Highland Estate Lawyer, Michigan

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Caroline Danielle Bielas

Medicare & Medicaid, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Business
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  19 Years

Danielle P. Mccluskey

Landlord-Tenant, Traffic, Estate Planning, Reinsurance
Status:  In Good Standing           

Michael J. Hickox

Dispute Resolution, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Trusts
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  52 Years

Jack W. Bolling

Military, Medicare & Medicaid, Estate Planning, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  20 Years

Michael A. Hassan

Other, Litigation, Estate Planning, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  21 Years

Jodie M. Giles

Estate, Elder Law
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  21 Years

Steven J. Lebowski

Tax, Gift Taxation, Estate Planning, Estate
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  42 Years

Larry A. Keef

Estate Planning, Estate, Elder Law, Civil & Human Rights
Status:  In Good Standing           Licensed:  51 Years

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Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-943-8690

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Lawyer.com can help you easily and quickly find Highland Estate Lawyers and Highland Estate Law Firms. Refine your search by specific Estate practice areas such as Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills & Probate and Power of Attorney matters.

LEGAL TERMS

EXEMPTION TRUST

A bypass trust funded with an amount no larger than the personal federal estate tax exemption in the year of death. If the trust grantor leaves property worth m... (more...)
A bypass trust funded with an amount no larger than the personal federal estate tax exemption in the year of death. If the trust grantor leaves property worth more than that amount, it usually goes to the surviving spouse. The trust property passes free from estate tax because of the personal exemption, and the rest is shielded from tax under the surviving spouse's marital deduction.

SUMMARY PROBATE

A relatively simple probate proceeding available for 'small estates,' as that term is defined by state law. Every state's definition is different, and many are ... (more...)
A relatively simple probate proceeding available for 'small estates,' as that term is defined by state law. Every state's definition is different, and many are complicated, but a few examples include estates worth up to $100,000 in California; New York estates where property, excluding real estate and amounts that must be set aside for surviving family members, is worth $20,000 or less; and Texas estates where the value of property doesn't exceed what is needed to pay a family allowance and certain creditors.

CREDIT SHELTER TRUST

See AB trust.

PROVING A WILL

Convincing a probate court that a document is truly the deceased person's will. Usually this is a simple formality that the executor or administrator easily sat... (more...)
Convincing a probate court that a document is truly the deceased person's will. Usually this is a simple formality that the executor or administrator easily satisfies by showing that the will was signed and dated by the deceased person in front of two or more witnesses. When the will is holographic -- that is, completely handwritten by the deceased and not witnessed, it is still valid in many states if the executor can produce relatives and friends to testify that the handwriting is that of the deceased.

QDOT TRUST

A trust used to postpone estate tax when more than the amount of the personal federal estate tax exemption is left to a non-U.S. citizen spouse by the other spo... (more...)
A trust used to postpone estate tax when more than the amount of the personal federal estate tax exemption is left to a non-U.S. citizen spouse by the other spouse. QDOT stands for qualified domestic trust.

ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY

A person, organization or institution that receives property through a will, trust or insurance policy when the first named beneficiary is unable or refuses to ... (more...)
A person, organization or institution that receives property through a will, trust or insurance policy when the first named beneficiary is unable or refuses to take the property. For example, in his will Jake leaves his collection of sheet music to his daughter, Mia, and names the local symphony as alternate beneficiary. When Jake dies, Mia decides that the symphony can make better use of the sheet music than she can, so she refuses (disclaims) the gift, and the manuscripts pass directly to the symphony. In insurance law, the alternate beneficiary, usually the person who receives the insurance proceeds because the initial or primary beneficiary has died, is called the secondary or contingent beneficiary.

PROBATE

The court process following a person's death that includes proving the authenticity of the deceased person's will appointing someone to handle the deceased pers... (more...)
The court process following a person's death that includes proving the authenticity of the deceased person's will appointing someone to handle the deceased person's affairs identifying and inventorying the deceased person's property paying debts and taxes identifying heirs, and distributing the deceased person's property according to the will or, if there is no will, according to state law. Formal court-supervised probate is a costly, time-consuming process -- a windfall for lawyers -- which is best avoided if possible.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

All property other than land and buildings attached to land. Cars, bank accounts, wages, securities, a small business, furniture, insurance policies, jewelry, p... (more...)
All property other than land and buildings attached to land. Cars, bank accounts, wages, securities, a small business, furniture, insurance policies, jewelry, patents, pets and season baseball tickets are all examples of personal property. Personal property may also be called personal effects, movable property, goods and chattel, and personalty. Compare real estate.

RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES

An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For examp... (more...)
An exceedingly complex legal doctrine that limits the amount of time that property can be controlled after death by a person's instructions in a will. For example, a person would not be allowed to leave property to her husband for his life, then to her children for their lives, then to her grandchildren. The gift would potentially go to the grandchildren at a point too remote in time.

SAMPLE LEGAL CASES

In re Kostin Estate

In Docket No. 272767, respondent Camille A. Kent appeals as of right the probate court's judgment and order following a bench trial, interpreting a will and trust, determining heirs and devisees, and determining title to property after decedent Juanita Kostin's death in 2004. ...

In re Nestorovski Estate

723 Payne, Broder & Fossee (by Andrew J. Broder) and Underwood & March (by Lauren M. Underwood), Bingham Farms, for the petitioner. ... Kemp Klein Law Firm, PC (by Alan A. May and Debra Nance), Troy, for the respondent. ... Before: SAAD, CJ, and BORRELLO and ...

In re Rudell Estate

During her lifetime, the decedent owned a certain parcel of residential real property located at 1170 Chesterfield in Birmingham, Michigan (the property). In 1982, the decedent properly transferred ownership of the property to the trust. According to the complaint filed in this matter, the ...