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Questions Answered by Trent Harris
2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Probate for Michigan on
Q: How do I obtain a deed for my property?

New house owned 36 years. I do not recall any deed information.

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on May 9, 2023

If your deed was recorded, you can buy a copy from the office of the Register of Deeds for the county where the property was located. If the deed was not recorded, then you may have a problem. You would need to contact the seller if they are alive to get a deed, or possibly the seller's estate... Read more »

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Banking and Real Estate Law for Michigan on
Q: Can I have savings, checking in my name only without affecting mortgage? Husband passed, accounts are with same bank.
Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on May 5, 2023

Not sure what you mean by "without affecting mortgage." It's not clear why it would matter to your mortgage whose names are on your bank accounts. In most cases a mortgage lender has no requirements of someone maintaining specific bank accounts while the mortgage is outstanding,... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: As an Executor of wills and estate can i forbid entry to a house until that estate is settled?

This conserns a resident of the house, an inlaw, with sketchy and or shady friends and i do not want things coming up missing before estate disbursment

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Apr 27, 2023

The short answer is, yes, you have the right to control access to the house as executor of the estate, subject to two caveats:

(1) you don't have authority to do that unless you have letters of authority from the probate court; and

(2) your right to exclude others on on behalf...
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2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Michigan on
Q: Can a court ordered nursing home patient guardian sell there property if there is a beneficiary?

Grandma past away, her husband is in a nursing home. His guardian is selling there property, can they legally do that if there is a beneficiary?

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Apr 21, 2023

By beneficiary, I'm assuming you mean there is someone named on the deed who is supposed to get the property when husband passes away.

The short answer to your question is yes, a court appointed guardian or conservator could sell the house with approval of the probate court. That...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Collections and Probate for Michigan on
Q: My mother passed in Sept of 2021, in April 2023 a medical bill came for services in June 2020. Do we pay it?

A death notice was posted in the paper and since it was over a year I thought their claim to any estate was over.

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Apr 18, 2023

It depends what you mean by "death notice" in a paper. If you mean an obituary, that is not enough. On the other hand, if by "death notice was posted in the paper" you mean a notice to creditors was published in the newspaper by a personal representative under MCL 700.3801 or a... Read more »

2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Michigan on
Q: Mother recently passed. Estate qualifies for small estate administration in Michigan using Assignment of Property.

There are significant assets that will transfer outside of probate (trust, POD). Is an Order for Assignment of Property sufficient when dealing with miscellaneous entities (post office, locksmiths, utilities, etc)? Or is it advisable to go for Informal Administration. Affairs were not complex -... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Apr 14, 2023

A petition and order for assignment is one of two Michigan small-estate procedures that can be used when a deceased's probate property is less than $27,000. The other is an affidavit for delivery of certain assets to decedent's successor. You would only use these procedures if the... Read more »

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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: I am the remainderman under a lady bird deed. Do I only inherit the house?

Michigan. Items were taken by the police, am I entitled to them or do I have to file a probate claim?

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Apr 10, 2023

A lady bird deed is only effective to convey real estate. For the other items, they would need to be left to you in a will, or trust, or they would need to be yours under the laws of intestate succession if there is no will or trust. Probate may or may not be necessary depending on the... Read more »

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: This is related to an estate sale

We made a verbal agreement (nothing has been signed) with a person to do an estate sale after our father passed away. The workers she had coming in to help unpack boxes, wanted the guns and ammunition removed from the home because it made them nervous. When we asked the estate sale person about the... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Apr 9, 2023

Since you do not have a written contract, it is unclear what your legal rights actually are. Maybe you should ask this estate sale auctioneer for a written contract, and for the auctioneer to refrain from selling any more items without that. If you want to approve the price of items or reserve... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Tax Law and Probate for Michigan on
Q: I inherited over $170K in U.S.Savings bonds.Which have been redeemed Do I have to pay tax on all the interest as income?

Or do these fall under the step up basis? Like real estate.

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Mar 29, 2023

Good question. Whether you must pay income tax on your inheritance of US Savings Bonds depends on your individual tax situation, and can't be answered in this forum or given the limited information here. You should consult a CPA or tax attorney for more information. You can also find some... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Probate and Family Law for Michigan on
Q: I need to know what paperwork I need to file to get guardianship of my developmentally challenged 32 yr old daughter.

My daughter has been on SSI sense age 16 and is cognitively impaired . Her mom is her payee because she is incapable of handling her own finance's, she is being manipulated by a boyfriend that she's had for about 4 months now and he wants control of her finances and they are both addicts... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Mar 27, 2023

If you are the parent of someone who is unable to handle his or her own affairs, you can file a petition for guardianship, and if there are assets that need protection, you can also file a petition for conservatorship. A guardian and conservator is someone who is appointed by the court to be... Read more »

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: My sister died intestate. Can your lawyer represent her destitute son to settle her estate?

He is not mentally able to handle her estate, nor is his brother (who is also homeless).

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Mar 15, 2023

Yes, a lawyer can represent a person with diminished mental capacity, if the person consents. Under the rules of ethics a lawyer should take whatever steps are necessary to allow a person with diminished capacity to participate in the representation as much as they are capable of doing.

A...
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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Real Estate Law for Michigan on
Q: Must a simple trust be closed within 2 years of the grantor's death? I saw a question about this on the IRS form 1041.

My late parents made me trustee and requested (in writing) that my siblings and I hold onto their farmland for 5 years before selling. But I saw a question on the IRS 1041 this year asking whether the trust has been in existence for 2 years or longer (and to justify why). Is there a federal or... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Mar 9, 2023

No, a simple trust does not have to be closed within 2 years of the grantor's death. But it appears you may have misread the question on IRS Form 1041. On 2022 IRS Form 1041 page 3, at question 8, it asks "If the decedent’s estate has been open for more than 2 years, attach an... Read more »

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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Michigan on
Q: What happens in a probate case in which I’m considered an interested person?

I’m considered a person of interest in a probate case and a relative has been asking a mutual family friend to help get me to sign papers for my deceased grandparents property. I’m not interested in this property at all, however I refuse to speak to nor cooperate with this relative simply... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Feb 17, 2023

An "interested person" under Michigan law is someone who is entitled to notice in a probate case for due process reasons. Interested persons are notified of the proceedings so they can participate in the process if they want to.

From your question it sounds like you don't...
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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Michigan on
Q: My mother passed away last week with no will. She was not married and I have 2 younger sisters. How do I become executor

My mother died last week and lived in an apartment above her married boyfriends garage. He claims she had previously given him authority over everything in the event of her death and that he couldn't find the paper. He has thus far managed to make all the arrangements, have her body moved to... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Jan 16, 2023

First, I'm sorry for your loss. You may or may not need to become executor of your mother's estate. In Michigan, the executor is called the personal representative of the estate. You may wish to seek appointment as personal representative of the estate if your mother had assets which... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: Clarification of requirements to properly settle affairs of second to die spouse with A/B trust.

Scenario is settling affairs of second to die spouse with A/B trust in place along with pour-over will, and personal property transfer document. First settlor died 15 years ago, second settlor is still alive.

Irrevocable portion of trust currently contains properly titled real property and... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Dec 21, 2022

It sounds like you are on the right track, based on what information you provided in your question. The decision whether probate is necessary usually hinges on whether there are any assets which require probate administration. Opening a probate estate is sometimes done even if there are not assets,... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: My nephew died Intestate. His wife filed for informal probate & lied many times on the application. What can be done?

They never shared a marital home he lived with my mother the entire time. She chose to live with her ex-husband and their two youngest children. Unfortunately, my nephew died in the hospital not because of the treatment the doctors were giving him, but because of his lifestyle the treatments... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Nov 21, 2022

Certain people have the right to participate in probate court proceedings for a decedent estate. These people are called "interested persons" as defined by Michigan law. For example, a deceased person's spouse is an interested person. If the deceased person had any surviving... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Family Law for Michigan on
Q: Will my brother and I be responsible for payments to estate lawyer who only works for older sibling now?

Father passed away and us 3 siblings had an estate lawyer and were dealing with things. Older sibling got nasty and greedy and was able to take our original estate lawyer and come at us. We now have our own lawyer to represent our interests, but we are worried that the older sibling is abusing time... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Oct 12, 2022

First, you have your own lawyer - why not ask him or her this question?

Second, your personal liability to the attorney for attorney fees is a matter of contract. It depends on whether you and the brother signed a retainer agreement with the attorney agreeing to pay the attorney's...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: My father-in-law recently passed away there was no will If one child’s name was put on as beneficiary to the bank accoun

Does that legally mean it’s just her money or would that money have to go into an estate and be split

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Oct 6, 2022

Bank accounts that have a payable on death beneficiary designation on them pass outside of probate. That means if your father-in-law named someone as a beneficiary to his bank account, the money belongs to that person, and that person alone, upon your father-in-law's death. That person (she?)... Read more »

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: How can I get proof my brother and sister have poa and are trustees for her trust for my mother.

I have asked to see them but they have refused to show the documents to me

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Sep 30, 2022

Your brother and sister have no obligation to share your mother's power of attorney or your mother's trust with you in a strict legal sense. If your mother is living, then it is likely the trust is revocable and she is the only present beneficiary of the trust, and no one else is entitled... Read more »

3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: Is a Notice to Creditors required for a person who dies who has ONLY a Trust and no will on file at probate court?

My mother is 97yo. She has no property that she owns and no car. She is in hospice and close to death. Her assets include only 3 POD CDs, a checking account (current values < $50,000 for monthly recurring bills; one credit card with a balance of < $100; a Savings account of just over $1,000;... Read more »

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Sep 22, 2022

Respectfully, I disagree with my colleague's answer above. The trustee of a trust has a duty to publish notice to creditors after death of the grantor. See MCL 700.7608.

700.7608 Duty of trustee to give notice.

Sec. 7608.

If there is no personal representative of the...
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