although widely used) trust – what it is, why we use it, and who it is for.

In Part One You Will Learn:

• about the goal of helping a loved one to protect their autonomy
• why people end up in nursing homes (how failing to plan makes this more likely)
• why retirement isn’t necessarily what you think it is
• why we want to engage in an asset protection strategy for financial security in our later years
• what is an irrevocable pure grantor trust, and how it differs from tax trusts and revocable living trusts
• the history of trusts and what they were traditionally used for (tax trusts – the “traditional” irrevocable trust – no access, no control, no...

What Are the Rules for Medicaid Qualification (Part 5)?

As in part four of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue....

Do I Have to Wait 60 Months?

The Asset Transfer "Box”

Many people believe that if you give your assets away, you must wait 60 months to qualify for Medicaid. This is not the case. The 60 month requirement only applies to the financial disclosure you must provide, not eligibility.

Think of it this way: When you go to apply for Medicaid, imagine you’re bringing a box with you. In that box is every financial transaction you’ve made for the previous 60 months. That is all you need to provide – if you made a transaction 61 months ago, it’s not...

Revocable Living Trusts (Part 1) With Nicole Wipp

How Do Revocable Living Trusts Work?

In this episode, host Nicole Wipp discusses what a “RLT” is and the importance of “funding your trust” – a commonly missed step.

You will learn:

• What the primary purposes of revocable living trusts are
• What a revocable living trust does NOT do for you
• Common misunderstandings as to how this trust works
• What trust funding is and why it is critically important

This is Part 1 of a two-part series on Revocable Living Trusts. To listen to Part 2, click here.

Be a SMART PLANNER!

Contact Us Today at (248) 278-1511. We Can Help.

To learn more about Elderly Care, Click Here. 

The information in this podcast is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For advice, specific to your situation, consult with a qualified attorney.

As in part two of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue....

PROPERTY LIENS

In addition, the state can place a lien on an unmarried Medicaid recipient’s home, unless certain dependent relatives live on the premises or the state permits a “Homestead Exemption”.

Sale of the property, while the person receiving Medicaid is still living, could result in the loss of Medicaid coverage (due to excessive assets) and an obligation to use the sale proceeds to satisfy the lien that Medicaid places against the home.

There are exceptions to this rule. Satisfaction of the lien is not required if the applicant returns home prior to their death or one or more of the following...

What Are the Rules for Medicaid Qualification (Part 2)?

As in Part One of our series, your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general federal guidelines for Medicaid qualification that apply everywhere.

Let's Continue....

ESTATE RECOVERY

What happens to a Medicaid recipient’s estate when he or she passes away? Like so much else, that depends on whether they have properly planned to protect it.

When a Medicaid recipient dies, the state may attempt to recover the benefits paid to that individual from his or her estate – that is a requirement under federal Medicaid law. However, the state cannot proceed with this recovery process if any of the following applies:

• if the recipient’s spouse is still living
• if the recipient has a child under age 21
• if the recipient has a...

What Are the Rules for Medicaid Qualification (Part 1)?

Medicaid is a federal program that provides health coverage for people with limited assets and incomes. It covers the cost of nursing home care for those who meet the program’s economic requirements for eligibility, and in several states, it will also pay for care in your home!

Though it’s a federal program, Medicaid is administered by the states. Federal law empowers each state to enforce Medicaid eligibility rules according to its own interpretation. This means that application of these rules can vary significantly from state to state and, in some states, from county to county. Qualification for care in your home is also different for qualifying for care in a nursing home.

Your Medicaid planning advisor can best help you determine how the rules apply to your specific circumstances in your specific locality. Before you get into the specifics, however, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the general...

Most people, when thinking about estate planning, are focusing on what happens when they die.

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

There are many legal tools that can be used to enhance the quality of your life and to reduce the burden to your family when disability – which is inevitable for most of us – happens.  It is also important to understand that the right kind of estate planning may be a necessary component in ensuring that your spouse or children “left behind” are not left in poverty or overwhelmed. 

The first step in estate planning is education. One of the biggest challenges I face as an attorney is making people understand that things they “think they know” aren’t necessarily true.  When it comes to estate planning – What you don’t know can hurt you.

Provided within the Family & Aging Law Center Blog, we're looking at some aspects of how estate planning works. Hopefully,...