Estate planning isn't really about paperwork. It's about giving your family a clear path forward instead of a mess to clean up. We help Michigan families put plans in place that hold up over time, through new marriages, growing children, real estate, business changes, and everything else life brings, so the people you love receive what you intended, when you intended, with as little stress as possible.
What a complete Michigan estate plan looks like
Most clients come in thinking they just need "a will." The right answer is usually a little more than that, not because we're trying to sell you anything, but because one document can't cover both the certain (the day you pass away) and the increasingly common (an illness or injury that leaves you unable to make your own decisions for a stretch of time). A complete plan typically includes a handful of pieces that work together:
- Last Will and Testament, names who you trust to wrap up your affairs, who should raise your minor children, and who receives what.
- Living Trust, a private structure that holds your assets and passes them along without probate, while also covering you if you ever can't manage things yourself.
- Financial Power of Attorney, lets a trusted person handle bills, accounts, and financial decisions if you can't.
- Healthcare Directive, names who speaks for you with doctors and hospitals, and writes down your wishes about medical care.
- Medical Records Authorization, gives the people you trust access to your medical information when they need it.
- Property Deeds, the right kind of deed for the right situation, so your home transfers the way you want.
- Beneficiary Review, retirement accounts, life insurance, and pay-on-death accounts pass outside your will, so they have to line up with the rest of your plan.
An estate plan works as a system. If one piece is missing or pointed at the wrong person, the whole plan can break down. Many of the worst situations we see in probate court started with a perfectly valid will that was quietly contradicted by an old retirement account beneficiary form no one had updated.
Will-based vs. trust-based planning
The most common question we get is simple: do I need a will or a trust? The honest answer depends on your family and your goals, but here's a side-by-side look at how the two compare:
| Consideration | Will-based plan | Living trust plan |
|---|---|---|
| Avoids probate court | × Probate required | ✓ Probate avoided when set up correctly |
| Privacy | × Becomes public record | ✓ Stays private |
| If you become unable to manage your affairs | ~ Needs separate documents | ✓ Built into the trust |
| Real estate, including out-of-state property | × May require court in each state | ✓ Handled in one place |
| Minor children, blended family, special needs | ~ Limited flexibility | ✓ Built-in protections and staged gifts |
| Up-front cost | $ Lower | $$ Higher, often offset by avoiding probate |
| Best when | Very simple situation, modest assets, no real estate | Most families with a home or meaningful savings |
For most families with a home, retirement savings, and a desire to keep things private, a properly drafted and funded living trust is the better tool. The word "funded" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and it's where most online and template plans fall short.
The Lady Bird deed: a Michigan specialty
Michigan is one of only a few states that allows a tool clients often ask about by name: the Lady Bird deed. Used correctly, it lets a homeowner:
- Stay in complete control of the home during life, including the right to sell, refinance, or change their mind about who inherits it
- Pass the home to a chosen person at death without going through probate
- Preserve favorable tax treatment for the family member who eventually inherits
- Often avoid a jump in property taxes that would otherwise hit certain transfers
- Often protect eligibility for long-term care benefits, though the timing and details matter
The Lady Bird deed is a powerful tool, but it isn't a substitute for a full estate plan and it isn't right for every family. We use it where it fits, not as a default answer.
Planning for the unexpected
If you can't speak for yourself, even temporarily, your family's only option without good documents in place is going to court to ask a judge to appoint someone. That process is public, slow, expensive, and sometimes contentious. It can also leave your medical and financial decisions in the hands of someone you wouldn't have chosen.
A complete plan addresses this head-on, with documents that name your people in advance:
- Financial Power of Attorney, lets a person you trust step in to handle bills, accounts, and other money matters if you can't, with the limits and timing you choose
- Healthcare Decision-Maker, names who can speak with doctors and make medical decisions on your behalf
- Healthcare Wishes, your written guidance on the kinds of care you do and don't want, including end-of-life decisions
- Medical Records Access, so the people you trust can actually get information from your providers when they need it
Common situations we help with
New parents
If you have young children, naming a guardian and setting up how money should be managed for them is the single most important reason to put a plan in place. Without one, those decisions get made by a judge instead of by you.
Blended families
Second marriages with children from earlier relationships are one of the trickier areas in estate planning. Default inheritance rules can produce results no one in the family actually wanted. We design plans that protect both your current spouse and your children from a prior relationship, so everyone is taken care of the way you intend.
Business owners
If you own a business, your estate plan and your succession plan are really the same plan. Ownership transfers, partner agreements, key-person insurance, and the way your trust holds the business all need to line up. We handle them together rather than as two separate projects.
For Michigan business owners, the estate plan and the succession plan are the same plan, drafted at the same desk.
Practice noteLoved ones with special needs
Leaving money outright to a person who relies on need-based government benefits can accidentally disqualify them. A properly built special-needs trust preserves both the inheritance and the benefits. This is detailed work that has to be done right the first time, and we walk families through it carefully.
Retirees and families with significant assets
Federal estate tax only affects a small percentage of families today, and the rules change every few years. We help clients above and below the current limits plan for both possibilities, with strategies that can include lifetime gifting, trusts designed to keep wealth in the family, and ways to leave flexibility built into the plan.
What it costs, and why we quote flat fees
We don't bill estate planning by the hour. You shouldn't have to wonder whether the clock is running every time you have a question. After your consultation, we send you a written scope and a single flat fee that covers drafting, review, signing, and the work needed to actually put your plan into effect. Typical ranges:
- Will-based plan, covers a will, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and a focused consultation.
- Trust-based plan, adds a living trust, the documents that work alongside it, a deed for your home where appropriate, and a review of your beneficiary designations.
- More involved plans, like those involving a business or complex family situation, are quoted individually once we understand the picture.
If your situation calls for a more advanced strategy, we'll tell you that during the consultation, along with what it costs and what it actually accomplishes, so you can decide with full information.
Our process for estate planning clients
- Discovery (free, about 45 minutes), we get to know your family, your assets, and what you want to accomplish.
- Recommendation and quote, a written scope, timeline, and flat fee, usually sent within one business day.
- Drafting, first drafts ready in a couple of weeks, with a plain-English summary so you actually understand what you're reading.
- Review meeting, we walk through every document together at our Okemos office, and revisions are included.
- Signing, at our office, with witnesses and notary handled for you.
- Putting the plan into effect, we help retitle assets, record deeds, and update beneficiary forms, and we document everything we do.
- Aftercare, periodic reminders to review your plan, and a standing invitation to call us whenever life changes.
A full review of your situation, an honest answer about whether you need a plan right now, and, if you do, a written quote within one business day. No obligation, nothing to pay for the meeting.
Common mistakes we fix
- Trusts that were never finished, beautifully written documents with no assets actually moved into them. We finish the job.
- Outdated beneficiary forms, a retirement account that still names an ex-spouse can override even the best will.
- Missing planning for incapacity, a will doesn't help while you're alive but unable to make decisions.
- DIY documents, Michigan has specific signing and witnessing rules, and problems often don't surface until it's too late to fix them.
- Plans that contradict each other, where one document says one thing and another says something different, leaving your family stuck in the middle.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a will and a living trust in Michigan?
A will takes effect at death and has to go through Michigan probate court before your wishes can be carried out. A living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and passes them to your loved ones without probate, with built-in protections if you ever can't manage things yourself. For most families with a home, a trust-based plan offers a much smoother outcome. For very simple situations, a will may be enough.
How much does an estate plan cost in Michigan?
Most foundational plans at our firm are flat-fee. Will-based plans typically run a few hundred dollars; trust-based plans typically run in the low thousands. More involved situations like blended families, businesses, or special-needs planning are quoted individually after a consultation. We always confirm pricing in writing before you commit to anything.
What is a Lady Bird deed, and should I use one?
A Lady Bird deed lets you stay in full control of your home during your life while passing it automatically to a chosen person at death, outside probate. It often preserves favorable property-tax treatment and can help with long-term care planning. It's a powerful tool, but not the right answer in every situation, so we evaluate it as part of the bigger picture.
What happens if I die without a will in Michigan?
Michigan law decides who inherits, and the result is rarely what most families would have chosen. This shows up most often in blended-family situations, where a spouse or stepchildren can be left out in ways no one expected. Probate is also slower and more expensive when there's no clear plan in place.
How often should I update my estate plan?
We recommend a review every few years, and any time something big happens in your life: marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the loss of someone named in your plan, a meaningful change in your finances, buying or selling a business, or a move to or from Michigan.
What does it mean to "fund" a trust?
Funding means actually moving your assets, like your home, accounts, and beneficiary designations, into your trust's name or pointing them at the trust. An unfunded trust is just paper. We don't consider an estate plan complete until funding is finished, and we walk through it with you instead of handing over a checklist.
Can you help with out-of-state property or family in other states?
Yes. We regularly coordinate Michigan plans with property in other states and family members who live elsewhere. For high-value real estate in another state, we partner with local counsel where it makes sense.
Ready to put a plan in place?
Whether you're starting from scratch or updating a plan you signed years ago, the first step is a consultation. You'll leave with clear answers, a written quote if you want to proceed, and absolutely no pressure either way.