An Estate Planning Lawyer in Jennison, MI Can Preserve Your Assets for Your Heirs According to Your Wishes

by | Dec 21, 2013 | Bankruptcy Law

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An estate plan is a comprehensive plan for the most efficient protection and disposition of a decedent’s assets. One objective of an estate plan is to minimize taxes. Another important objective is to ensure that the assets of the estate go where the decedent intended them to go.

Without an estate plan or a will, the assets will be divided up according to Michigan law. It is unlikely that the assets will be dispersed as the decedent would have wanted. There are more costs involved when the estate has to be probated under Michigan law because a will or an estate plan has not been created. So, if you have not created one the state has one for you. An estate planning lawyer in Jenison MI can advise you about the consequences of not having an estate plan.

A comprehensive estate plan will stipulate the following:

  • How your valuables are to be distributed.
  • It will provide how you are to be cared for if you cannot take care of yourself.
  • Provide care for family members who need special help.
  • Provide for the handling of money for family members who are too young to do so for themselves.
  • It will provide for the disposition of your life insurance.
  • Provide for an orderly transfer of your business when necessary.
  • Minimize all costs including taxes.
  • To be updated when life changes dictate a different plan is required.

The legal mechanisms that handle these and all other issues are either a living trust or an irrevocable trust. Occasionally a will may handle the concerns of a person before they die. There may be other appropriate documents that an estate planning lawyer in Jenison MI can recommend.

A durable power of attorney may also be useful because it provides for others to act on your behalf if you should be unable to do so. This authority can cover medical decisions, the handling of bank accounts, trading stock, transferring or selling real estate, prevent resuscitation, and control burial plans. The durable power of attorney can be as broad or as limited as the maker wants it to be.

Assets including life insurance proceeds can be controlled by a trust and disbursed by a trust officer according to the trust. This is a good plan to control how the assets of the estate are to be administered.

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