When most people hear the term “estate planning attorney”, they think of wills. Most people don’t really know that an estate planning lawyer in Michigan can help you with much more than just a will. In fact, even some attorneys don’t even know the ins and outs of what an estate planning attorney does Law Tutors.
When most people hear the term “estate planning attorney”, they think of wills.
Most people don’t really know that an estate planning lawyerin Michigan can help you with much more than just a will.
In fact, even some attorneys don’t even know the ins and outs of what an estate planning attorney does.
One of the great things about an estate planning attorney is that they tend to focus their practices on will, trust, and estate law because it is a very complex practice area.
A skilled estate planning attorney can help make their clients’ lives a lot easier.
Here, we’ll talk a little about what exactly an estate planning attorney in Michigan does.
We’ll also provide a few helpful tips for how to find the right estate planning attorney for your family.
Estate Planning Attorneys Do a Lot more to meets all of your needs
Most people think that all an estate attorney does is preparing your will.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, any decent estate planning attorney knows how to draft a will that meets all of your needs.
However, any estate planning lawyer worth his salt can also help you with the following:
Draft a last will and testament
Devise a variety of types of trusts including living trust, irrevocable trust, and special needs trust
Draw up a guardianship
Create your financial and medical power of attorney
Draft your living will
At any point in your life, you may need an attorney who can handle one or all of these different things.
Whether we like to accept it or not, we’re all going to pass away at some point.
We may also find ourselves dealing with a serious illness or mental disability.
If that happens, you’ll definitely need an estate planning attorney in Michigan.
How to Start Using Estate Lawyers Do Draft Wills
We’re all going to pass away at some point. It may not be for a long, long time.
But it’s better to draft an estate plan sooner rather than later. Accidents happen.
You want to make sure you protect your family.
Even if you don’t have a ton of assets, you want to make sure what you do have goes to your family according to your wishes.
A savvy Michigan estate planning attorney knows how to draft a comprehensive estate plan that wills that not only protect your family, but also optimize tax benefits.
Who Really Uses A Michigan Estate Planning Attorney
If you’ve ever been in the position where you have to decide whether to remove a family member from life support or not, then you know how hard this can be.
If your parent or grandparent is in an accident or is suffering from a terminal illness, you may have had to deal with this already.
If they’re on life support, you may be the one who has to decide when enough is enough.
Rather than put your children or spouse through this, it’s a good idea to have an estate planning attorney draft a living will for you.
This document outlines your wishes regarding what type of treatment you would and would not want if you were incapacitated and couldn’t communicate your wishes yourself.
It’s usually good to pair this document with a medical power of attorney as well so you can empower someone you trust to execute your wishes on your behalf.
While nobody ever wants to think about these things, it’s a good idea to plan ahead and have these documents drafted just in case.
An estate planning lawyer in Michigan can do this for you.
Facts About You May Need a Power of Attorney
Another thing an estate planning attorney can do is draft your financial and medical power of attorney.
Basically, a power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives another person power over your affairs.
A financial power of attorney gives someone you trust the power to make financial decisions on your behalf while a medical POA empowers them to make medical decisions.
There are all sorts of reasons why you may need one of these. Some of these may include:
You’re diagnosed with a serious illness
You’re leaving the country and need someone to handle your business and financial affairs
You fear you may become mentally incapacitated
You need someone to handle a single business transaction for you such as a real estate transaction
A competent estate planning lawyer in Michigan can draft a POA that suits all of your needs.
The Insider’s Guide to Estate Planning Attorneys Can Draft
There are all sorts of trusts and you may need one for a variety of reasons.
One of the most popular trusts used in estate planning is a living trust.
If you want to preserve the value of your estate and pass your assets on to your family in the most efficient way possible, you may want to create a living trust.
That’s because unlike a last will and testament, a living trust allows your family to avoid probate court when you pass away.
Probate can be a long and stressful experience for your family to have to endure during a time of mourning.
It’s also a public process which means your will and its contents become public.
Typically, the transfer of your assets happens much faster with a living trust and it takes place in a private setting.
These are some of the reasons why a living trust is so popular in Michigan and your estate planning attorney can handle drafting this for you.
Helpful Hints for Choosing the Right Estate Planning Attorney in Michigan
Before you hire an estate attorney, you should do your homework.
The documents they craft for you will be some of the most important documents you ever sign.
Make sure they’re experienced and focus their practice in will, trust, and estate law.