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Michigan Estate Planning Questions & Answers
1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: I paid off my mothers vehicle after she passed. No will or probate. The bank won’t speak to me about why a lien is on ca
Brent T. Geers
Brent T. Geers
answered on Jul 18, 2023

You may need to transfer title through the Secretary of State. There is a form for this when the transfer is to an heir such as yourself and no probate proceedings.

As crazy as it sounds, to the bank, you are just a stranger until your name is on the title. And just like I couldn't...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: I am in rhe process of becoming executor of my deceased parents estate, I have no siblings, can I pay the cc debt after

I am deceased a nd have the money come out of the sale.of the home, so I don't have to deal with is this a thing, is this legal?

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
answered on Jul 2, 2023

Your question is not exactly clear, and it would benefit you greatly to contact a local probate attorney to review your whole situation to provide real advice.

Generally speaking, the debt is due when the debt is due and absent an agreement with the creditor to change that, you cannot...
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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Michigan on
Q: M y friend and I have lived together over 34 years, never got married to each other but hold all assets jointly.

We each have adult children and grandchildren, we are 68 and 67 years. All assets are joint, however, we would like to create a trust to protect each other and set things up the way we wish. Is this something you or your office can assist us with? Thanks so much, we live in Munith Michigan.

Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Jun 16, 2023

Good morning. The situation you describe is not all that uncommon in the world of estate planning. Estate plans can be made for single people, married people, or unmarried people who are in long-term relationships or who are life partners. My suggestion would be to directly contact (i.e. by phone)... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Civil Litigation and Estate Planning for Michigan on
Q: Can I get a new trial if the presiding judge in my case publicly said he didn't decide my original case on its merits?
Trent Harris
Trent Harris
answered on Jun 12, 2023

If what you said is true, you could file a motion to set aside the judgment and request a new trial. But it would most likely be within the discretion of the court whether to grant your motion. You would most likely need to identify one or more legal errors that affected the outcome, and facts to... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Probate and Estate Planning for Michigan on
Q: My mother’s name was never on the title of which my father’s uncle left him and his heirs acres of land both parents

are deceased 9 children 3 deceased

David Soble
PREMIUM
David Soble
answered on Jun 8, 2023

Because your mother has not been named on the deed, she still may have rights under a will to take the property, or she still may have the opportunity to take the property pursuant to filing a probate action since your father passed intestate. A real estate or probate attorney will still need to... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law, Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: How to find the status of a property / parcel if the publicly listed owner has passed some time (year) ago?

It has been a year or so and the property did *not* have a will attached (according to an heir with whom I briefly spoke) and was to go through probate.

As I'm following-up currently the records still only list the decedent, and as I understood it probate usually takes under about... View More

Brent T. Geers
Brent T. Geers
answered on Jun 6, 2023

The property will not change hands until someone (usually an heir) commences the probate process. It is not uncommon, although unwise for a number of reasons, for houses to be held in a deceased person's name while family members continue to live there for sometimes multiple generations. As... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Michigan on
Q: My brother's name is on the deed, no will. Is he entitled to all money from the sale of the house in Michigan
Brent T. Geers
Brent T. Geers
answered on May 19, 2023

Typically yes, that would be the case. If his name is on the deed, then he owns the house, and so the property would not be subject to probate.

Not sure if this is the situation happening with you, but it's not uncommon, and presents perhaps unintended results, when a parent puts one...
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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... View 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,... View 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 Estate Planning and Probate for Michigan on
Q: How do I find out the name of the attorney who prepared my mother's will for her, so that I can retrieve a copy?

She'd showed it to me and told me where it was located in her home, along with her safe deposit box key. Now that she has passed away though, my stepfather has not filed it with the probate court, or given me a copy or discussed it with me. I am concerned...

John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
answered on Apr 26, 2023

There is no easy way to do this. You would need to ask someone who knows which attorney your mother used. That attorney may or may not still be alive and practicing law. That attorney may or may not have a copy of the will he/she drafted. If he/she does, it most likely will not be a signed... View More

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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... View More

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... View 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?

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
answered on Apr 10, 2023

I agree with Mr Harris, but I'm compelled to ask -- the POLICE? It is VERY unusual for the police to become involved in such things unless 1) there was violence and/or 2) the items removed were somehow contraband.

YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED to get local legal advice and probably...
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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... View 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... View 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).

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
answered on Mar 15, 2023

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

Mr Harris is correct, but it seems like you're trying to get a lawyer to undergo representation via the website. That isn't how this works.

You need to work with the lawyer to RETAIN services, and that involves some phone calls and...
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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... View More

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
answered on Mar 9, 2023

I absolutely agree with Mr Harris.

And NEITHER complex estate settlement (as the mere existence of a Trust implies) nor tax issues are fertile "DIY" ground.

If there is a car and nothing else or some SIMPLE probate, maybe, but even then, failing to publish appropriately...
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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... View 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... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Real Estate Law and Estate Planning for Michigan on
Q: Father passed away and my mom is still alive but her name isn’t on the deed but my older brother is on the deed.

How do we transfer ownership to my mom, then her children in the future and avoid probate?

David Soble
PREMIUM
David Soble
answered on Mar 2, 2023

It depends if your brother will deed the property back to your mother. Based upon your facts, he has an interest in the property now. Deeds are contracts and have legal implications. You need to have a real estate attorney first review the deed you mentioned and then, if necessary, draft the... View More

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